Kinematic Analysis of the Ball

Screw Mechanism Considering

Chin Chung Wei
Graduate Student
Jen Fin Lin
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan, 70101, Taiwan,
Republic of China
Variable Contact Angles
and Elastic Deformations
The theoretical analyses developed by Lin et al. [6] for the kinematics of the ball screw
mechanism have been partly adapted for the present study. In order to better understand
the sliding behavior arising at two contact areas, the analyses of a ball bearing, while
accounting for elastic deformation, are modified through coordinate transformations prior
to their applications to the analyses for the ball screw mechanism. The influence of
differing the parameters such as friction coefficient, normal force acting on the ball, and
contact angle on a ball-screw’s mechanism at two contact areas are evaluated. The results
of the ball-screw’s mechanical efficiency achieved by the present model are displayed to
compare with those evaluated based on the model of Lin et al. Substantial differences
exist in the results evaluated by these two models, especially those created at high screw
rotational speeds. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1623761兴

1 Introduction
The increasing demands that precision and engineering applica-
tions place on positioning systems has prompted an investigation
into the ball screws. The reciprocating ball screw mechanism is a
force and motion transfer device. Two of the most important fea-
tures of the mechanism are its positional accuracy and load car-
rying capacity. These two advantages make it suitable as the drive
mechanism for the feed-drive mechanism of machine tools and
high-precision leveling platforms. Ball screws have been used for
many years, but the details about how the performance parameters
of a ball screw 共like contact angles, deformations and friction
coefficients of ball-screw and ball-nut contact areas兲 can affect
ball screw’s position accuracy, load capability and mechanical ef-
ficiency are still not fully understood.
As in any mechanical system, frictions in a ball screw compli-
cate the control design process and can reduce the positioning
accuracy significantly. Various position control techniques have
been presented which deal with macroscopic stick/slip behavior
关1兴 关2兴. Ro and Hubbel 关3兴 use a two stage operation to achieve
nano-meter accuracy. But their research is interested in the use of
the control method to achieve high accuracy.
The ball screw mechanism is a closed system, it is difficult to
investigate what happens on the inside of a ball screw directly
when it is moving. It seems feasible to use numerical analysis to
solve several kinetic parameters in terms of the kinematics and
dynamics of this system, then to try to build the expressions for
the performance parameters such as friction coefficient, slide-roll
ratio and mechanical efficiency. Ball screw’s kinematic behavior
is partly similar to a ball bearing, the analytical method applied in
the analysis of a ball bearing can thus be exploited to modify the
ball screw motion. Harris 关4兴 关5兴 analyzed how the skidding be-
havior arising between the balls and the inner raceway which
induces rolling surface distress can eventually lead to bearing de-
struction. The model developed in Harris’s study is cited in the
present study to find ball screw’s contact angles and several an-
gular velocities through geometric transform.
Lin et al. 关6兴 provides a theoretical study to the kinematics of
the ball screw mechanism with the aim of developing a function
Contributed by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee for publication in the
JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received October 2001; revised
April 2003. Associate Editor: S. K. Agrawal.
for understanding the motion of the balls and their contact patterns
with the contact elements. These derivations can describe the mo-
tion of a ball in a ball screw system and show that slipping often
takes place between the ball and the nut 共or the screw兲. This
means that the no-slip condition assumed in the previous two
studies 关7兴 关8兴 is unattainable. Lin et al. 关9兴 also introduced three
methods to obtain the ball-screw’s mechanical efficiency. Their
study has developed a closed-form solution for the mechanical
efficiency for a ball screw in motion and then employed this
theory to achieve the optimum design of this mechanism. How-
ever, friction coefficients, normal forces and contact angles cre-
ated at the ball/screw and ball/nut contact areas are assumed to be
equal in their studies, and the drag force produced by a ball mov-
ing in an oil lubricant is also not considered in the force balance.
Huang and Ravani 关10兴 used the concept of medial axis trans-
form 共MAT兲 to analysis the contact stresses between ball-screw
and ball-nut, In their analysis we can get normal forces, contact
angles and contact stress in contact areas of ball-screw and ball-
nut. But the effects of friction and oil lubrication do not be con-
sidered in their paper. They also assume the slip angle in ball-
screw and ball-nut contact areas are the same. The assumption is
acceptable when normal forces and contact angles in two contact
areas are the same. From their results we can found normal forces
and contact angles in two contact areas are not the same. So their
results must exit operation error.
Part of the theoretical analyses developed by Lin et al. 关6兴 for
the kinematics of the ball screw mechanism have been adopted for
the present study. In order to get a detailed look at the sliding
behavior arising at two contact areas, Harris’s 关4兴 关5兴 theory and
the method applied to analyze the sliding-rolling behavior of a
ball bearing is also used in this study but modified for the ball-
screw mechanism through coordinate transformations. The as-
sumptions made by Lin et al. 关9兴 about equal friction coefficient,
normal force and contact angle for the ball/screw and ball/nut
contact areas are found to be incorrect. The influence of differing
these parameters at two contact areas is considered in this study.
The drag force created by a ball moving in a viscous oil is also
taken into account in the force balance. The results of ball screw’s
mechanical efficiency achieved by the present model are com-
pared with those evaluated by the model of Lin et al.

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 Fig. 1 A ball screw and nut mechanism

2 Theoretical Analysis
In the study of the kinematics and dynamics of the ball screw Fig. 3 Instantaneous position of ball mass element dm
mechanism 共Fig. 1兲, four coordinate systems are needed to de-
scribe the motion of three components and their contact behavior.
The rotating coordinate system, 共x,y,z兲, is fixed in space with its z
axis coincident with the axis of the screw 共see Fig. 2兲, even ␻ m along the b-axis is ␻ m cos ␣, whereas along the t-axis is
though it rotates with the same speed as the screw. The Frenet ␻ m sin ␣. The angular velocity due to ball’s spinning is ␻ R .
coordinate system, 共t,n,b兲, is defined to describe the moving path
of the ball center. The motion of a ball enables us to study the 2.1 Coordinate Transformations. The coordinate transfor-
kinematics of a ball and the slip behavior arising at the contact mations between (U,V,W) and (U,r, ␾ ), as shown in Fig. 3, can
areas. The third coordinate system, 共U,V,W兲, as Fig. 3 shows, is be stated as:
defined such that its origin is at the center of the ball and the U U⫽U (1a)
axis is coincident with the spinning axis of a ball. The fourth
coordinate system, (U,r, ␾ ), is defined to describe to the inertia V⫽r sin ␾ (1b)
force and the inertia moment which are produced due to the mo-
tion of the ball with a mass of m. Additionally, we define the W⫽r cos ␾ (1c)
3-axis to be perpendicular to the U-axis but parallel to the W-axis; The coordinate transformations between two coordinates,
the distance between a small element of the ball with a mass of 共t,n,b兲 and (U,r, ␾ ), are given as:
dm and the intersect of the U-axis and the 3-axis is r, and the
angle between the 3-axis and the r vector is defined as ␾. t⫽U cos ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ ⫹r sin ␾ cos ␤ ⬘ ⫺r cos ␾ sin ␤ sin ␤ ⬘
The 2-axis, as shown in Fig. 3, is the projection of the U axis in (2a)
the t-b plane. The angle between the U-axis and the 2-axis is ␤, n⫽⫺U sin ␤ ⫺r cos ␾ cos ␤ (2b)
and the angle between the 2-axis and the b-axis is ␤ ⬘ , they are
called two gyroscopic angles. If a ball is moving forward in the b⫽⫺U cos ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ ⫹r sin ␾ sin ␤ ⬘ ⫹r cos ␾ sin ␤ cos ␤ ⬘
t-direction along the screw surface with a helix angle of ␣, the (2c)
angular velocity of its revolution is ␻ m , then the component of Assuming that a ball has moved an angle ␸ k̃ along the helical
angle ␣ of a screw with a lead d sin ␣, then
␸L
d sin ␣ ⫽ (3)
2␲
where L is the pitch length of the screw, d is the distance between
two origins, o and o ⬘ 共ball center兲; r m is now defined as the
projection length of oo ⬘ on the x-y plane. Then, the coordinate
transformation between the 共x,y,z兲 coordinate system and the

冋册 冋 册冋
共t,n,b兲 coordinate system, as Fig. 2 shows, is given as

册
r m cos ␸
x ⫺cos ␣ sin ␸ ⫺cos ␸ sin ␣ sin ␸
r m sin ␸
y ⫽ ⫹ cos ␣ cos ␸ ⫺sin ␸ ⫺sin ␣ cos ␸
z ␸L
sin ␣ 0 cos ␣
2␲

冋册
t
⫻ n
b
(4)

2.2 Inertia Forces of Ball Motion. The three components

of the inertia force produced in x-, y- and z-directions respectively
due to a ball motion along the screw surface are stated as:

Fig. 2 The position of ball center in Cartesian coordinates and

Frenet coordinates
F x ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕
0
2␲
ẍrd ␾ drdU (5a)

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 F y ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕
0
2␲
ÿrd ␾ drdU (5b)
2.3 Calculations of Ball’s Inertia Moment. The Newton’s
h
law gives ball’s inertia moment ( M) as

