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Contents
Introduction....................... ...... ... ... .......... ... ................ ..... ...... ............ .... ..... ... .... 3
Bearing failures and their causes ........... ........... .... ..................... .... ... ..... .... ... 3
How is bearing life defined?............. ....... ... .......... ......................................... 3
Path patterns and their interpretation..... .............................................. ... .......... 4
Different types of bearing damage........... ............ ........................... ..... ............. 9
Wear ................. ...... .......... ........................ ... ....... ........................................... 10
Wear caused by abrasive particles ..... ......... .................................. ............ 10
Wear caused by inadequate lubrication. .................................................... 11
Wear caused by vibration .. ............................. ................ ............... ..... ....... 12
Indentations............................... ..... .. ........... .................................................. 14
Indentations caused by faulty mounting or overloading............................. 14
Indentations caused by foreign particles. ... .. ... ........ ................................... 16
Smearing.. ................................... ........ ............ .. ............................................ 17
Smearing of roller ends and guide flanges ................................................ 17
Smearing of rollers and raceways..... ..... ............ ........................................ 18
Raceway smearing at intervals corresponding to the roller spacing.......... 19
Smearing of external surfaces....... ..................... ........ .......... ..................... 21
Smearing in thrust ball bearings .... .................................................. .......... 22
Surface distress ... ...... ....................... .. .... .... ......... ......................................... 23
Corrosion.... .............. .............................................. .......................... ... ........ .. 24
Deep seated rust... ..... ... ...... ... ........ ....... ...................................... .. .... ... ..... . 24
Fretting corrosion......................... ........ .......... ..................................... ...... . 25
Damage caused by the passage of electric current ..................... .. ........ ...... . 26
Flaking (spalling) ................ ............................................ ........... ... ................. 28
Flaking caused by preloading .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 29
Flaking caused by oval compression.. .. ..................................................... 30
Flaking caused by axial compression .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 31
Flaking caused by misalignment........ ........................................................ 32
Flaking caused by indentations ..................................................................
Flaking caused by smearing ........ .............. ...... ..........................................
Flaking caused by deep seated rust ........ .... .......................................... ....
Flaking caused by fretting corrosion.. .. .. ........ ...................................... ......
Flaking caused by fluting or craters .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
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34
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Cracks ... .. ...... ............. ..... .................... ..... .. ....... ....... ........................... .. ...... .. 38
Cracks caused by rough treatment............................................................ 39
Cracks caused by excessive drive-up .... .. .......... ................ ........................ 40
Cracks caused by smearing...... ... ... ... ....... ...... ...................... .......... ........... 41
Cracks caused by fretting corrison...... .................. .............. ....................... 42
Cage damage.............. ........ .............................. ........... .......... ... .. ............... ... 43
Vibration. ..................... ........................ ..... .......... ................ .... .. ... ..... ..... ..... 43
Excessive speed .......... ................... .......... ................................................. 43
Wear .................. ................................... ................ ........... .......... ........ ...... .. 43
Blockage .. ...................................................................... ............... .... ..... .... 43
Other causes of cage damage.. .......................................................... ....... 43
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Introduction
Bearing failures and magnitude of the load. Fatigue is the The life of a rolling bearing is de-
result of shear stresses cyclically fined as the number of revolutions the
their causes appearing immediately below the load bearing can perform before incipient
Bearings are among the most import- carrying surface. After a time these flaking occurs. This does not mean to
ant components in the vast majority of stresses cause cracks which gradually say that the bearing cannot be used
machines and exacting demands are extend up to the surface. As the rolling after then. Flaking is a relatively long ,
made upon their carrying capacity and elements pass over the cracks frag- drawn-out process and makes its pres-
reliability. Therefore it is quite natural ments of material break away and this ence known by increasing noise and
that rolling bearings should have come is known as flaking or spalling. The vibration levels in the bearing. There-
to play such a prominent part and that flaking progressively increases in ex- fore, as a rule, there is plenty of time to
over the years they have been the tent (figs 1 to 4) and eventually makes prepare for a change of bearing.
subject of extensive research. Indeed the bearing unserviceable.
rolling bearing technology has de-
veloped into a particular branch of
science. SKF has been well to the fore-
front right from the start and has long
led this field
Figs 1-4 Progressive stages of flaking
Among the benefits resulting from
this research has been the ability to
calculate the life of a bearing with con-
siderable accuracy, thus making it poss-
ible to match the bearing life with the
service life of the machine involved.
