The thermal behaviour of rolling bearing assemblies subjected to preload

The experimentally observed time dependent behaviour of two different rolling bearing assemblies subjected to initial preloads is described for a wide range of operating conditions. It is shown that although the assemblies exhibited very different and apparently complicated behaviour their response, for a given set of conditions, was dependent on only two factors, namely the thermoelastic properties of the system and the manner in which the rate of energy input into the system varied with time. Both assemblies exhibited well defined thermal instability which was determined entirely by these properties.