F z ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕
0
2␲
z̈rd ␾ drdU (5c)
 h 
M ⫽ M̄⫻ F (10a)

where r b is the ball radius and ␳ denotes the ball density. The ‘‘⫺’’
sign is given in order to denote the acting forces on the ball. By
using Eq. 共4兲, the linear accelerations, ẍ, ÿ and z̈, are given as
follows:
ẍ⫽⫺r m cos ␸␸˙ 2 ⫹cos ␣ sin ␸␸˙ 2 t⫺2 cos ␣ cos ␸␸˙ ṫ
⫺cos ␣ sin ␸ ẗ ⫹cos ␸␸˙ 2 n⫹2 sin ␸␸˙ ṅ⫺cos ␸ n̈
⫺sin ␣ sin ␸␸˙ 2 b⫹2 sin ␣ cos ␸␸˙ ḃ⫹sin ␣ sin ␸ b̈ (6a)
h
where M̄ denotes the distance vector of ball’s inertia moment,
h
and F denotes the angular inertia force vector. Since the equation
of angular momentum is established at the 共t,n,b兲 coordinates, the
h
distance vector M̄ with respect to this coordinate system must be
obtained first. Three components of the inertia moment in the
共t,n,b兲 coordinate system produced by the inertia forces can be
obtained if the distances of these forces with respect to these three
axes are available. The distance components in the t-, n- and
b-directions, M̄ t , M̄ n and M̄ b , are stated as

ÿ⫽⫺r m sin ␸␸˙ 2 ⫺cos ␣ cos ␸␸˙ 2 t⫺2 cos ␣ sin ␸␸˙ ṫ

⫹cos ␣ cos ␸ ẗ ⫹sin ␸␸˙ 2 n⫹2 cos ␸␸˙ ṅ⫺sin ␸ n̈

h
冋册
M̄ t
M̄⫽ M̄ n
M̄ b

冋 册
⫹sin ␣ cos ␸␸˙ 2 b⫹2 sin ␣ sin ␸␸˙ ḃ⫺sin ␣ cos ␸ b̈ (6b)
U cos ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ ⫹r 共 cos ␤ ⬘ sin ␾ ⫺sin ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ cos ␾ 兲
z̈⫽sin ␣ ẗ ⫹cos ␣ b̈ (6c) ⫽ ⫺ 共 U sin ␤ ⫹r cos ␤ cos ␾ 兲
⫺U cos ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ ⫹r 共 sin ␤ ⬘ sin ␾ ⫹sin ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ cos ␾ 兲
where the first and second derivatives of t,n,b, as Eq. 共2a兲, Eq.
共2b兲 and Eq. 共2c兲 show, are stated as

ṫ ⫽r cos ␤ ⬘ cos ␾␾˙ ⫹r sin ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ sin ␾␾˙ (7a)

t
⫻ n
b
冋册 (10b)

ẗ ⫽⫺r cos ␤ ⬘ sin ␾␾˙ 2 ⫹r sin ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ cos ␾␾˙ 2 (7b)


The external force (d F ) acting on the ball mass element 共dm兲 can
n̈⫽r cos ␤ sin ␾␾˙ (7c) be expressed as

冋 册冋 册 冋 册冋 册
n̈⫽r cos ␤ cos ␾␾
˙2 (7d)
ẍ ⬘ t ẍ t

ḃ⫽r sin ␤ ⬘ cos ␾␾˙ ⫺r sin ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ sin ␾␾˙ (7e) d F ⫽⫺ ␳ rd ␾ drdU ÿ ⬘ n ⫽⫺ ␳ rd ␾ drdUT ⫺1
2
ÿ n
z̈ ⬘ b z̈ b

冋 册
b̈⫽⫺r sin ␤ ⬘ sin ␾␾˙ 2 ⫺r sin ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ cos ␾␾˙ 2 (7f)
⫺cos ␣ sin ␸ cos ␸ cos ␣ sin ␣
It should be mentioned that the first and the second time deriva- ⫽⫺ ␳ rd ␾ drdU ⫺cos ␸ ⫺sin ␸ 0
tives of ␤ and ␤ ⬘ , have been neglected in Eq. 共7a兲 to Eq. 共7f兲
because these two angles remain unchanged during a constant sin ␣ sin ␸ ⫺cos ␸ sin ␣ cos ␣

冋 册冋 册
rotation of the screw. By substituting Eq. 共6a兲, Eq. 共6b兲 and Eq. ẍ t
共6c兲 into Eq. 共5a兲, Eq. 共5b兲, and Eq. 共5c兲 respectively, these force
components are obtained. ⫻ ÿ n (10c)

冋 册 冋 册冋 册
z̈ b
Fx cos ␸ x
F y ⫽mr m ␸˙ 2 sin ␸ y (8) The moments produced in the t-, n- and b-directions can thus be
Fz 0 z expressed as:

The results indicate that the inertia forces created by a ball in

motion are directly related to the ball’s centrifugal force. The
force components, (F x ,F y ,F z ), are now transformed to the 共t,n,b兲
M t ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕 2␲

0
兵 ⫺z̈ ⬘ M̄ b ⫹ẍ ⬘ M̄ n 其 rd ␾ drdU
coordinate system by the following equations: (11a)

冋 册 冋 册冋 册
Ft
F n ⫽T ⫺1
Fb
2
Fx
F
Fz
y
t
n
b
M n ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕 0
2␲
兵 ⫺ẍ ⬘ M̄ t ⫹ÿ ⬘ M̄ b 其 rd ␾ drdU

冋 册 冋 册
(11b)
⫺cos ␣ sin ␸ cos ␸ cos ␣ sin ␣ cos ␸
⫽ ⫺cos ␸
sin ␣ sin ␸
⫺sin ␸
⫺cos ␸ sin ␣
0
cos ␣
mr m ␸˙ 2 sin ␸
0
M b ⫽⫺ ␳ 冕 冕
rb

⫺r b 0
2
共 r b ⫺U 2 兲 1/2
冕 0
2␲
兵 z̈ ⬘ M̄ t ⫺ÿ ⬘ M̄ n 其 rd ␾ drdU

冋 册 冋 册冋 册
(11c)
t 0 t
⫻ n ⫽mr m ␸˙ 2 ⫺1 n (9) In each of the above equations, ‘‘⫺’’ sign is added because the
b 0 b direction of the moment vector is exactly opposite to the direction
of the inertia acceleration even it they are in parallel. The substi-
In the 共t,n,b兲 system, a ball moving along the screw surface is tutions of Eqs. 共6a兲–共6c兲 and Eqs. 共10b兲–共10c兲 into Eqs. 共11a兲–
subjected to the centrifugal force in the n-direction only. 共11c兲 give:

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 4 5
M t ⫽⫺ r ␳␲ 兵 关共 S ␣ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲共 C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␤ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
15 b
⫹ 共 C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ 兲共 C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲 ⫹ 共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲兴 ␸˙ 2
⬘

⫹ 关共 C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲 ⫹ 共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲

⫹ 共 C ␤ S ␣ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲 ⫹ 共 S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ 兲共 C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹C ␸ C ␤ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲兴 ␾˙ 2

⫹2 关共 C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲 ⫹ 共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␸ ⫹S ␣ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ 兲 ␸˙ ␾
˙ 兴其 (12a)
4 5
M n ⫽⫺ r ␳␲ 兵 关共 ⫺C ␣ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ⫺S ␤ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
15 b
⫹ 共 S ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺C ␸ C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
⫹ 共 C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ S ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲共 C ␣ S ␪ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹C ␤ C ␸ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
⫺ 共 C ␣ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲共 C ␣ C ␪ C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ S ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫺ 共 C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␪ S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ 兲共 S ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫺ 共 ⫺C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲兴 ␸˙ 2
⫹ 关 ⫺ 共 C ␣ C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲共 C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫺ 共 ⫺C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫹ 共 S ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺C ␸ C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
⫹ 共 C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ S ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲共 C ␣ S ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫹C ␤ C ␸ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲

⫺ 共 C ␣ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲兴 ␾
˙2

⫹2 关 ⫺ 共 C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫺ 共 ⫺C ␣ C ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␣ C ␸ S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␸ ⫹C ␤ S ␸ ⫺S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲
⫹ 共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␣ S ␸ S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲

⫺ 共 ⫺C ␣ S ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␣ S ␸ S ␤ ⬘ 兲共 ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲兴 ␴˙ ␾
˙其 (12b)
4 5
M b ⫽⫺ r ␳␲ 兵 ⫺ 关共 C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲共 C ␣ C ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲
15 b

⫹ 共 S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ ⫺S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ S ␣ 兲共 ⫺C ␣ C ␸ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␸ C ␤ ⫹S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲兴 ␾
˙2

⫹ 关共 C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␸ ⫹S ␤ S ␸ ⫹C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ C ␸ 兲共 S ␣ C ␤ S ␤ ⬘ ⫺C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ C ␤ 兲兴 ␸˙ 2

⫺ 共 S ␣ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ 兲关 S ␣ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ␸˙ 2 ⫹ 共 ⫺C ␣ C ␸ C ␤ ⬘ ⫹S ␣ C ␪ S ␤ ⬘ 兲 ␾
˙2

⫹ 共 ⫺2S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫺2C ␤ C ␸ ⫺2C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ S ␣ S ␸ 兲 ␸˙ ␾

˙兴

⫺ 共 C ␣ S ␤ C ␤ ⬘ ⫺S ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ 兲关共 C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ S ␸ ⫹S ␣ C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ C ␸ 兲 ␸˙ 2

⫹ 共 C ␣ S ␤ S ␤ ⬘ C ␸ ⫺C ␤ S ␸ ⫹S ␣ C ␤ C ␤ ⬘ C ␸ 兲 ␾˙ 2 ⫹ 共 ⫺2C ␤ ⬘ C ␣ S ␸ ⫹2S ␣ S ␤ ⬘ S ␸ 兲 ␸˙ ␾
˙ 兴其 (12c)

