Investigation on heat dissipation characteristic of ball bearing cage and inside cavity at ultra high rotation speed

• Bearing dynamic model with 6-DOF-balls, 3-DOF-cage and 3-DOF-ring was promoted.
• Air–oil flow pattern and vortexes shedding inside baring cavity were analyzed.
• Thermal dissipation with different cage parameters and guiding ways was investigated.

The six-DOF-balls, five-DOF-inner ring and three-DOF-cage were all considered to promote the quasi-dynamic model of ball bearing. The motions and heat generation obtained via the model were then input to a precise numerical model for cage thermal analysis. The oil–air flow pattern inside bearing cavity, the influence of cage parameters such as the pockets shape, methods of guiding, clearance, on bearing cage heat dissipation performance were all investigated. The results indicate that, at ultra high rotation speed, suitable cage parameters are significant to air–oil flow and thermal dissipation inside bearing cavity.