Rolling element bearings are essential components in modern mechanical equipment, providing crucial support for rotating parts. Hybrid ceramic ball bearings, consisting of steel rings and ceramic balls, have gained popularity in high-speed machinery to enhance performance. These bearings offer advantages such as longer fatigue life, improved performance, and higher speeds. Extensive research by scholars has been conducted to promote the wider adoption of hybrid ceramic ball bearings. This paper compiles relevant studies on hybrid ceramic bearings, organizing literature related to their lifetime, arranging literature pertaining to their performance analysis from the perspective of analytical methods, and collating literature on their lubrication techniques from the angle of lubrication methods. This paper covers research on lifetime modeling, fatigue spalling, wear, mechanical and tribological properties, dynamic performance, thermal analysis, temperature considerations, and lubrication techniques of hybrid ceramic ball bearings. The aim is to provide readers and researchers with a comprehensive overview of these innovative bearings.

The paper mainly studied the temperature rise characteristics of under-race lubricated high-speed angular contact ball bearings under operational conditions from the perspective of dynamics. The steady-state calculation model of the bearing was established using a thermal network method in consideration of the influence factor of friction power consumption in bearing components based on a dynamic model. Following this, the steady-state change characteristics of the bearing were obtained by solving a thermal balance equation. Through this process, the influence laws of bearing rotation speed, oil supply, and environmental temperature on the friction temperature rise of the bearing were analyzed. Finally, the finite element analysis software ANSYS was employed to provide comparative verification. The results showed that the bearing temperature nonlinearly increased with the increase in inner ring rotation speed, and when it approached a certain critical value, the outer ring temperature exceeded the inner ring temperature. It had an obvious effect on controlling the temperature rise of the bearing inner ring by way of increasing the quantity and reducing the temperature of the lubricating oil supply. Comparative verification showed that the speed–temperature variation tendency from the dynamics-based thermal analysis well agrees with that of the finite element analysis.

This study aimed to test the friction coefficient of cryogenic bearing lubrication materials. A ball-on-disc type friction tester was developed in our lab using air bearings that could simulate the movement of cryogenic bearings under sliding-rolling contact. The tester is equipped with a temperature-controlled chamber to provide a minimum −175 °C low-temperature environment. Using air bearings is an important technique to reduce the base friction of the tester measurement system and ensure the accuracy of the friction coefficient measurement. The friction coefficients of the Ag coating and the PTFE coating were measured at different sliding-rolling velocities on this tester, and the results showed that the friction coefficient curves agreed well with the Gupta sliding model. The developed tester will provide important data for the dynamic analysis and life evaluation of the cryogenic bearings.

In the ultra-low temperature environment, the material properties of the bearing change, which puts forward higher requirements for the dynamic performance of the bearing cage. The bearings operating in ultra-low temperature environments commonly use solid lubricants. This study first focused on measuring the traction coefficients of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) solid lubricant in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the Gupta fitting model is constructed to derive the traction equation. Subsequently, the dynamic differential equation of angular contact ball bearings was established, and the stability of the bearing cage in a nitrogen environment was simulated and analyzed based on the dynamic model. The accuracy of the simulation model was verified through comparison. The results show that less than 10% of errors exist between the experimental data and the traction curve fitted by the Gupta model, and the stability of the cage is closely related to operating parameters and bearing structure parameters. Cage stability increases with axial load but decreases with radial load. The cage stability is optimal when the radial internal clearance of the bearing is approximately 0.06 mm. When other conditions remain unchanged and the ratio of the cage pocket hole gap to the cage guide surface gap is 0.2, the cage stability is the best. The research results will provide a foundation for the design and application of solid-lubricated angular contact ball bearings in ultra-low temperature environments.

With the advancement of industries such as high-speed railways, new energy vehicles, and wind power, bearings are frequently exposed to various electric field environments, leading to the need for lubricating oil films of bearings to withstand voltage. One of the major issues caused by the breakdown discharge process of the lubricating oil film in bearings is the generation of local instantaneous high temperatures. This temperature rise is a key factor contributing to problems such as high operating temperature of bearings, surface damage in the contact area, and degradation of lubrication performance. This research article focuses on the comprehensive influence of bearing friction and electrical factors. It establishes a heat source calculation model and a temperature field simulation model specifically for current-carrying bearings. This study analyzes both the overall temperature rise of bearings and the local temperature rise resulting from breakdown discharge. Furthermore, the accuracy of the simulation analysis is verified through experiments. The temperature field simulation and experimental results consistently indicate that electrical environmental factors can cause an increase in the overall temperature rise of a bearing. Additionally, the breakdown and discharge of the lubricating oil film generate local instantaneous high temperatures in the contact area of the bearing.