Here, where
d ⫽ the distance between two origins, o and o ⬘ ;
C ␣ ⫽cos ␣ , S ␣ ⫽sin ␣ , C ␤ ⫽cos ␤ , S ␤ ⫽sin ␤ ,
d⫽r m /cos ␣
C ␤ ⬘ ⫽cos ␤ ⬘ , S ␤ ⬘ ⫽sin ␤ ⬘ , ␻m ⫽ the time derivate of the angular displacement
produced by a moving ball.
C ␸ ⫽cos ␸ , S ␸ ⫽sin ␸ , C ␪ ⫽cos ␪ , S ␪ ⫽sin ␪ ␻ ⫽ the time derivate of the angular displacement
produced by the rotating screw.
2.4 Calculations of Various Angular and Linear Velocities. rb ⫽ ball’s radius
Referring to the study of Lin et al. 关6兴, the slip velocity at the
␻t , ␻n , ␻b ⫽ three absolute angular velocity components in
ball-screw contact point is given as:

冋 册冋 册
the t-, n-, and b-directions due to ball’s spinning
d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫺r b 关共 ␻ b ⫺ ␻ cos ␣ 兲 cos ␣ i ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兴 T
t with an angular velocity of ␻ R .
៝ SB⫽
V ⫺r b 共 ␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ 兲 sin ␣ i n
r b 共 ␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ 兲 cos ␣ i b As Fig. 3 shows, these three angular velocity components are
(13) given as

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 ␻ t ⫽ ␻ R cos ␤ sin ␤ ⬘ (14a) ␻ n ⫽⫺ ␻ R sin ␤ (14c)

␻ b ⫽⫺ ␻ R cos ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ (14b) Therefore, the absolute value of V SB is stated as

៝ SB兩 ⫽ 冑r 2b 共 ␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ 兲 2 ⫹ 兵 d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫺r b 关共 ␻ b ⫺ ␻ cos ␣ 兲 cos ␣ i ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兴 其 2

兩V (15)

In the present study, the sliding behavior takes place at two count, the solution of ␤ ⬘ should be smaller than this value and is
contact areas of a ball in the ball-screw system. The screw and a thus negligible in calculations. Since the ␤ ⬘ angle is so small, it
ball at a contact point have their linear velocity components in the can be ignored in the following study of the ball-screw mecha-
b- and n-directions, respectively. The linear velocity component nisms.
created at the screw in the b-direction is 关6兴 Figure 4共a兲 shows the schematic diagram of a ball in contact
with the nut; whereas Fig. 4共b兲 shows the schematic diagram of
V Sb⫽⫺ ␻ r b sin ␣ i sin ␣ (16a)
the same ball in contact with the screw. The angular velocity of
and in the n-direction is the nut relative to a moving and rotating ball is defined to be ␻o ,
it points to the direction parallel to the 1-axis. The 1-axis, as
V Sn⫽⫺ ␻ 共 r m ⫺r b cos ␣ i 兲 sin ␣ (16b) shown in Fig. 4共a兲, is parallel to the b-axis.
The velocity component created at the contact point of a ball in At the contact area formed between a ball and the nut, there
the b-direction is
V bb ⫽⫺r b ␻ t sin ␣ i (17a)
and in the n-direction is
V bn ⫽⫺r m sin ␣ ␻ ⫹r b ␻ t cos ␣ i (17b)
Since the screw is the driver and the ball is being driven in prac-
tical applications, the linear velocity component created at the
screw is theoretically higher than that created at a ball in either of
these two directions if there exists a sliding between these two
surfaces. Thus,
b-direction:
⫺ ␻ r b sin ␣ i sin ␣ ⬎⫺r b ␻ t sin ␣ i (18a)
n-direction:
⫺ ␻ 共 r m ⫺r b cos ␣ i 兲 sin ␣ ⬎⫺r m sin ␣ ␻ ⫹r b ␻ t cos ␣ i (18b)
Eq. 共18a兲 can be simplified as
␻ sin ␣ ⬎ ␻ t (19a)
Similarly, Eq. 共18b兲 can be simplified as
␻ sin ␣ ⬎ ␻ t (19b)
Equations 共19a兲 and Eq. 共19b兲 are actually the same. In the
present study, the ␤ ⬘ angle is an unknown. However, the value of
␻ t in the case of taking the sliding into account ( ␻ sin ␣⬎␻t) is
apparently smaller than that obtained by assuming no sliding
( ␻ sin ␣⫽␻t) exists between them. The solutions of numerical
iterations also show that the absolute value of the ␤ ⬘ angle corre-
sponding to the case of having sliding is smaller than that without
sliding. Based on the assumption that 兩 VSB兩 ⫽0, Eq. 共15兲 satisfies
r 2b 共 ␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ 兲 2 ⫽0 (20a)
and
d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫺r b 关共 ␻ b ⫺ ␻ cos ␣ 兲 cos ␣ i ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兴 ⫽0
(20b)
Since r b ⫽0, Eq. 共20a兲 is simplified as
␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ ⫽0 (21)
By using Eq. 共21兲, four unknowns, ␤, ␤ ⬘ , ␻ R and ␻ t , can be
achieved from numerical solutions. For example, the rotational
speed of the screw is 1070 rpm, and the helical angle is 8.74 deg,
the numerical solution of ␻ t is ⫺17 rad/sec, the ␤ angle is 48.99
deg ␻ R is 359.22 rad./s and the ␤ ⬘ angle is ⫺4.136 deg. If the
sliding behavior between a ball and the screw is taken into ac- Fig. 4 „a… Ball-nut contact, „b… ball-screw contact

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 exists a point at which it is in a state of pure rolling. This point is
not necessarily the center of the contact ellipse, but is very close
␻i
r i⬘
dm
2 冉 冊
⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲

冉 冊
to this center. If the distance between this point and the ball center ⫽
is r ⬘o , the linear velocities of the ball and the screw at this point ⫺ ␻ mC ␣ dm
r ⬘o ⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲
must be equal. As Fig. 4共a兲 shows, the equivalence is given as: 2

冉 冊
(28)
dm
⫹r ⬘o ␻ o cos ␣ o ⫽⫺r ⬘o 共 ␻ b cos ␣ o ⫹ ␻ n sin ␣ o 兲 The replacement of ␻ m shown in Eq. 共28兲 by Eq. 共26b兲 gives
2 cos ␣ o
(22) ␻ cos共 ␣ 兲

冉 冊
␻ i⫽
where d m ⫽2r m ; and ␣ o denotes the contact angle at the nut. dm
r o⬘ ⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲
Substituting Eq. 共14b兲 and Eq. 共14c兲 into Eq. 共22兲 gives the rear- 2

冉 冊
ranged form as: 1⫹
dm
r i⬘ ⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲

␻R
⫽
⫺
dm
2 冉
⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 冊 2
(29)

␻ o r ⬘o 共 cos ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲 The above equation can be used to achieve the ␻ i value. Simi-
larly, the substitution of Eq. 共26a兲 into Eq. 共26b兲 can eliminate ␻ m

⬵
⫺ 冉 dm
2
⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 冊 (23)
and yield the expression of ␻ i . The substitution of this ␻ i expres-
sion into Eq. 共29兲 gives:

r ⬘o 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲 ⫺ ␻ cos共 ␣ 兲

冉 冊
␻ o⫽
dm
Similarly, there exists a point in the contact area formed between r i⬘ ⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲
2

冉 冊
the ball and the screw, at which it is pure rolling. As Fig. 4共b兲 1⫹
shows, the distance between this point and the ball center is de- dm
fined to be r i⬘ . The angular velocity of the rotating screw relative r o⬘ ⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲
2
to the ball is defined to be ␻ i . Equating the linear velocities of the (30)
ball and the screw at this point gives
The ␻ o solution can be obtained by Eq. 共30兲 if the angles of ␤,

冉 ⫺
dm
2 cos ␣ i 冊
⫹r i⬘ ␻ i cos ␣ i ⫽⫺r i⬘ 共 ␻ b cos ␣ i ⫹ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兲
␤ ⬘ , ␣ o and ␣ i are available. Define ␥ ⬘ ⫽D/d m , where D is the
diameter of a ball. The elastic deformation created at the contact
point without sliding is negligibly small compared with the radius
(24)
of a ball without deformations. Furthermore, the contact point
where ␣ i is the contact angle formed at the screw. The substitution without sliding has deviated only a very small distance from the
of Eq. 共14b兲 and Eq. 共14c兲 into Eq. 共24兲 gives center of the elliptical contact area. Therefore,

␻R
⫽
⫺ 冉 dm
2
⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 冊 r ⬘o ⬵r i⬘ ⬵r b ⫽
D
2
(31)

␻ i r i⬘ 共 cos ␤ cos ␤ ⬘ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲 The substitution of Eq. 共26a兲 into Eq. 共30兲 gives

⬵
⫺ 冉 dm
2
⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 冊 (25)
␻m
␻
⫽
1⫹
1
共 1⫹ ␥ ⬘ cos ␣ o 兲共 cos ␣ i ⫹tan ␤ sin ␣ i 兲
(32)

r i⬘ 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲 共 1⫺ ␥ ⬘ cos ␣ i 兲共 cos ␣ o ⫹tan ␤ sin ␣ o 兲

In practical applications, the nut moves in the axial direction The substitution of Eq. 共26a兲 into Eq. 共23兲 to replace ␻ o by ␻ m
without rotation. Therefore, the relationship between the angular yields
velocity of the nut ( ␻ o ) relative to the ball and the ball angular
velocity ( ␻ m ) due to its revolution w.r.t the screw axis is written ␻R ⫺ 共 1⫹ ␥ ⬘ cos ␣ o 兲 cos ␣
⫽ (33)
as: ␻ m ␥ ⬘ 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲

