This study investigates the influence of operating diametral clearance on the performance of angular contact ball bearings (ACBBs). It examines critical factors affecting diametral clearance, including mounting conditions, external loads, temperature fluctuations, and rotational speeds. A novel model combining quasi-static and fit-up approaches is proposed to analyze the effects of operating diametral clearances on ACBB performance. This model incorporates key elements such as ball-race contact loads, interactions between the shaft and inner ring, interference fits between the housing and outer ring, centrifugal expansion of the rotating shaft and inner ring, and temperature-induced changes. Internal clearance variations are computed using the thick-ring theory. Simulations are conducted to predict ACBB characteristics under various fit-up conditions, including contact load distribution and stiffness, with results validated using commercial software. The study also explores the impact of various operating diametral clearances on ACBB performance under differing fitting conditions, external loads, and rotational speeds.

This paper presents an integrated thermo-mechanical model for analyzing angular contact ball bearings (ACBBs) operating under oil-jet lubrication. The proposed approach enables a comprehensive analysis of both the mechanical and thermal behavior of the ACBB system. The proposed formulation employs a quasi-static approach to accurately calculate contact loads and heat generation, taking into careful consideration variations in internal clearance resulting from factors such as surface pressure, centrifugal forces, and thermal expansion. For the thermal analysis, a refined thermal network model is utilized. The proposed thermal model incorporates a newly derived correlation for the drag coefficient under oil-jet lubrication, which is obtained through high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations. The validity of the proposed model is confirmed through comparison with experimental data. Furthermore, extensive simulations are conducted to investigate the impact of bearing fit-up and thermal variations on the performance of ACBBs.