A High-Speed Rolling-Element Bearing Loss Investigation

Abstract

Little experimental data for losses of high-speed Conrad type ball bearings is presently found in the open literature. Hence the accuracy of published high-speed bearing-loss predictions is not known. Accurate predictions of high-speed ball bearing loss are important, however, in evaluating high-speed rotor support systems as well as determining cooling oil requirements for this type of bearing. The losses of a Conrad type ball bearing used to support the high-speed rotors in a vehicular gas turbine were measured. The effects of bearing axial load, rotor speed, lubricant viscosity, and lubricant flow rate on the bearing power consumption were determined. Power loss calculations, made from previously published equations for this type of bearing, did not correlate well with the measured high-speed bearing losses. New power loss equations are presented to predict the losses associated with high-speed deep-groove Conrad type ball bearings under well lubricated conditions.