␻ o ⫽⫺ ␻ m cos ␣
The angular velocity of the ball revolution produces the com-
ponent of ␻ m cos ␣ in parallel to the b-axis; the component of the
screw’s angular velocity parallel to the b-axis is ␻ cos ␣. Then, the
screw angular velocity relative to a ball can be written as
␻ i ⫽ 共 ␻ ⫺ ␻ m 兲 cos ␣
Dividing Eq. 共23兲 by Eq. 共25兲 yields
(26a) The angular velocities of ball’s revolution and spinning, ␻ m and
␻ R , can be obtained by Eq. 共32兲 and Eq. 共33兲. Now define a new
coordinate system, (X j ,Y j ,Z j ), ( j⫽i or o兲 such that its origin is
positioned at the center of the contact ellipse of the screw or the
nut. The X j -axis is defined to be tangential to the ball’s circle
formed on the b-n plane 共see Fig. 5兲. The Y j -axis is defined to be
parallel to the t-axis, and the Z j -axis is normal to the contact
(26b) surface at the contact point, and thus points outward of the ball
center.
The slip angle formed at the nut between the X o -axis and the
៝ SA), as Fig. 5 shows, is

冉 冊
opposite direction of the slip velocity (V
dm defined as
r i⬘ ⫹r ⬘o cos ␣ o 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ i ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ i 兲

冉 冊
␻i 2

冉 冊
⫽ (27) VYo
␻o dm ⌿ o ⫽tan⫺1 ⫹␲ (34)
r o⬘ ⫺r i⬘ cos ␣ i 共 cos ␤ cos ␣ o ⫹sin ␤ sin ␣ o 兲 V Xo
2
For the contact point at the nut, the relationship between V Xo and
Substituting Eq. 共26a兲 into Eq. 共27兲 gives V Y o is given as 关9兴

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 Fig. 5 Sliding velocities and slip angles formed at the ball-
screw and ball-nut contacts

V Y o d ␻ m ⫹r b 共 ␻ b cos ␣ o ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ o 兲
⫽ (35)
V Xo ⫺r b ␻ t
where
V Xo ,V Y o ⫽ the components of the ball’s sliding velocity rela-
tive to the nut in the X o - and Y o -directions, respec-
tively.
Similarly, the slip angle ⌿ i at the screw, as shown in Fig. 5, is

⌿ i ⫽tan⫺1 冉 冊
VYi
V Xi
⫹␲ (36a)

For the contact point formed at the screw, the relationship between Fig. 6 „a… Position of ball center and raceway groove curva-
V Xi and V Y i is 关9兴 ture centers with and without applied load „b… the detailed
V Y i d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫺r b 关共 ␻ b ⫺ ␻ cos ␣ 兲 cos ␣ i ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兴 graph to describe the ␪ ⬘ angle shown in Fig. 6„a…
⫽
V Xi r b 共 ␻ t ⫺ ␻ sin ␣ 兲
(36b)
A 2 ⫽BD cos ␣ o ⫹ ␦ r (38b)
where
V Xi ,V Y i ⫽ the components of the ball’s sliding velocity rela- X2
cos ␣ o ⫽ (39a)
tive to the screw in the X i - and Y i -directions, respec- 共 f o ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ o
tively.
X1
The slip angles are applied to evaluate the frictional forces and sin ␣ o ⫽ (39b)
共 f o ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ o
frictional moments created at the contact surfaces of the nut and
the screw. A 2 ⫺X 2
cos ␣ i ⫽ (39c)
2.5 Contact Angle. Figure 6共a兲, shows the positions of the 共 f i ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ i
ball center and the raceway groove curvature centers with and
without applied load. BD is the distance between two centers, o o A 1 ⫺X 1
sin ␣ i ⫽ (39d)
and o i1 , before applying the load. So we can get: 共 f i ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ i

BD⫽ 共 r o ⫹r i ⫺D 兲 ⫽D 冉 ro ri
⫹ ⫺1
D D 冊 (37)
1
R i* ⫽ d m ⫹ 共 f i ⫺0.5兲 D cos ␣ o
2
(39e)

where D denotes the diameter of a ball. Under a static axial load,
the distance BD between these two centers will be changed by the
amounts of the two contact deformations, ␦ r and ␦ a , in the radial
and axial directions respectively, as shown in Fig. 6共b兲.
In the present study, the curvature center of the nut is assumed
to be fixed in a position such that ␦ o and ␦ i are defined to be the
total elastic deformations created at the contact points of the nut
and the screw respectively. Geometric analyses for Fig. 6共a兲 give
关11兴
A 1 ⫽BD sin ␣ o ⫹ ␦ a ⫹ ␪ ⬘ R i*
where
f o : dimensionless radius of curvature of the nut;
( f o ⫽r o /D)
f i : dimensionless radius of curvature of the screw;
( f i ⫽r i /D)
␦ a , ␦ r : the elastic deformations created in the radial and the
axial directions respectively due to the loads
applying in these two directions.
␪ ⬘ : the angular displacement of the b-axis due to the
applications of the axial and radial loads 共see Fig.
(38a) 6共b兲兲.

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 ␣ o : the initial contact angle of ␣ o and ␣ i prior to load- where ␯ n ⬘ denotes the Poisson’s ratio of the screw or the nut; ␯ b is
ing. Poisson’s ratio of the ball; E n ⬘ is Young’s modulus of the screw or
the nut; and E b is Young’s modulus of the ball.
Using the pythagorean theorem in Fig. 6共a兲, it can be found that The value of R n ⬘ i (i⫽1 or 2兲 is needed in order to obtain a n ⬘
共 A 1 ⫺X 1 兲 2 ⫹ 共 A 2 ⫺X 2 兲 2 ⫺ 关共 f i ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ i 兴 2 ⫽0 (40a) and b n ⬘ The curvature sum ␳ n ⬘ is now defined as
1 1 1 1
X 21 ⫹X 22 ⫺ 关共 f 0 ⫺0.5兲 D⫹ ␦ o 兴 2 ⫽0 (40b)
兺 ␳ ⬘⫽ r
n
b1
⫹ ⫹ ⫹
r b2 r n ⬘ 1 r n ⬘ 2
共 n ⬘ ⫽i or o 兲 (45)
The solutions for X 1 and X 2 can be obtained from the solutions
of the above two equations if the solutions of ␦ o and ␦ i are avail- where r b1 and r b2 represent the ball’s radii of curvature in the b-
able. The flow chart of the numerical analyses achieving these two and t-directions, respectively. The r b1 and r b2 values are both
parameters will be discussed later. These solutions are used in Eq. equal to r b . r n ⬘ 1 and r n ⬘ 2 represent the radii of the curvature of
共39兲 to obtain the contact angles, ␣ o and ␣ i , formed at the nut and either the screw or the nut at the contact point, they are parallel to
the screw respectively. the b- and t-directions, respectively. The parameters, r n ⬘ 1 and
r n ⬘ 2 , are given dependent upon the calculations for the screw or
2.6 Frictional Force and Moment. The shear stress ␶ n ⬘ the nut. In the screw raceway,
(n ⬘ ⫽i or o兲 occurring at the contact surface of either the screw or
r b1 ⫽r b

冦
the nut is expressed to be linearly proportional to the Hertz con-
tact pressure P n ⬘ . Thus, it is stated as r b2 ⫽r b
␶ n⬘⫽ ␮ n⬘ P n⬘ (41) Di
r i1 ⫽
where n ⬘ ⫽i for the ball/screw contact, and n ⬘ ⫽o for the ball/nut 2
contact. ␮ n ⬘ denotes the coefficient of friction created by applying r i2 ⫽⫺r i
the corresponding contact pressure, P n ⬘ . The Hertz contact pres-
sure can be obtained if the normal force Q n ⬘ (n ⬘ ⫽i or o兲 acting where D i denotes the inner diameter of the screw. In the raceway
on the contact surface of an ellipse is available. The following of the nut
relationship is given:
r b1 ⫽r b

冦
3Q n ⬘ r b2 ⫽r b
P n⬘⫽ 共 1⫺q ⬘ 2 ⫺t ⬘ 2 兲 1/2, 共 n ⬘ ⫽i or o 兲 (42)
2 ␲ a n⬘b n⬘
Do
where r o1 ⫽⫺
2
q ⬘ : dimensionless x ⬘ -coordinate; (q ⬘ ⫽x ⬘ /a n ⬘ ),
r o2 ⫽⫺r o
t ⬘ : dimensionless y ⬘ -coordinate; (t ⬘ ⫽y ⬘ /b n ⬘ ),
x ⬘ : the x ⬘ -coordinate in the major axis of the elliptical where D o denotes the inner diameter of the nut. Now we can
contact area, define the curvatures at the contact areas as:
y ⬘ : the y ⬘ -coordinate in the minor axis of the elliptical 1 1 1
contact area, ⫽ ⫹ (46a)
a n ⬘ : half length of the major axis of the elliptical contact R n ⬘ 1 r b1 r n ⬘ 1
area, 1 1 1
b n ⬘ : half length of the minor axis of the elliptical contact ⫽ ⫹ 共 n ⬘ ⫽i or o 兲 (46b)
area, R n⬘2 r b2 r n ⬘ 2
The half lengths of the major axis of the elliptical contact sur- 1 1 1
face (a n ⬘ ), and the half length of the minor axis (b n ⬘ ) are ex- ⫽ ⫹ (46c)
R n⬘ R n⬘1 R n⬘2
pressed as 关12兴

