Influence of raceway waviness on skidding and frictional torque in hybrid ceramic angular contact ball bearings

Angular contact ball bearings are integral components of precision transmission systems, and their skidding and frictional torque are key factors influencing operational precision and service life. Abnormal frictional torque fluctuations can induce high-frequency vibration, aggravate local wear, and accelerate bearing failure. Raceway waviness is a common circumferential periodic geometric error that modifies the contact conditions between rolling elements and raceways, thereby inducing abnormal variations in bearing skidding and frictional torque. To investigate the influence mechanism of raceway waviness, a dynamic model of a hybrid ceramic angular contact ball bearing is established by incorporating the effect of waviness into the contact deformation relationship. A frictional torque model is further developed by considering differential sliding and spin sliding. The effects of waviness amplitude and order on bearing dynamic performance are systematically analyzed. The main improvement of this study is that the waviness of both the inner and outer raceways is incorporated into the contact deformation compatibility relationship, thereby linking waviness-induced contact variation with skidding and frictional torque fluctuations. Systematic analysis of the bearing’s performance under different amplitudes and orders of surface waviness is conducted. Results show that increasing the waviness amplitude reduces the slip ratios of the rolling elements and the cage but increases the fluctuation amplitude of the corresponding slip ratios. Increasing the waviness order decreases the slip ratio but increases the frequency of skidding fluctuations, while it has a relatively minor overall effect on the frictional torque. When both inner and outer raceway waviness exists, their combined effect on the performance metrics becomes more pronounced.