Simulation and Analysis of Electric Thermal Coupling for Corrosion Damage of Metro Traction Motor Bearings

• Published in: Machines (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 680
• Main Authors: Yang, Haisheng, Shi, Zhanwang, Wang, Xuelan, Zhang, Jiahang, Zhang, Run, Wang, Hengdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2025
• Subjects: A C motors; Alternating current; Bearings; Breakdown; Channels; Corrosion; Damage; Discharge; Electric fields; Electric railroads; Failure; Galvanic corrosion; Locomotives; Lubricants; Lubricants & lubrication; Lubrication; Pitting (corrosion); Simulation; Temperature; Thermal coupling; Thermal simulation; Traction
• ISSN: 2075-1702; 2075-1702
• DOI: 10.3390/machines13080680

With the electrification of generator sets, electric locomotives, new energy vehicles, and other industries, AC motors subject bearings to an electric field environment, leading to galvanic corrosion due to the use of variable frequency power supply drives. The phenomenon of bearing discharge breakdown in subway traction motors is a critical issue in understanding the relationship between shaft current strength and the extent of bearing damage. This paper analyzes the mechanism of impulse discharge that leads to galvanic corrosion damage in bearings at a microscopic level and conducts electric thermal coupling simulations of the traction motor bearing discharge breakdown process. It examines the temperature rise associated with lubricant film discharge breakdown during the dynamic operation of the bearing and investigates how breakdown channel parameters and operational conditions affect the temperature rise in the micro-region of bearing lubrication. Ultimately, the results of the electric thermal coupling simulation are validated through experimental tests. This study revealed that in an electric field environment, the load-bearing area of the outer ring experiences significantly more severe corrosion damage than the inner ring, whereas non-bearing areas remain unaffected by electrolytic corrosion. When the inner ring reaches a speed of 4500_rpm, the maximum widths of electrolytic corrosion pits for the outer and inner rings are measured at 89 um and 51 um, respectively. Additionally, the highest recorded temperatures for the breakdown channels in the outer and inner rings are 932 °C and 802 °C, respectively. Furthermore, as the inner ring speed increases, both the width of the electrolytic corrosion pits and the temperature of the breakdown channels rise. Specifically, at inner ring speeds of 2500_rpm, 3500_rpm, and 4500_rpm, the widths of the electrolytic pits in the outer ring raceway load zone were measured at 34 um, 56 um, and 89 um, respectively. The highest temperatures of the lubrication film breakdown channels were recorded as 612 °C, 788 °C, and 932 °C, respectively. This study provides a theoretical basis and data support for the protective and maintenance practices of traction motor bearings.