Unfortunately it sometimes happens
that a bearing does not attain its calcu-
lated rating life. There may be many
reasons for this - heavier loading than
has been anticipated, inadequate or
unsuitable lubrication, careless hand-
ling, ineffective sealing, or fits that are
too tight, with resultant insufficient
internal bearing clearance. Each of
these factors produces its own particu-
lar type of damage and leaves its own
special imprint on the bearing. Con-
sequently, by examining a damaged
bearing, it is possible, in the majority
of cases, to form an opinion on the
cause of the damage and to take the
requisite action to prevent a recurrence.
51C.F 3
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
When a rolling bearing rotates under which the bearing has operated. By the appearance and location of the
load the contacting surfaces of the roll- learning to distinguish between normal patterns prove to be useful aids in
ing elements and the raceways norm- and abnormal path patterns there is diagnosing the cause of the damage.
ally become somewhat dull in appear- every prospect of being able to assess Deep groove ball bearings and
ance. This is no indication of wear in correctly whether the bearing has run thrust ball bearings have been used for
the usual sense of the word and is of under the proper conditions. illustrative purposes as they display
no significance to the bearing life. The The following series of figures illus- such characteristic path patterns.
dull surface in an inner or outer ring trates normal path patterns under diffe- However, the figures are applicable,
raceway forms a pattern called, for the rent rotational and loading conditions with some modifications, to other types
purposes of this paper, the path pat- (figs 5 to 11) as well as typical patterns of bearing as well.
tern. This patter11 varies in appearance resulting from abnormal working condi-
according to the rotational and loading tions (figs 12 to 18).
conditions. By ~xamining the path pat- In the majority of cases the damage
terns in a dismantled bearing that has to the bearing originates within the
been in service, it ispossible to gain a confines of the path patterns and, once
good idea of the conditions under their significance has been learned,
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SIC.F" 5
Path patterns and their interpretation
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
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5K.F" 7
Path patterns and their interpretation
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Different types of bearing
damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Primary damage
Wear
ldentations
Smearing
Surface distress
Corrosion
Electric current damage
Secondary damage
Flaking
Cracks
SKF" 9
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Grease discoloured green. Ineffective seals. Check and possibly improve the
sealing.
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-- .-
: ':. ..... . ., --. 1
. - ,..._. --
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51C.F" 11
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Wear caused by vibration In many cases, it is possible to dis- age than ball bearings. This is consid-
When a bearing is not running, there is cern red rust at the bottom of the ered to be because the balls can roll in
no lubricant film between the rolling depressions. This is caused by oxida- every direction. Rollers, on the other
elements and the raceways. The tion of the detached particles, which hand, only roll in one direction; move-
absence of lubricant film gives metal to have a large area in relation to their ment in the remaining directions takes
metal contact and the vibrations pro- volume, as a result of their exposure to the form of sliding. Cylindrical roller
duce small relative movements of roll- air. There is never any visible damage bearings are the most susceptible.
ing elements and rings. As a result of to the rolling elements. The fluting resulting from vibrations
these movements, small particles The greater the energy of vibration, sometimes closely resembles the flut-
break away from the surfaces and this the more severe the damage. The ing produced by the passage of elec-
leads to the formation of depressions period of time and the magnitude of tric current. However, in the latter case
in the raceways. This damage is the bearing internal clearance also the bottom of the depression is dark in
known as false brinelling, sometimes influence developments, but the fre- colour, not bright or corroded. The
also referred to as washboarding. Balls quency of the vibrations does not ap- damage caused by electric current is
produce sphered cavities while rollers pear to have any significant effect. also distinguishable by the fact that the
produce fluting. Roller bearings have proved to be rolling elements are marked as well as f 1
more susceptible to this type of dam- the raceways.
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Indentations Indentations caused by faulty are unduly preloaded without being
mounting or overloading rotated.
Raceways and rolling elements may The distance between the dents is the Bearings that are mounted with
become dented if the mounting pres- same as the rolling element spacing . excessively heavy interference fits,
sure is applied to the wrong ring, so Ball bearings are prone to indentations and bearings with tapered bore that
that it passes through the rolling ele- if the pressure is applied in such a way are driven too far up the shaft seating
ments, or if the bearing is subjected to that it passes through the balls during or sleeve, also become dented.
abnormal loading while not running. the mounting or dismounting opera-
Foreign particles in the bearing also tions. Self-aligning ball bearings are
cause indentations. particularly susceptible to damage in
such circumstances. In spherical roller
bearings the damage originates as
smearing (see page 17) and sub-
sequently, if the pressure increases,
develops into a dent. The same condi-
tions apply in taper roller bearings that
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Different types of bearing damage
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Indentations caused by foreign
particles
Foreign particles, such as swarf and
burrs, which have gained entry into the
bearing cause indentations when
rolled into the raceways by the rolling
elements. The particles producing the
indentations need not even be hard.
