Failure Analysis

State of Damage
State Description
Causes
Countermeasures
  • Discolored inner ring raceway, rolling elements and cage due to temperature rises and the reaction of lubricant
  • Poor lubrication
  • Lubricant dissolves at high temperature to stain raceway surface
  • Sharp rise in temperature
  • Improve lubrication
  • Axial lines on the raceways and rolling surfaces due to improper installation and dismounting
  • Inner ring and outer ring misalignment during installation and dismounting
  • Impact load during installation and dismounting
  • Use appropriate tools
  • Use press machine to prevent impact load
  • Mutual center alignment during installation
  • Rusting and corrosion of the bearing includes: crater rust of the raceways, rolling element surface, pear skin shape rust, crater rust of the same space distance with rolling element, comprehensive rust and corrosion
  • Intrusion of water or corrosive material (lacquer, gas)
  • Inappropriate lubricant
  • Water-drop due to condensing of water vapor
  • Stall at high temperature and moisture
  • Improper anticorrosion during transportation
  • Inappropriate storage
  • Improve sealing
  • Improve lubrication
  • Improve anti rust measures and storage methods
  • Pay special attention during use
  • Inner ring, outer ring, rolling element and retainer discoloration softening, deposits and breaking due to drastically temperature rises during operation
  • Poor lubrication
  • Over speed
  • Clearance is too small
  • Intrusion of water and foreign particles
  • Poor precision of shaft and housing, large deflection of the shaft
  • Overload
  • Improve lubrication
  • Select proper bearings
  • Proper fitting practice, bearing clearance and preload
  • Improve sealing
  • Adjust the precision of the shaft and housing
  • Improve installation method
  • Creeping refers to the relative sliding motion between the fitting surfaces when there is clearance between them
  • It appears as excessive polishing on the fitting surfaces which have the creeping motion, sometimes there is scoring
  • Insufficient interference or clearance fit
  • Loose fastening of adapter sleeve
  • Check the interference and implement locking measures
  • Fasten adapter sleeve
  • Check the shaft and housing precision
  • Axial preload
  • Fasten the end face of the bearing
  • Glue the fitting surface to avoid creeping
  • Coat lubricant on the fitting surfaces
  • Wear caused by vibration and shaking between rolling elements and raceways propagation into false Brinelling
  • Vibration, shaking and small amplitude swings during bearing transportation
  • Poor lubrication
  • Fix the location of the bearing and shafts during transportation
  • Separate the bearing inner ring and outer ring package during transportation
  • Preload the bearing reduce the vibration
  • Use appropriate lubricant
  • Wear caused by repeated mutual minute sliding between two contact surfaces
  • Occurs at the contact surfaces between the raceways and the rolling elements
  • Produces bronze or black wear powder, so also called fretting wear corrosion
  • Poor lubrication
  • Swing motion of low amplitude
  • Insufficient interference
  • Use appropriate lubricant
  • Preload
  • Check the interference
  • Coat fitting surfaces with lubricant
  • By wear, it means the friction leads to wear at the raceway or the roller end face, ring end faces and cage pocket
  • Foreign material enters
  • Development caused by etching or corrosion
  • Poor lubrication, rolling element skidding caused by irregular movement
  • Improve seal
  • Clean the housing
  • Thoroughly filter the lubricating oil
  • Improve the lubricant and lubrication method
  • Denting on the raceway or rolling surfaces due to the metal powder, foreign particles
  • Roller spaced indents (true Brinelling) caused by incorrect handling or shock load
  • Foreign particles such as metal powder
  • Impact load during assembly or transportation
  • Excessive load
  • Clean shaft and housing
  • Improve seal
  • Filter the lubrication oil
  • Improve installation and use methods
  • By scratch, it means surface damage caused by collection of tiny burns resulting from skidding and oil film hot breaking on the raceway or rolling path
  • Produce rough surface with hot sticking
  • High-speed light load
  • Acceleration and deceleration
  • Impropriate lubricant
  • Water ingress
  • Improve preload
  • Adjust bearing clearance
  • Use lubricant with good oil film property
  • Improve lubricating method
  • Improve seal
  • By pinching, it means accumulation of parts of the tiny burns on the gliding surface leads to surface damage
  • Linear scars of the circumferential direction of raceways and rolling surface
  • Axle toroidal pendulum scar on roller end surface
  • Pinching at the rib face contacted with roller end face
  • Overload, excessive preload
  • Poor lubrication
  • Foreign particles
  • Inner and outer rings misalignment, shaft deflection
  • Poor precision of axle and bearing box
  • Check the bearing load, adjust bearing selection
  • Appropriate preload
  • Improve lubricant and lubricating method
  • Check the shaft and housing precision
  • Fish scale flaking on the raceways or rollers due to fatigue during bearing rotating under load
  • Overload, improper installation, load moment
  • Intrusion of foreign particles, water entering
  • Poor lubrication, inappropriate lubricant
  • Inappropriate bearing clearance
  • Poor precision of housing, uneven rigidity of housing, shaft has large axial deflection
  • Rusting, etching pit, scratching and brinelling
  • False Brinelling further development
  • Check the bearing load, adjust bearing selection
  • Improve installation method
  • Improve seal device, antirust while machine halt
  • Use lubricant with adequate viscosity, improve lubrication method
  • Check the shaft and housing precision
  • Adjust clearance