冉 冊
then, the three parameters, R i1 , R i2 and R i , at the screw raceway
2 1/3
6K̄ n ⬘ 㜷 n ⬘ Q n ⬘ R n ⬘ are stated as
a n⬘⫽ (43a)
␲ E n⬘ ⬘ r b1 r i1 r b r i1
R i1 ⫽ ⫽

冉 冊
(47a)
1/3 r b1 ⫹r i1 r b ⫹r i1
6㜷 n ⬘ Q n ⬘ R n ⬘
b n⬘⫽ (43b) r b2 r i2 r b r i2
␲ K̄ n ⬘ E n⬘ ⬘
2
R i2 ⫽ ⫽ (47b)
r b2 ⫹r i2 r b ⫹r i2
where K̄ n ⬘ and 㜷 n ⬘ are approximated as 关13兴:

冉 冊 再 冋 冉 冊 册冎
R i1 R i2
R n ⬘ 2 0.6268 R n⬘2 R i⫽ (47c)
K̄ n ⬘ ⫽ 1⫹0.0632 sin 0.6315 ln R i1 ⫹R i2
R n⬘1 R n⬘1
(44a) Similarly, the three parameters given for the nut raceway are de-
scribed as

再 冋 册冉 冊 冎
㜷 n ⬘ ⫽ 1⫹
␲
2
⫺1
R n⬘2
R n⬘1
⫺1.0238

R o1 ⫽
r b1 r o1
r b1 ⫹r o1
(48a)

再 冉 冊 冋 冉 冊 册冎
⫻ 1⫹0.0486
R n⬘2
R n⬘1
⫺1.3358
ln
R n⬘2
R n⬘1
1.0997
(44b)
R o2 ⫽
r b2 r o2
r b2 ⫹r o2
(48b)
E n ⬘ denotes the effective Young’s modulus,
R o1 R o2
2 R o⫽ (48c)
E n⬘ ⬘ ⫽ 共 n ⬘ ⫽i or o 兲 (44c) R o1 ⫹R o2
2
1⫺ ␯ n ⬘ 1⫺ ␯ 2b
⫹ The normal force Q n ⬘ is applied accompanied by an elastic defor-
E n⬘ Eb mation arising at the contact surface. The relationship is stated as

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 Q n ⬘ ⫽k n ⬘ ␦ n ⬘ , n ⬘ ⫽i or o
1.5
(49)
where the elastic modulus, k n ⬘ , for an elliptical contact formed at
either the screw or the nut is given as 关14兴:

k n ⬘ ⫽1.084391⫻106 冉兺 冊 ␳ n⬘
⫺0.5
共 ␦ n*⬘ 兲 ⫺1.5, n 共 n ⬘ ⫽i or o 兲
(50)
In Eq. 共50兲, the dimensionless deformation ␦ n*⬘ is given as 关12兴

冉 冊
1/3
2Jn ⬘ ␲
␦ n*⬘ ⫽ (51)
␲ 2
2K̄ n ⬘ 㜷 n ⬘
where the approximate expression for Jn ⬘ is given as

Jn ⬘ ⫽ 再冉 冊
␲
2
⫹0.5674 ln
R n⬘2
R n⬘1 冋 冉 冊 册冎 1.0277

再
⫻ 1⫺0.0036 sin 1.9 ln 冋 冉 冉 冊冊 册 冎 R n⬘2
R n⬘1
0.8267
(52)

The shear stress components of ␶ n ⬘ produced in the X- and

t-directions are written as:
␶ Xn ⬘ ⫽ ␶ n ⬘ cos共 ⌿ n ⬘ 兲 (53a)
␶ tn ⬘ ⫽ ␶ n ⬘ sin共 ⌿ n ⬘ 兲 (53b)
Here, ␶ Xn ⬘ denotes the shear stress component in the direction
parallel to the b-n plane; whereas ␶ tn ⬘ denotes the shear stress
component in the t-direction. Therefore, the shear stress ␶ Xn ⬘ is
perpendicular to the shear stress ␶ tn ⬘ . Then, the frictional forces
created at a contact surface parallel to the X- and t-axis are ex-
pressed respectively as

F Xn ⬘ ⫽a n ⬘ b n ⬘ 冕冕⫺1
1 冑1⫺t ⬘ 2

⫺ 冑1⫺t ⬘ 2
␶ Xn ⬘ dq ⬘ dt ⬘ (54a)

F tn ⬘ ⫽a n ⬘ b n ⬘ 冕冕⫺1
1 冑1⫺q ⬘ 2

⫺ 冑1⫺q ⬘ 2
␶ tn ⬘ dt ⬘ dq ⬘ (54b)
Fig. 7 „a… Force balance created at the contact point of the
The frictional moments created in the b-, n- and t-directions re- nut, „b… force and moment balances created at a ball
spectively can be obtained by

M bn ⬘ ⫽a n ⬘ b n ⬘ 冕冕1

⫺1
冑1⫺q 2

⫺ 冑1⫺q 2
␶ tn ⬘ r b cos ␣ n ⬘ dt ⬘ dq ⬘ (55a)
1
F c ⫽ md m ␻ m
2
(57b)

冕冕
2
1 冑1⫺q ⬘ 2
M nn ⬘ ⫽a n ⬘ b n ⬘ ␶ tn ⬘ r b sin ␣ n ⬘ dt ⬘ dq ⬘ (55b) where m is the mass of a ball. Since Q o , Q i , F Xo , F Xi , F to are
⫺1 ⫺ 冑1⫺q ⬘ 2 expressed as a function of ␦ o and ␦ i , combining Eq. 共56兲 with Eq.

冕冕 1 冑1⫺t ⬘ 2 共57a兲 can be applied to obtain ␦ o and ␦ i . The force balance in the
M tn ⬘ ⫽a n ⬘ b n ⬘ ␶ Xn ⬘ r b dq ⬘ dt ⬘ (55c) b-direction gives
⫺1 ⫺ 冑1⫺t ⬘ 2
Q o sin ␣ o ⫹F Xo cos ␣ o ⫺Q i sin ␣ i ⫹F Xi cos ␣ i ⫽0 (58)
where ␣ n ⬘ (n ⬘ ⫽i or o兲 denotes the contact angle. Equation 共58兲 is applied to give us the value for ⌿ i (F Xi is a
The force balance held at the contact point of the nut, as Fig. function of ⌿ i ) as long as the angle of ⌿ o can first be achieved
7共a兲 shows, is written as from the previous expressions. The force balance in the
Fa t-direction, while accounting for the drag force (F v ) of a ball
⫽ 共 Q o sin ␣ o ⫹F Xo cos ␣ o 兲 cos ␣ ⫹F to sin ␣ (56) moving in the this direction gives
Z
F ti ⫹F to ⫺F v ⫽0 (59a)
where Z is the number of the balls which are subjected to an
applied load in a ball screw, whereas F a denotes the externally where the ball’s drag force created in the oil lubrication is given as
applied load acting on the nut, and in the screw axial direction. 关14兴,
The force balance held at a ball in the n-direction, as Fig. 7共b兲 ␲␰ C V D 2 共 d m ␻ m 兲 1.95
shows, is written as F V⫽ (59b)
32g
⫺Q i cos ␣ i ⫺F Xi sin ␣ i ⫹Q o cos ␣ o ⫺F Xo sin ␣ o ⫺F c ⫽0
where ␰ denotes the lubricant density; g is the gravity accelera-
(57a)
tion; and C v denotes the drag coefficient of a ball operating in the
where F c denotes the ball’s centrifugal force due to the ball’s oil lubrication. This drag coefficient (C v ) can be examined from
revolution at an angular velocity of ␻ m . This force is expressed as the drag-coefficient plot 关15兴 if the dimensionless velocity param-