Thin pieces of paper and thread from
cotton waste and cloth used for drying
may be mentioned as instances of this.
Indentations caused by these particles
are in most cases small and distributed
all over the raceways.
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Smearing when the rollers are subjected to se- the ends of the rollers. This smearing
vere acceleration on their entry into is attributable to insufficient lubricant
When two inadequately lubricated sur- the load zone. If the bearing rings ro- between flanges and rollers. lt occurs
faces slide against each other under tate relative to the shaft or housing, when a heavy axial load acts in one
load, material is transferred from one this may also cause smearing in the direction over a long period, for instan-
surface to the other. This is known as bore and on the outside surface and ce when taper roller bearings are sub-
smearing and the surfaces concerned ring faces. ject to excessive preloading. In cases
become scored, with a "torn" appear- In thrust ball bearings, smearing where the axial load changes direction,
ance. When smearing occurs, the may occur if the load is too light in smearing is much less common as the
material is generally heated to such relation to the speed of rotation . opportunity is provided for the ingress
temperatures that rehardening takes of lubricant when the roller end is tem-
place. This produces localised stress Smearing of roller ends and guide porarily relieved of load. Such smea-
concentrations that may cause crack- flanges ring can be avoided to a considerable
ing or flaking. In cylindrical and taper roller bearings, extent by selecting a suitable lubricant.
In rolling bearings, sliding primarily and in spherical roller bearings with
occurs at the roller end-guide flange guide flanges, smearing may occur on
interfaces. Smearing may also arise the guiding faces of the flanges and
.. Fig 32 Smearing on the surface of a roller Fig 33 A cylindrical roller with end smear- Fig 34 Guide flange smearing attributable
from a spherical roller bearing - 100 x mag- ing caused by heavy axial loading and to the same causes as the smearing shown
nification improper lubrication in fig 33
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Smearing of rollers and raceways
In certain circumstances, smearing
may occur on the surface of rollers and
in raceways of spherical and cylindrical
roller bearings. This is caused by roller
rotation being retarded in the unloaded
zone, where the rollers are not driven
by the rings. Consequently their speed
of rotation is lower than when they are
in the loaded zone. The rollers are
therefore subjected to rapid accelera-
tion and the resultant sliding is so se-
vere that in may produce smearing.
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Fig 35 .Skid smearing. in both raceways of
a sphencal roller beanng outer ring
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Raceway smearing at intervals that are too tight in relation to the in-
corresponding to the roller spacing ternal clearance, so that preloading
Far too often, when cylindrical roller occurs.
bearings are being mounted, the ring Smear streaks may also be found in
with the roller and cage assembly is the raceways of spherical and taper
entered askew, without being rotated. roller bearings. These streaks are the
The rollers then scratch the raceway of result of careless handling or incorrect
the other ring, causing smearing in the mounting practice. Blows or heavy
form of long, transverse streaks. The pressure applied to the wrong ring,
rollers may be smeared too. This type without rotating the bearing, cause the
of damage can be avoided if the bear- rollers to produce narrow, transverse
ing is well lubricated and one of the streaks of smearing in the raceways,
rings is rotated. When large numbers see fig 38.
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of bearings are to be mounted it is
-1-----'---'-- ---'--- -'---- -'--- - 1 -
Transverse smear streaks- spaced Blows applied to the wrong ring or Rotate the bearing when it is being
at intervals equal to the distance heavy preloading without rotating the adjusted. Apply the mounting force
between the rollers- in the race- bearing. against the ring with the tightest fit;
ways of spherical and taper roller never allow the force to pass
bearings. through the rolling elements.
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Fig 39 One of the smear streaks shown in
fig 38- 50 x magnification
.... ~
~-.=....:-......- -~.
