Abstract:  Aiming at the problems of wheel hub bearing performance degradation and noise effect after the wheel was subjected to lateral impact, experiments were carried out to study the characteristics of bearing raceway defects and the degree of performance degradation after impact. Firstly, the GM Brinell indentation test method was used to simulate the lateral impact of the wheel, and the surface features of the raceway were characterized by surface defect data. Secondly, the function fitting method was used to establish the relationship between raceway contact stress and indentation depth. Finally, the vibration noise, moment rigidity and endurance life test of the bearing with indentation defect were carried out, and the test results were extracted and analyzed to characterize the influence of the indentation defect of the raceway on the bearing performance. The results show that when the lateral impact acceleration reaches 1.1g and 1.3g, the vibration noise and moment rigidity of the wheel hub bearing decline by more than 7% respectively. When the lateral impact acceleration reaches 1.4g, the maximum indentation position of the bearing raceway spreads to the rib, and the bearing life is attenuated significantly.

Key words: wheel bearing;lateral impact;contact stress;vibration noise;moment rigidity;endurance life test