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 eter, ␻ R D/2U * , is available. U * is the ball’s velocity moving in M output
the t-direction. It is expressed as U * ⫽ ␻ m r m /cos ␣. ␩⫽ (63)
M input
The balance of all force moments exerted on a ball in the
t-direction is stated as By following the simplifications made by Lin et al. 关6兴 in the
parameters of the contact angle, the slip angle, the friction coef-
M ti ⫹M to ⫺M t ⫽0 (60a) ficient and the viscous force acting on a ball, Eq. 共63兲 is approxi-
The balance held in the n-direction yields mated in the following form
M ni ⫹M no ⫺M n ⫽0 (60b) ␮
␩ ⫽1⫺ (64)
while the balance held in the b-direction yields 2
␣ 共 冑共 cos ¯␣ 兲 2 ⫹ 共 tan ␣ 兲 2 ⫹ ␮ sin ¯␣ 兲
共 cos ␣ 兲 sin ¯
M bi ⫹M bo ⫺M b ⫽0 (60c) In their study, the frictional coefficient 共␮兲 and the contact angle
The combination of Eq. 共59a兲 and Eq. 共60a兲 allows us to solve ( ¯␣ ) at both the inner contact area and the outer contact area are
the friction coefficients, ␮ i and ␮ o , at the contact areas of the assumed to be equal; the viscous force is ignored.
screw and the nut simultaneously. 2.8 Slide-Roll Ratio. For two surfaces moving at contact
It must be mentioned that the gyroscopic angle, ␤ ⬘ , has been the peripheral velocities through the line of contact may be differ-
found to be a very small angle and is thus assumed to be zero in ent. The relative amounts of sliding and rolling can be expressed
the present study. Thus, the value of ␻ t , by Eq. 共14a兲, is also very by the slide-roll ratio (S n ⬘ ). According to the definition of this
small. In order to achieve better convergence in the numerical ratio, it can be written as
iterations, ␻ t is assumed to be zero. The combination of Eq. 共35兲
and Eq. 共34兲 allows ⌿ o to be almost a constant value. These two ៝ psn ⫺V៝ dsn 兩
2兩V 2 兩 V៝ sn ⬘ 兩
⬘ ⬘
knows ( ␤ ⬘ and ⌿ o ) in the numerical iterations allow us to solve S n⬘⫽ ⫽ n ⬘ ⫽i or o (65)
all unknown parameters without using Eq. 共60b兲 and Eq. 共60c兲. ៝ psn ⫹V៝ dsn 兩
兩V ៝ psn ⫹V៝ dsn 兩
兩V
⬘ ⬘ ⬘ ⬘
Nevertheless, the solutions of these unknown parameters have ៝ sn denotes the relative velocity of two solid surfaces at
where V ⬘
been checked satisfying the equivalences of Eq. 共60b兲 and Eq. ៝ dsn denotes the velocity of the driving sur-
共60c兲 with rather small errors. the line of contact; V ⬘
face moving in the direction of the contact line, and V៝ psn ⬘ denotes
2.7 Mechanical Efficiency. The mechanical efficiency of a the velocity of the passive surface moving in the same direction.
ball-screw system is here defined to be the ratio of the output Therefore, the slide-roll ratio for the contact point formed between
moment to the input moment. The output moment is related to the the screw and a ball is defined as
load applied to the nut in the axial direction (F a ). It can be given
as ៝ BSW⫺V៝ Bbl 兩
2兩V
S B⫽ (66)
Fa ៝ BSW⫹V៝ Bb1 兩
兩V
M output⫽ tan ␣ r m (61)
Z ៝ BSW denotes the velocity of the screw surface at the point
where V
The input moment related to the frictional force created at the in contact with the ball. It is given as 关6兴

冋 册冋 册
screw contact area, along with the normal force acting on this
contact area is given as 关9兴 共 r m ⫺r b cos ␣ i 兲 cos ␣ T
t
៝ BSW⫽ ␻
V ⫺r b sin ␣ i sin ␣ n (67)
M input⫽r m 关 Q i sin␣ sin ␣ i ⫹F Xi sin ␣ 共 ⫺r b /r m ⫹cos ␣ i 兲
⫺ 共 r m ⫺r b cos ␣ i 兲 sin ␣ b
⫺cos ␣ F ti 共 1⫺r b /r m cos ␣ o 兲兴 (62) ៝ Bbl denotes the velocity of a ball at the point in contact with the
V
The mechanical efficiency 共␩兲 of a ball-screw system is defined as screw, it is given as 关9兴

冋 d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫹r m cos ␣ ␻ ⫹r b 共 ␻ b cos ␣ i ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ i 兲 cos ␣

册冋 册
T
t
៝ Bbl ⫽
V 0 n (68)
⫺r m ␻ sin ␣ b
Similarly, the slide-roll ratio at the contact point formed between the nut and a ball is defined as

2 兩 V៝ Abl ⫺V៝ Ant 兩

S A⫽ (69)
៝ Abl ⫹V៝ Ant 兩
兩V
៝ Abl of a ball surface 共the driving surface兲 at the point in contact with the nut is expressed as 共关6兴兲
where the sliding velocity V

冋
d 共 ␻ m ⫺ ␻ 兲 ⫹r m cos ␣ ␻ ⫹r b 共 ␻ b cos ␣ o ⫺ ␻ n sin ␣ o 兲
册冋 册
T
t
៝ Abl ⫽
V 0 n (70)
⫺r m sin ␣ ␻ b

and the sliding velocity V៝ Ant of the nut surface 共the passive sur- 3 Results and Discussion
face兲 at the point in contact with a ball is expressed as 共关6兴兲

冋 册冋 册
3.1 Flow Chart of Numerical Analyses. The flow chart ex-
⫺r m sin ␣ ␻ tan ␣ T
t hibited in Fig. 8 is presented to illustrate how all parameters re-
៝ Ant ⫽
V 0 n (71) lated to the roll-slide behavior of a ball-screw are obtained in
⫺r m sin ␣ ␻ b sequence by numerical analyses from the satisfaction of the con-

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 Fig. 9 Contact angles formed at the ballÕscrew and ballÕnut
contact areas

angles shown in Fig. 9 with the elastic deformations shown in Fig.

10 indicate that the contact angle is an influential factor determin-
ing elastic deformation. The results for the deformations created at
either the screw or the nut indicate that an increase in the contact
angle by means of increasing the screw rotational speed can re-
duce the elastic deformation. Increasing the load applied in the
axial direction would increase the elastic deformations produced
Fig. 8 Flow chart of the numerical analysis in the present at both the screw and the nut. A larger difference in the elastic
model deformation between ␦ i and ␦ o is quite noticeable under a high
screw rotational speed as well as a small axial load. This differ-
ence can be narrowed by increasing the axial load applied in the
vergence criterion. It should be mentioned that it’s necessary to nut.
assume an initial value for the angular displacement ( ␪ ⬘ ) and the
elastic deformation ( ␦ a ) before starting the loops of numerical 3.4 Angular Velocities of Ball’s Spinning and Revolution.
iterations. This helps us to evaluate ␣ o and ␣ i and regard them as Two angular velocities are produced at a ball when a ball-screw
the initial values of two contact angles in the following processes system is operating at one screw’s rotational speed and under an
to analyze all parameters. These two contact angles converge to axial load acting on the nut. These two angular velocities are
the solutions if the relative error of the slip angle ⌿ i in the itera- expressed in the absolute value. Both the angular velocity ( ␻ R ) of
tions satisfies the criterion of convergence. Furthermore, this has
the added advantage of reducing the computational time needed to
reach the convergence of solutions.
3.2 Contact Angles at Formed Screw and Nut. In prac-
tice, the contact angle formed at the screw is different from which
is formed at the nut. The difference between these two contact
angles is enlarged by increasing the screw’s rotational speed. Fig-
ure 9 shows the variations of these two contact angles as a func-
tion of the axial load applied in the nut and the screw rotational
speed. In general, the contact angle formed at the screw is larger
than that formed at the nut. The contact angle at the screw is
enlarged by increasing the screw’s rotating speed whereas the con-
tact angle at the nut is reduced by increasing the screw’s rotational
speed. At the same screw rotational speed, the difference between
these two contact angles becomes the largest as the axial load is
the smallest. This difference is narrowed when the axial load is
elevated.
3.3 Elastic Deformations Produced at Screw and Nut.
The normal force created on the contact surface of either the
screw or the nut can cause an elastic deformation. This elastic
deformation denotes the total deformation of two solid surfaces
under the Hertzian contact. The elastic deformations created at the
contact point of either the screw or the nut under various operat- Fig. 10 Elastic deformations formed at the ballÕscrew and ballÕ
ing conditions are shown in Fig. 10. Comparisons of the contact nut contact areas

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 Fig. 11 Ball’s spinning and revolving angular velocities vary-
ing with the screw rotational speed

the ball’s spinning and the angular velocity ( ␻ m ) of the ball’s

revolution about the screw axis, as Fig. 11 shows, are almost
linearly increased by increasing the screw rotational speed. The
magnitude of ␻ m , as Eq. 共32兲 shows, is expressed as a function of
two contact angles, the gyroscopic angle 共␤兲 and the diameter
ratio ␥ ⬘ ( ␥ ⬘ ⫽D/d m ). The value of ␻ R due to ball’s spinning is
almost triple the screw’s rotational speed.
The changes in these two angular velocities due to the change
of the axial load applied in the nut are negligibly small even if the
load is varied in a wide range.
3.5 Slide-Roll Ratio. Operating conditions such as the load
applied in the axial direction and the screw’s rotational speed are
two of several factors that can affect the sliding behavior of two
solid surfaces. The slide-roll ratios occurring at the ball-screw and
the ball-nut contact areas are shown in Fig. 12共a兲 and Fig. 12共b兲,
respectively. As Fig. 12共a兲 shows, the slide-roll ratio arising at the
ball-screw contact area is increased by increasing the screw’s re-
lational speed. However, the application of a higher axial load to
the nut in the axial direction would reduce the slip ratio. Increas-
ing the screw’s rotational speed, as Fig. 11 shows, would increase
both the spinning and the revolution angular velocities of the ball, Fig. 12 The slider-roll ratios evaluated at the „a… ball-screw „b…
especially is regard to the spinning. This leads to the relative ball-nut contact area
sliding velocity between a ball and the screw being increased.
Increasing the load applied to the nut in the axial direction can
increase the normal load created at the screw’s contact area. This
behavior would enhance the grasping force and lessens the ball’s Fig. 14共a兲 and Fig. 14共b兲 respectively. A higher friction coefficient
sliding motion, thus resulting in a reduction of the slide-roll ratio. is created in the ball-screw contact because an insignificant differ-
The behavior of the slide-roll ratio occurring at the ball-nut ence in the friction force is created between the ball-screw and the
contact area is exactly opposite to that demonstrated in the ball- ball-nut contacts, but a relatively lower normal force is produced
screw contact area. However, the effect of changing the operating at the ball-screw contact area.
conditions on the slide-roll ratio is negligibly small; the slide-roll The screw’s rotational speed and the load applied in the axial
ratio is almost invariant under a wide range of operating direction are two factors influential to the frictional coefficients.
conditions. Increasing either the screw’s rotational speed or the axial load can
increase two frictional coefficients significantly.
3.6 Friction Coefficients at Screw and Nut. Different nor-
mal force generates different frictional coefficients at the screw or 3.7 Drag Force and Centrifugal Force. The drag force of
the nut, even under the same operating conditions. The friction a ball opposite to the moving direction due to oil lubrication and
coefficients varying with the operating conditions are shown in the centrifugal force of a ball due to a high rotational speed of the
Fig. 13 for a ball screw with a helix angle of 8.74 deg and a pitch screw are presented as a function of the screw rotational speed
distance of 10 mm. Under the same operating conditions, the fric- and the axial load applied in the nut. As Fig. 15 shows, the drag
tional coefficient formed at the screw is always higher than that force is slightly increased by increasing the screw rotational
formed at the nut. This behavior can be observed by examining speed; whereas the centrifugal force of a ball is significantly in-
the magnitudes of the normal load and the friction force shown in creased by the rise of the screw rotational speed. The effect of

