Dynamic behaviors of the elastohydrodynamic lubricated contact for rolling bearings

The dynamic behaviors of a single elastohydrodynamic lubricated (EHL) contact between a rolling element and raceways under wider load and speed ranges are analyzed numerically based on the transient EHL model and the free vibration model. The discrete convolution and fast fourier transform method is implemented in order to increase the computational efficiency associated with elastic deformations and the semisystem approach is applied to improve the solution convergence under severe conditions. The change of mutual approach is selected as the standard of bearing vibrations and the inlet length and dimensionless natural frequency corresponding to the working load and speed are determined. The numerical results demonstrate that the stiffness increases with the increasing load and decreases with speed. However, the changes of damping are different in various working conditions, especially under heavier load and higher speed. It is also indicated that the stiffness and damping increase with the increase in ambient viscosity and the decrease in pressure-viscosity coefficient.