Critical Flaw Size in Silicon Nitride Ball Bearings

• Published in: Tribology transactions Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 511 - 519
• Main Authors: Levesque, George A., Arakere, Nagaraj K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01.07.2010; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Ball bearings; Contact stresses; Cracks; Exact sciences and technology; Fatigue failure; Finite element method; Finite Element Modeling; Fracture; Fracture mechanics; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Friction; Friction, wear, lubrication; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Hybrid Ball Bearings; Machine components; Mathematical models; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Nondestructive testing; Partial Cone Crack; Physics; Rolling Contact Fatigue; Silicon Nitride; Simulation; Solid mechanics; Stress Intensity Factor; Structural and continuum mechanics; Tribology; Roll contact fatigue; Rolling contact; Fracture; Hybrid Ball Bearings; Fatigue fracture; Modeling; Rolling bearing; Finite element method; Hydrodynamic lubrication; Ball bearing; Stress intensity factor; Hydrostatic lubrication; Hybrid bearing; Localization; Fretting fatigue; Silicon nitride; Partial Cone Crack; Mechanical contact; Friction; Surface defect; Rolling Contact Fatigue; Non destructive test; Finite Element Modeling; Crack; Tribology

Silicon nitride balls, used in hybrid ball bearings, are susceptible to failure from fatigue spalls emanating from preexisting partial cone cracks that can grow under rolling contact fatigue (RCF). We simulate the range of three-dimensional nonplanar surface flaw geometries subject to RCF to calcula...