An experimental evaluation of the stresses in drilled balls

Stresses in dimensionally similar large models of 40-, 50- and 60-percent mass reduction cylindrically hollow 'drilled' bearing balls were experimentally evaluated with flat strain gage rosettes. Dimensionless principal stress coefficients were calculated and were applied to estimate the bending stresses in the drilled balls of three series of full-scale bearing experiments. Stresses were highest when the applied load approached the edge of the hole, and ranged up to almost 620 million Newtons per sq m at the bore.