In a hope to better understand the flow and convective heat transfer characteristics inside a ball bearing, air flow between the rolling elements and raceways at high speed bearing rotation is numerically investigated using a simplified inner geometry of bearing and a CFD technique. Flow simulation results reveal the pressure distribution of airflow and the shear stress distribution on the ball surface, of which nonuniformity becomes significant with the increasing rotational speed. Also, the local point of maximum shear stress coincides with the stagnation flow area on the surface of rolling elements. A complex pattern of three-dimensional vortex structures is found in the air flow due to the relative motion of bearing elements and three different types of vortex pairs exist around the rotating and orbiting rolling elements.
