Paper 10: The Investigation of Unusual Bearing Failures

The diagnosis of bearing failures as preliminary to their elimination by design improvement is discussed against the background of ‘profiles’ which are intended to display the functional aspects of a bearing situation.The importance of accurately determining the applied conditions is illustrated by the case of a rolling mill bearing which was intended to carry a load of 350 tons but was actually subjected to loading of more than 1700 tons.Unusual failures require to be investigated by all available laboratory techniques as specific fine-scale information from each technique enables a comprehensive elucidation of the mechanism of failure to be achieved. Simulated laboratory tests and a considerable research effort on an inter-disciplinary basis are usually initiated to confirm postulations regarding the causes of failure and to determine the controlling factors. The investigation of failures brought to the attention of the National Engineering Laboratory enables research to be directed to problems causing ...