Effect of Load on Surface Roughness of PPS Thrust Bearings under Rolling Contact Fatigue in Water

. Rolling bearings are important mechanical parts. They are used for the transmission of rotational motion. In this study, we focused on surface roughness of the polymer thrust bearing under rolling contact fatigue. Surface roughness of the groove bottom was measured when small pitting around shoulder and crack occurred. Thrust bearings were loaded with thrust loads of 2300 N, 2400 N, 2500 N, and 2600 N. The surface in the rolling contact area was worn during the rolling contact fatigue test. We concluded that surface roughness values ranged from 0.49 µm to 0.18 µm, under thrust loads of 2300 N, 2400 N, 2500 N, and 2600 N when small pitting occurred.