Abstract: Cage slip and dynamic instability present challenges to the mainshaft cylindrical roller bearing of aero-engines. This paper proposes a novel cylindrical roller bearing with a V-shape pocket, and studies its cage slip and stability. Using the Hertz contact theory, the elastohydrodynamic and hydrodynamic lubrication formulas, and the Newton-Euler dynamics theory, we build a dynamics model of the bearing under radial rigid loads. Subsequently, based on the variable-step Runge-Kutta numerical integration method, the dynamics simulation of the bearing is conducted, the effects of the geometric parameters of the V-shape pocket on the cage slip and stability are discussed, and the cage slip characteristics, the cage stability and the roller-pocket collision characteristics of the bearing with the optimized pocket are analyzed at various high rotational speeds. The results show that the influences of the geometric parameters of the V-shape pocket on the cage slip and stability are remarkable; compared with the general bearing, within the rotational speed range of 30 000~60 000 r/min, the cage slip ratio, the cage whirl radius, and the force amplitude and frequency of the roller-pocket local collisions of the optimized bearing are significantly lower or smaller.

Key words: cylindrical roller bearings, cage pocket, dynamics models, cage slip, cage stability