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 Fig. 13 Friction coefficients created on the nut and the screw
surfaces at various screw rotational speeds

increasing the applied load on the nut has very little effect on the
centrifugal force or the drag force even if the screw’s rotational
speed is increased significantly.
The increase in the centrifugal force of a ball would lead to a
decrease in the normal force occurring at the ball-screw contact,
but an increase in the normal force at the ball-nut contact. This
characteristic is exhibited in Fig. 14共a兲. The behavior demon-
strated in the normal force also causes the reduction of the elastic
deformation formed at the ball-screw contact and the elevation of
the elastic deformation formed at the ball-nut contact. This ex-
plains why is Fig. 10 ␦ i ⬎ ␦ o when ␻ ⫽1070 rpm, and ␦ i ⬍ ␦ o
when ␻ ⫽3000 rpm..
3.8 Gyroscopic Angle ␤. The gyroscopic angle ␤, as Fig.
16 shows, is acquired by numerical iterations. All other param-
eters are not available until this angle becomes convergent in the
numerical iterations. The ␤ angle is related to the magnitude of
the ball’s spinning angular velocity being projected on the t-b
plane. This angle is enlarged by increasing the screw rotational
speed, but is reduced by increasing the nut load applied in the
axial direction.
3.9 Mechanical Efficiency. The mechanical efficiency of a
ball-screw system evaluated by both the present analysis or the Fig. 14 „a… Normal loads created at the contact areas of the
model shown by Lin et al. 共关9兴兲, as Fig. 17 demonstrates, is low- nut and the screw „b… friction forces created at the contact ar-
ered by increasing the screw rotational speed. However, a higher eas of the nut and the screw
mechanical efficiency is generated by a ball screw under a higher
axial load.
For a ball-screw system subjected to an axial load applied in the
nut, increasing the screw’s rotational speed needs a larger input of
torque to overcome the larger frictional torque produced at the tional speeds. This difference is due to the simplifications of some
ball-screw contact area. Therefore, the mechanical efficiency is
parameters which are made in the model described by Lin et al.
decreased by increasing the screw’s rotational speed.
共关9兴兲. In the research done by Lin et al. 共关9兴兲, the following four
Increasing the axial load applied in the nut can induce higher
values of both the moment output 共the numerator of Eq. 共63兲兲 and simplifications have been made: 共1兲 the contact angle at the nut
the moment input 共the denominator of Eq. 共63兲兲 of a ball-screw ( ␣ o ) is equal to the contact angle at the screw ( ␣ i ). 共2兲 the slip
system. However, the linear growth rate of the moment output is angle formed at the nut (⌿ o ) is assumed to be equal to the slip
evidently higher than that of the moment input. Therefore, the angle formed at the screw plus 180 deg; therefore, the simplifica-
increase in the load applied in the nut can increase the mechanical tion of the derivation made by Lin et al. gives; The normal force
efficiency. ratio, Q o /Q i ⫽⫺sin ⌿i /sin ⌿o⬵1. 共3兲 the friction coefficients cre-
The difference in mechanical efficiency between the evalua- ated at the two contact areas are assumed to be the same ( ␮ i
tions based on the model of Lin et al. and the present model is ⫽ ␮ o ). 共4兲 the slip angle at the screw (⌿ i ) has formed an angle of
quite noticeable, especially when experiencing high screw rota- 180 deg from the slip angle at the nut (⌿ o ); the slip angle at the

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 Fig. 15 The drag forces and the centrifugal forces created at a
ball under various operating conditions
screw being obtained by ⌿ i ⫽tan⫺1(tan ␣/cos ␣i). This simplifica-
tion is made because the drag 共viscous兲 force of a ball in oil
lubrication was neglected.
In the present study, the above simplifications or assumptions
are no longer made in the current analysis; thus noticeable result-
ing in a difference between these two mechanical efficiencies.
3.10 Normal Loads and Friction Force Varying with Op-
erating Condition. The normal load created at either the screw
or the nut is determined by the load applied in the nut and the
rotational speed of the screw. The variations of the normal load
with the contact angle at different operating conditions are shown
in Fig. 14共a兲. In this plot, there exists a line to separate the results
for the normal loads occurring at these two contact areas. For the
results on the right-hand side of this line, the normal load created
at the screw is decreased by increasing the screw’s rotational
speed, irrespective of the operating conditions. Conversely, the
normal load created at the nut is increased by increasing the
Fig. 18 Contact angles formed at the nut and the screw vary-
ing with the helix angle
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Fig. 19 Mechanical efficiency of a ball screw system varying
with the helix angle of the screw surface
screw’s rotational speed 共shown on the left-hand side of the
straight line兲. For a constant load applied to the nut in the axial
direction, any method that can increase the contact angle at the
contact point always results in a decline of the normal load. The
normal load acting on the nut is generally higher than that acting
on the screw because the contact angle formed at the nut is rela-
tively larger. The dominating factor in determining the normal
load of a contact area is the load applied to the nut in the axial
direction. Increasing the axial load can elevate the normal load of
a contact area, irrespective of the location of the contact area.
Friction forces created at the two contact surfaces due to the
existence of a relative velocity between two moving surfaces are
examined to be a function of the operating conditions. Figure
14共b兲 exhibits the variations in friction forces with the contact
angle of the screw. For a screw operating under a constant axial
load applied in the nut, the increase in the screw’s rotational speed
produces almost a linear increase in the friction force. As com-
pared with the effect of the screw’s rotational speed on the friction
force created at the contact area, the importance of the load ap-
Fig. 20 Friction coefficients created at the ball-screw and the
ball-nut contact areas varying with the slide-roll ratio
Transactions of the ASME