- r
.. --
Fig 38 Outer ring raceway of a spherical -39-. . ::-............----
. '
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- - - -- - - - -- -- - - -- - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - -----c-1
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SKF" 21
Different types of bearing damage
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Smearing in thrust ball bearings 43. Details of how to calculate the
Smearing may occur in the raceways minimum required axial loads are
of thrust ball bearings if the rotational given in the SKF General Catalogue.
speed is too high in relation to the
loading. The centrifugal force then im-
pels the balls to the outer part of the
shallow raceways. There the balls do
not roll satisfactorily and a great deal
of sliding occurs at the ball-to-raceway
contacts. This leads to the formation
of diagonal smear streaks in the outer
part of the raceway. In the case of
thrust ball bearings operating under
light loads and at high speeds, such
damage can be prevented by subject-
ing the bearings to extra loading, for
instance by applying springs, see fig
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Different types of bearing damage
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Corrosion Deep seated rust known as water etching. Salt water,
A thin protective oxide film forms on such as sea water, is therefore highly
Rust will form if water or corrosive clean steel surfaces exposed to air. dangerous to bearings.
agents reach the inside of the bearing However, this film is not impenetrable
in such quantities that the lubricant and if water or corrosive elements
cannot provide protection for the steel make contact with the steel surfaces,
surfaces. This process will soon lead patches of etching will form. This de-
to deep seated rust. Another type of velopment soon leads to deep seated
corrosion is fretting corrosion . rust.
Deep seated rust is a great danger
to bearings since it can initiate flaking
and cracks. Acid liquids corrode the
steel quickly, while alkaline solutions
are less dangerous. The salts that are
present in fresh water constitute, to-
gether with the water, an electrolyte
which causes galvanic corrosion,
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Action
Appearance Cause
Areas of rust on the outside surface Fit too loose. Adjust seatings.
of the outer ring or in the bore of the Shaft or housing seating with errors of
inner ring. Raceway path pattern form.
heavily marked at corresponding
positions.
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Different types of bearing damage
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Damage caused by craters also form where the metal has rolling elements of bearings with race-
melted. way fluting caused by vibrations.
the passage of The passage of electric current fre- Both alternating and direct currents
electric current quently leads to the formation of fluting cause damage to bearings. Even low
(corrugation) in bearing raceways. amperage currents are dangerous.
When an electric current passes Rollers are also subject to fluting , while Non-rotating bearings are much more
through a bearing, i.e. proceeds from there is only dark discolouration of resistant to electric current damage
one ring to the other via the rolling ele- balls than bearings in rotation. The extent of
ments, damage will occur. At the con- lt can be difficult to distinguish be- the damage depends on a number of
tact surfaces the process is similar to tween electric current damage and factors: current intensity, duration,
electric arc welding. vibration damage. A feature of the flut- bearing load, speed and lubricant.
The material is heated to temperat- ing caused by electric current is the The only way of avoiding damage of
ures ranging from tempering to melting dark bottom of the corrugations, as this nature is to prevent any electric
levels. This leads to the appearance of opposed to the bright or rusty appear- current from passing through the
discoloured areas, varying in size, ance at the bottom of the vibration- bearing.
where the material has been tem- induced fluting. Another distinguishing
pered, re-hardened or melted . Small feature is the lack of damage to the
Localised burns in raceways and on Passage of electric current through Re-route the current to by-pass the
rolling elements. non-rotating bearing. bearing. When welding, arrange
earthing to prevent current passing
through the bearing.
Use insulated bearings.
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SKF 27
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Flaking (spalling)
Flaking occurs as a result of normal
fatigue, i.e. the bearing has reached
the end of its normal life span. How-
ever, this is not the commonest cause
of bearing failure. The flaking detected
in bearings can generally be attributed
to other factors. If the flaking is dis-
covered at an early stage, when the
damage is not too extensive, it is fre-
quently possible to diagnose its cause
and take the requisite action to prevent
a recurrence of the trouble. The path
pattern of the bearing may prove to be
useful, see page 4.
When flaking has proceeded to a
certain stage, it makes its presence
known in the form of noise and vibra-
tions, which serve as a warning that it
is time to change the bearing.
The causes of premature flaking
may be heavier external loading than
had been anticipated, preloading on
account of incorrect fits or excessive
drive-up on a tapered seating, oval dis-
torsion owing to shaft or housing seat-
ing out-of-roundness, axial compres-
sion, for instance as a result of ther-
mal expansion. Flaking may also be
caused by other types of damage, such
as indentations, deep seated rust,
electric current damage or smearing.
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Single row angular contact ball bear- Re-adjust the bearings to obtain
ings or taper roller bearings adjusted lighter preload.
to give excessive preload.
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Flaking caused by oval compression
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Appearance Action
Cause
marked raceway path patterns from The non-locating bearing has jammed. Check the fit and lubricate the sur-
one row of rolling elements. faces.
Flaking in these areas.
