An Experimental Study of Some of the Factors Affecting the Contact Conditions and the Slip between a Rolling Ball and Its Track

Abstract

The problem of a rolling ball subjected to combined normal load and tangential tractions has been studied for a variety of operating conditions. It is shown that for dry steady state loading the resultant slip may be explained in terms of a microslip theory based on the differential elastic straining of the ball and the track. Such results necessitate a careful experimental technique in which the surfaces must be free from contamination and loose wear debris. It is also shown that the preceding arguments are not significantly affected by dynamically varying loads or by speed variations in the range 0-150 in/min.

The slip behaviour is found to be markedly affected by the presence of a lubricant. The behaviour with load and speed now indicates a definite hydrodynamic effect, although the theoretical film thickness is considerably less than the surface roughness. These results agree well with the results of other investigations for similar conditions. Using these experimental results and theoretical considerations a tentative power law formulation for the slip under such conditions is proposed.

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