Influence of Axial Load on the Performance of Ball Radial Bearings

Ball radial bearings are often used as shaft supports. They are designed to withstand radial loads. However, they are also quite efficient under axial loads. To determine the degree of influence of axial loads on the performance of these bearings, the nature of the interaction of rolling elements with the rings of single-row ball radial bearings installed in a thrust manner under a combined load is considered. A method for determining the ultimate radial and axial loads for these bearings has been developed. Expressions have been obtained that relate the axial load to the unused radial load. Specific examples have shown that the greatest reaction of supports with single-row ball radial bearings under a combined load on the shaft, when the axial load is ultimate, can be twice as great as a similar reaction of supports under only a radial load of the same magnitude on the shaft. An excessively large error in determining the reactions of shaft supports significantly reduces the performance of the bearings selected for it, accelerating their failure. In addition, when a calculation scheme for a shaft supported by radial ball bearings is drawn up, the shaft is always represented as a beam on two hinged supports. One of the supports was a fixed hinge, and the other was a movable hinge. It has been established that under the action of a combined load, both supports operate as fixed hinges because both perceive an axial load. In this case, one part of the shaft between the supports was stretched, and the other was compressed. The boundary between the stretched and compressed zones was the point of application of the axial force.