• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.48-55
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• 1997

The ball bearing with thin-section raceways which is much lighter than other conventional bearings used in most modem passenger cars and small tracks. The important design parameters of this bearing is the groove radius of raceways, the diametral clearance, the free contact angle and so on. The optimal value of these parameters were determined by considering the dynamic load capacity, the contact angle and the calculated fatigue life. The contact angle between a ball and raceways was calculated by considering the local contact deformation and the structural deformation of thin-section raceways which was estimated by FEM. The raceways were made by means of the press-forming process. The fatigue life tester was designed and manufactured. The fatigue life test was executed and the reliability of this bearing was confirmed.