Development of FEM model of an angular contact ball bearing with its experimental verification

The article presents FEM model of an angular contact ball bearing used in spindle systems with active preload control. A two-dimensional replacement model for a single rolling element was developed. Its elastic characteristics were determined and the stress distribution was presented for the FEM 2D model. Based on the elastic characteristics for a single rolling element, a complete 3D bearing was modelled. The substitute model of a bearing developed in this way was used to model the spindle system. The elasticity curve of this spindle was determined. The last stage of the work involved the experimental verification of the FEM model using a custom-built test bench, in which piezoelectric elements were used to preload the bearings