Fig. 16 Variations of the gyroscopic angle ␤ with the screw
rotational speed
plied to the nut in the axial direction is much less. If a constant
screw rotational speed is considered, the increase in the axial load
applied in the nut can raise the friction force created at either the
screw or at the nut. However, those changes in the friction force
are negligibly small even in a wide range of the load changes in
the nut. It can thus be concluded that the relative sliding velocity
of the two contact surfaces, becomes the dominant factor to the
magnitude of the friction force.
3.11 Effect of Helix Angle on Contact Angle and Mechani-
cal Efficiency. The contact angles, ␣ o and ␣ i , formed at differ-
ent operating conditions and different screw helix angles are
shown in Fig. 18. Increasing the screw helix angle slightly will
increase the contact angle formed at the screw, but slightly de-
crease the contact angle formed at the nut. The increment or the
decrement in the contact angle, however, is very small.
Fig. 17 The mechanical efficiencies of a ball-screw system
evaluated by the present model and the model of Lin et al.
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Despite the limited effect of changing the screw helix angle on
the contact angles ( ␣ o and ␣ i ) of a ball-screw, this condition is
still influential to the mechanical efficiency of the ball-screw sys-
tem. The results of the mechanical efficiency, which are evaluated
on the basis of the present model and the model developed by Lin
et al. 共关9兴兲 are shown in Fig. 19 for comparison. According to the
model of Lin et al., the ball-screw’s mechanical efficiency, as Eq.
共64兲 shows, is almost independent of the magnitude of the helix
angle because the value of cos ␣ in the denominator is very close
to one even when the helix angle is enlarged to 10 deg. However,
its mechanical efficiency is significantly elevated by increasing
the helix angle of the ball-screw, as Fig. 19 shows. The greatest
distinction between these two models results from some simplifi-
cations which have been made 共discussed in Sec. 3.9兲 in the
model designed by Lin et al. So, the effect of changing the helix
angle on those parameters and thus the denominator of Eq. 共63兲 in
the present study becomes significant. This would yield a smaller
denominator when the helix angle is increased, thus resulting in
an increase in the mechanical efficiency.
3.12 Relationship Between Friction Coefficient and Slide-
Roll Ratio. Friction coefficients varying with the slide-roll ratio
can be examined at the contact area formed at either the ball-
screw or the but-nut contact. As Fig. 20 shows, the results of the
friction coefficients for all operating conditions can be expressed
as a linear function of the sliding-roll ratio although the slopes of
these two straight lines are opposite in sign. For the friction coef-
ficients created by the ball-screw contact, the straight line pos-
sesses a positive slope. Whereas for the friction coefficients cre-
ated by the ball-nut contact, the straight line has a negative slope.
However, the absolute value of this negative slope is so large that
friction coefficients are greatly affected by even a little change in
the slide-roll ratio. Whether the sign has a positive or negative
value, is related to the behavior of the slide-roll ratio varying with
the screw’s rotational speed, as Fig. 共12a兲 and Fig. 共12b兲 demon-
strate. If the slide-roll ratio is increased by increasing the screw’s
rotational speed, a positive slope of the straight line is produced.
Conversely if the slide-roll ratio is decreased by increasing the
screw’s rotational speed, a negative slope of the straight line is
created.
4 Conclusions
1. The contact angle formed at the screw is in general larger
than that formed at the nut. The former is enlarged by in-
creasing the screw’s rotational speed; whereas the latter is
decreased by increasing the screw’s rotational speed. The
difference in the contact angles created at the ball-screw and
the ball-nut contacts has a substantial effect on the perfor-
mance and the behavior of a ball-screw system.
2. The elastic deformations created at both the screw and the
nut are reduced by increasing the screw’s rotational speed.
Increasing the axial load applied in the nut would increase
the elastic deformations produced at both the screw and the
nut.
3. Both the angular velocity of the ball’s spinning and the an-
gular velocity of the ball’s revolution present an almost lin-
ear increase by increasing the screw’s rotational speed. The
changes in these two angular velocities due to the change in
the axial load applied in the nut are negligibly small.
4. Under the same operating conditions, the friction coefficient
produced at the ball-screw contact is always higher than that
formed at the ball-nut contact. Increasing the screw’s rota-
tional speed of the axial load applied in the nut can elevate
the friction coefficients at both contact areas.
5. The difference in the mechanical efficiency of a ball-screw
system between the evaluations based on the model devel-
oped by Lin et al. and those of the present model is quite
significant, especially when operating at high screw rota-
DECEMBER 2003, Vol. 125 Õ 731
 tional speeds. These differences results from certain simpli-
fications and assumptions made in the study performed by
Lin et al. 关9兴.
6. The mechanical efficiency of a ball-screw system is elevated
significantly by correctly increasing the helix angle of the
screw surface.
Nomenclature
1 ⫽ the axis passes through origin o and forms
an angle ␣ from z axis
2 ⫽ projection of the U-axis on the t-b plane
3 ⫽ axis perpendicular to the U-axis but parallel
to the W-axis
A 1 ⫽ horizontal distance between o i2 and o o
A 2 ⫽ vertical distance between o i2 and o o
a n ⬘ ⫽ half length of the major axis of the ellipti-
cal contact area
b ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the Frenet
coordinates
b n ⬘ ⫽ half length of the minor axis of the ellipti-
cal contact area
C V ⫽ drag coefficient
D ⫽ ball diameter
D i ⫽ inner diameter of screw
D o ⫽ inner diameter of nut
d ⫽ distance between two origins, o and o ⬘ .
d m ⫽ twice length of r m
E b ⫽ ball’s effective Young’s modulus
E n ⬘ ⫽ effective Young’s modulus of screw or nut
F ⫽ inertia force vector
F a ⫽ force applied to the nut in the axial direc-
tion
F c ⫽ ball’s centrifugal force
F v ⫽ ball’s drag force created in oil lubrication
F x ,F y ,F z ⫽ inertia forces created in the x-, y- and
z-directions respectively due to ball motion
F Xn ⬘ ,F tn ⬘ ⫽ friction forces in X j - and t-directions
f o ⫽ dimensionless radius of curvature of the nut
f i ⫽ dimensionless radius of curvature of the
screw
g ⫽ gravity acceleration
k n ⬘ ⫽ elastic modulus of the screw or the nut
L ⫽ pitch length of the screw
M ⫽ vector of inertia moment
M̄ ⫽ distance vector of ball’s inertia moment
M input ⫽ input moment is related to the normal
forces and friction forces
M output ⫽ output moment is related to the load F a
M t ,M n ,M b ⫽ moments produced in the t-, n- and
b-directions respectively due to ball inertia
forces
M tn ⬘ ,M nn ⬘ ,M bn ⬘⫽ frictional moments produced in the t-, n-
and b-directions, respectively
m ⫽ ball mass
n ⫽ coordinate direction distance of the Frenet
coordinates
o ⫽ origin of the rotating coordinates
o ⬘ ⫽ center of ball
P n ⬘ ⫽ Hertz contact pressure formed at the contact
surface of the screw or the nut
q ⬘ ⫽ dimensionless x ⬘ -coordinate
Q n ⬘ ⫽ normal force created at the contact surface
of the screw or the nut
R i* ⫽ distance between o i1 and 1 1 axis
r ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the fourth
coordinates
r ⫽ position vector of r
732 Õ Vol. 125, DECEMBER 2003
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r b ⫽ ball radius
r i⬘ ,r ⬘o ⫽ distances between the contact point of the
screw and ball center and between the con-
tact point of the nut and ball center, respec-
tively
r m ⫽ projection length of oo ⬘
S A ⫽ slide-roll ratio at the contact point formed
between the nut and a ball
S B ⫽ slide-roll ratio for the contact point formed
between the screw and a ball
S n ⬘ ⫽ slide-roll ratio evaluated at the contact sur-
face of the screw or the nut
t ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the Frenet
coordinates
t ⬘ ⫽ dimensionless y ⬘ -coordinate
ṫ ,ṅ,ḃ ⫽ linear velocity of t-, n- and b-directions,
respectively
ẗ ,n̈,b̈ ⫽ linear acceleration of t-, n- and b-directions,
respectively
U ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the third
coordinates
U * ⫽ ball’s velocity moving in the t-direction
V ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the third
coordinates
V bb ,V bn ⫽ linear velocity components created at a ball
in the b- and n-directions, respectively
V SB ⫽ slip velocity at the ball/screw contact point
V Sb ,V Sn ⫽ linear velocity components created at the
screw in the b- and n-directions, respec-
tively
V X j ,V Y j ⫽ components of ball’s sliding velocity rela-
tive to the screw in the X- and Y-directions
( j⫽i or o兲, respectively
៝ Abl ⫽ sliding velocity of a ball surface 共the driv-
V
ing surface兲 at the point in contact with the
nut
៝ Ant ⫽ sliding velocity of the nut surface 共the pas-
V
sive surface兲 at the point
៝ Bbl ⫽ velocity of a ball at the point in contact
V
with the screw
V៝ BSW ⫽ velocity of the screw surface at the point in
contact with the ball in contact with a ball
V៝ dsn ⫽ velocity of the driving surface moving in
⬘
the direction of the contact line
៝ psn ⫽ velocity of the passive surface moving in
V ⬘
the direction of the contact line
៝ sn ⫽ relative velocity of two solid surfaces at the
V ⬘
contact line
W ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the third
coordinates
X j ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the contact
coordinates, tangential to the ball’s circle
formed on the b-n plane ( j⫽i or o兲
x ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the rotating
coordinates
x ⬘ ⫽ the coordinate in the major axis of the el-
liptical contact area
ẍ,ÿ,z̈ ⫽ linear acceleration of x-, y- and z-directions,
respectively
ẍ ⬘ ,ÿ ⬘ ,z̈ ⬘ ⫽ linear acceleration of t-, n- and b-directions,
respectively
Y j ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the contact
coordinates, parallel to the t-axis on the
contact surfaces ( j⫽i or o兲
y ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the rotating
coordinates
Transactions of the ASME
 y ⬘ ⫽ the coordinate in the minor axis of the el- Table 1 List of the parameters used in the present analyses
liptical contact area parameter value unit
Z ⫽ number of the balls in a ball-screw system
subjected to a load I. geometry parameters
of ball screw
Z j ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the contact 共1兲 Helix angle ␣ 8.74 degree
coordinates, normal to the contact surface 共2兲 Pitch 10 mm
at the contact point ( j⫽i or o兲 共3兲 inner radius of screw d i 34.9 mm
共4兲 Pitch cycle diameter d m 41.4 mm
z ⫽ coordinate-direction distance of the rotating 共5兲 radius of curvature 3.429 mm
coordinates of the screw raceway, r i
␣ ⫽ screw helix angle 共6兲 radius of curvature 3.429 mm
of the nut raceway, r o
¯␣ ⫽ contact angle in Lin et al. analysis 共7兲 ball’s diameter 6.35 mm
␣ o ⫽ initial contact angle prior to loading 共8兲 density of lubricant 0.8 g/cm3
␣ i , ␣ o ⫽ contact angles formed at the ball/screw and oil
共9兲 viscosity of lubricant 68 cst
ball/nut contacts, respectively oil
␤ ⫽ the gyroscopic angle between the U-axis 共10兲 number of balls 52
and the 2-axis in raceway
共11兲 Young’s modulus 2.111⫻1011 N/m2
␤ ⬘ ⫽ the gyroscopic angle between the 2-axis 共12兲 Poisson’s ratio 0.3
and the b-axis II. operating conditions
␦ a , ␦ r ⫽ elastic deformations created in the radial 共1兲 axial load 500, 1000, 1500, N
2000, 3000, 5000
and axial directions respectively due to 共2兲 rotational speed 1070, 1249, 1496, 1760, rpm
loads applied in these two directions for screw 2100, 2500, 3000
␦ n* ⫽ dimensionless deformation of contact areas
⬘
␰ ⫽ lubricant density References
␩ ⫽ mechanical efficiency
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关10兴 Huang, H. T., and Ravani, B., 1997, ‘‘Contact Stress Analysis in Ball Screw
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Radial Roller Bearings under Arbitrary Load and Speed Conditions,’’ ASME J.
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screw surface pp. 156 –171.
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␻ o ⫽ angular velocity of the nut relative to a Key Geometrical Parameters of Elliptic Hertzian Contacts,’’ ASME J. Tribol.,
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␻ R ⫽ spinning angular velocity of a ball 关14兴 Harris, T. A., 1973, ‘‘Rolling Element Bearing Dynamics,’’ Wear, 23, pp. 311–
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t-, n- and b-directions, respectively London.

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