Performance requirements for bearing and bearing steels

Bearings are an indispensable component of mechanical equipment. Their function is to support the mechanical rotating body, reduce the friction coefficient during its movement, and ensure its rotation accuracy. Bearings are subjected to great pressure and friction when working, so they need to have specific properties to meet usage requirements. As the main material of forged bearings, the quality of bearing steel directly determines the performance and service life of the bearing.

Performance requirements for bearing

As a key component in mechanical equipment, bearings have extremely strict performance requirements to ensure the stable operation and long-term reliability of the equipment. The following are the main performance requirements of bearings:

Bearing capacity and stiffness:

Bearings need to be able to withstand loads from various directions such as axial, radial, and overturning moments without excessive deformation or failure. At the same time, its stiffness must be high enough to ensure that the deformation is within a controllable range when subjected to external forces, ensuring the accuracy and stability of the mechanical system.

Wear resistance:

Bearings will move relative to the shaft or bearing seat during operation, so they need to have good wear resistance to reduce friction losses and extend service life. Wear resistance is not only related to the hardness and toughness of the bearing material but also closely related to factors such as lubrication conditions and working speed.

Running accuracy and stability:

The running accuracy and stability of bearings are crucial to the performance of mechanical systems. The bearing should have high rotation accuracy to ensure that the relative motion between the shaft and the bearing seat is smooth and vibration-free, thereby improving the operating quality of the entire mechanical system.

Heat resistance and thermal stability:

Under harsh working conditions such as high speed, heavy load, or high temperature, bearings need to have good heat resistance and thermal stability to prevent performance degradation or failure caused by overheating.

Fatigue resistance:

Bearings are prone to fatigue damage under cyclic loads. Therefore, bearings need to have high fatigue resistance to withstand the fatigue stress caused by long-term operation.

Corrosion resistance:

Bearings may be exposed to various corrosive media in the working environment, so they need to have a certain degree of corrosion resistance to prevent rust and corrosion from affecting bearing performance.

Lubrication performance:

Good lubrication is the key to ensuring the normal operation of bearings. Bearings should have good lubrication properties to ensure that lubricating oil or grease can fully penetrate into the interior of the bearing, reduce friction and wear, and extend the service life of the bearing.

Performance requirements for bearing steel

As the core material of bearing manufacturing, bearing steel has very strict performance requirements to ensure that the bearing can work stably and reliably under high load, high-speed operation, and complex environments. The following are the main performance requirements for bearing steel:

High contact fatigue strength:

When the bearing is working, the contact surface will be subject to periodic loads. Therefore, the bearing steel is required to have high contact fatigue strength to resist fatigue damage and extend the service life of the bearing.

High hardness and wear resistance:

Hardness is one of the important performance indicators of bearing steel, which directly affects the bearing capacity and wear resistance of the bearing. High hardness can ensure that the bearing is not easily deformed when bearing heavy loads, while good wear resistance can reduce the wear of the bearing during operation and increase its service life.

Good toughness:

When bearing impact loads, bearing steel needs to have good toughness to prevent brittle fractures from occurring. Steel with good toughness can better absorb impact energy and ensure the safe operation of bearings.

High elastic limit:

Bearings may be subject to large deformation during operation, so bearing steel is required to have a high elastic limit so that it can quickly return to its original shape after being deformed and maintain the accuracy and performance of the bearing.

Good anti-corrosion and anti-rust properties:

Bearing steel needs to have good anti-corrosion and anti-rust properties to prevent rust or corrosion in humid or corrosive environments and ensure the stability and reliability of the bearings.

Good hot and cold processing properties:

Bearing steel needs to go through forging, heat treatment, cutting, and other processes during the manufacturing process, so it is required to have good hot and cold processing properties to meet the needs of different processes.

Suitable composition and structure:

The chemical composition and structure of bearing steel have an important impact on its performance. Through reasonable composition design and heat treatment process, the performance of steel can be optimized to meet the use requirements of bearings.