Single row angular contact ball Axial freedom of movement has not If temperature differential between
bearings and taper roller bearings: been sufficient to accommodate the shaft and housing cannot be re-
same appearance as damage thermal expansion. duced, provide greater freedom of
resulting from preloading, movement.
see page 29.
SIC.F 31
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Different types of bearing damage
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Flaking caused by misalignment
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Appearance Cause
5KF 33
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Flaking caused by smearing
Appearance Cause
Flaking at the start of the load zone Skid smearing, see page 18.
in raceways of roller bearings.
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Appearance Cause
SK.F 35
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Flaking caused by fretting corrosion
Appearance Cause
Flaking in the raceway of either the Fretting corrosion, see page 25.
inner or outer ring. Corroded area at
corresponding part of the inner bore
of outside surface.
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Appearance Cause
Flaking in conjunction with dark- Electric current damage, see page 26.
coloured or burnt fluting or craters.
SIC'.F 37
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Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Cracks
Cracks may form in bearing rings for
various reasons. The most common
cause is rough treatment when the
bearings are being mounted or dis-
mounted. Hammer blows, applied
direct against the ring or via a hard-
ened chisel, may cause fine cracks to
form, with the result that pieces of the
ring break off when the bearing is put
into service. Excessive drive up on a
tapered seating or sleeve is another
cause of ring cracking . The tensile
stresses, arising in the rings as a result
of the excessive drive-up, produce
cracks when the bearing is put into
operation. The same result may be
obtained when bearings are heated
and then mounted on shafts manufac-
tured to the wrong tolerances.
The smearing described in an earlier
section may also produce cracks at
right angles to the direction of slide.
Cracks of this kind produce fractures
right across the rings.
Flaking, that has occurred for some
reason or other, acts as a fracture
notch and may lead to cracking of the
bearing ring. The same applies to fret-
ting corrosion.
38 5KF
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
SKF 39
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Cracks caused by excessive drive-up
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Cracks caused be smearing
Appearance Cause
51C.F 41
Different types of bearing damage
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SKF Knowledge Library For internal use only
Cracks caused by fretting corrosion
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Appearance Cause
Cracks, transverse in inner rings Fretting corrosion, see page 25.
and generally longitudinal in outer
rings, in conjunction with fretting
corrosion.
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Cage damage ticles. The idea with rolling bearings Fatigue cracks then form in the mater-
ial and sooner or later they lead to
is of course to avoid sliding friction.
If, on examination of a failed bearing , However, where the cage is con- fractures.
the cage is found to be damaged, it cerned , sliding cannot be eliminated in There is a similar case when a thrust
may in many cases prove difficult to the contacts with the other components ball bearing is fitted together with radial
ascertain the cause. Usually other of the bearing. This explains why the plain bearings. If clearance arises in
components of the bearing are dam- cage is the first component to be affec- the plain bearings, the washers of the
aged too and this makes it even more ted when the lubrication becomes in- thrust bearing become displaced in
difficult to discover the reason for the adequate. The cage is always made of relation to each other. Then the balls
trouble. However, there are certain softer material than the other compon- do not follow their normal path and
main causes of cage failure, viz. vibra- ents of the bearing and consequently it heavy stresses may arise in the cage.
tion, excessive speed, wear and block- wears comparatively quickly. As the Cages in bearings subject to severe
age. cage pockets increase in size, due to acceleration and retardation , in con-
wear, the rolling element guidance junction with fluctuations in speed , are
Vibration deteriorates and this also applies to affected by forces of inertia. These
When a bearing is exposed to vibra- the cage in cases where the cage is give rise to considerable pressure be-
tion, the forces of inertia may be so centred on the rolling elements. The tween the contacting surfaces, with
great as to cause fatigue cracks to resultant forces may lead to cage fail- consequent heavy wear.
form in the cage material after a time. ure within a short space of time.
Sooner or later these cracks lead to
cage fracture. Blockage
Fragments of flaked material or other
Excessive speed hard particles may become wedged
If the bearing is run at speeds in between the cage and a rol ling ele-
excess of that for which the cage is ment, preventing the latter from ro-
designed, the cage is subjected to tating round its own axis. This leads to
heavy forces of inertia that may lead to cage failure.
fractures. Frequently, where very high
speeds are involved, it is possible to Other causes of cage damage
select bearings with cages of special If the rings of a deep groove ball bear-
design. ing are fitted out of alignment with
each other, the path of the balls has an
Wear oval configuration. If the cage is cen-
Cage wear may be caused by inad- tred on the balls, it has to change
equate lubrication or by abrasive par- shape for every revolution it performs.
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