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p32-42 Lacey Paper M&AM PDF
p32-42 Lacey Paper M&AM PDF
Dr. S. J. Lacey
Engineering Manager, Schaeffler (UK) Ltd
Rolling element bearings are often
used in noise sensitive applications, e.g.
Vibration produced by rolling bearings can
household appliance electric motors which
be complex and can result from geometrical often use small to medium size bearings.
imperfections during the manufacturing Bearing vibration is therefore becoming
increasingly important from both an
process, defects on the rolling surfaces or environmental consideration and because it
geometrical errors in associated components. is synonymous with quality.
It is now generally accepted that quiet
Noise and vibration is becoming more critical running is synonymous with the form
in all types of equipment since it is often perceived to be synonymous and finish of the rolling contact surfaces.
As a result, bearing manufacturers have
with quality and often used for predictive maintenance. In this article developed vibration tests as an effective
the different sources of bearing vibration are considered along with method for measuring quality. A common
approach is to mount the bearing on a quiet
some of the characteristic defect frequencies that may be present. Some running spindle and measure the radial
examples of how vibration analysis can be used to detect deterioration velocity at a point on the bearings outer
ring and in three frequency bands, viz. 50-
in machine condition are also given.
300, 300-1800 and
1800-10000 Hz. The bearing must meet
RMS velocity limits in all three frequency
bands.
Vibration monitoring has now become
Keywords: education, maintenance engineering, reliability engineering, a well accepted part of many planned
maintenance regimes and relies on the well
off-campus education, distance education, flexible learning, internet. known characteristic vibration signatures
which rolling bearings exhibit as the
rolling surfaces degrade. However, in
most situations bearing vibration cannot
INTRODUCTION be measured directly and so the bearing
surface stresses, is not the limiting factor vibration signature is modified by the
R
olling contact bearings are used and probably accounts for less than 3% of machine structure, this situation being
in almost every type of rotating failures in service. further complicated by vibration from other
machinery whose successful and Unfortunately though, many bearings equipment on the machine, i.e. electric
reliable operation is very dependent on fail prematurely in service because motors, gears, belts, hydraulics, structural
the type of bearing selected as well as the of contamination, poor lubrication, resonances etc. This often makes the
precision of all associated components, i.e. temperature extremes, poor fitting/fits, interpretation of vibration data difficult
shaft, housing, spacers, nuts etc. Bearing unbalance and misalignment. All these other than by a trained specialist and can
engineers generally use fatigue as the factors lead to an increase in bearing in some situations lead to a mis-diagnosis,
normal failure mode, on the assumption vibration and condition monitoring resulting in unnecessary machine downtime
that the bearings are properly installed, has been used for many years to and costs.
operated and maintained. Today, because of detect degrading bearings before they In this paper the sources of bearing
improvements in manufacturing technology catastrophically fail (with the associated vibration are discussed along with the
and materials, it is generally the case that costs of downtime or significant damage to characteristic vibration frequencies that are
bearing fatigue life, which is related to sub- other parts of the machine). likely to be generated.
An Overview
Improving of of
the Reliability Bearing
a Coal FiredVibration Analysis
Power Plant using a Sap Rewop Interface
SOURCES OF VIBRATION to produce relative movement between class of the bearing. For axially loaded ball
the inner and outer rings. The movement bearings operating under moderate speeds
Rolling contact bearings represents takes the form of a locus which under radial the form and surface finish of the critical
a complex vibration system whose load is two dimensional and contained in rolling surfaces are generally the largest
components i.e. rolling elements, inner a radial plane, whilst under misalignment source of noise and vibration. Controlling
raceway, outer raceway and cage interact it is three-dimensional. The movement is component waviness and surface finish
to generate complex vibration signatures. also periodic with base frequency equal to during the manufacturing process is
Although rolling bearings are manufactured the rate at which the rolling elements pass therefore critical since it may not only have
using high precision machine tools and through the load zone. Frequency analysis a significant effect on vibration but also may
under strict cleanliness and quality controls, of the movement yields the base frequency affect bearing life.
like any other manufactured part they will and a series of harmonics. For a single row It is convenient to consider geometrical
have degrees of imperfection and generate radial ball bearing with an inner ring speed imperfections in terms of wavelength
vibration as the surfaces interact through of 1800 rev/min a typical ball pass rate is compared with the width of the rolling
a combination of rolling and sliding. 100 Hz and significant harmonics to more element-raceway contacts. Surface features
Nowadays, although the amplitudes of than 500 Hz can be generated. of wavelength of the order of the contact
surface imperfections are in the order of Variable compliance vibration is width or less are termed roughness, whereas
nanometres, significant vibrations can still heavily dependent on the number of rolling longer wavelength features are termed
be produced in the entire audible frequency elements supporting the externally applied waviness (see Figure 2).
range (20 Hz 20 kHz). load; the greater the
The level of the vibration will depend number of loaded
upon many factors, including the energy of rolling elements, the Width of Contact
the impact, the point at which the vibration less the vibration.
is measured and the construction of the For radially loaded or
bearing. misaligned bearings
running clearance
Variable compliance determines the extent
Under radial and misaligning loads of the load region, ball
bearing vibration is an inherent feature and hence, in general,
of rolling bearings even if the bearing is variable compliance h
geometrically perfect and is not therefore increases with
indicative of poor quality. This type of clearance. Running
vibration is often referred to as variable clearance should
compliance and occurs because the external not be confused raceway
load is supported by a discrete number with radial internal
of rolling elements whose position with clearance (RIC), the
respect to the line of action of the load former normally being lower than the RIC Figure 2 Waviness and roughness of rolling surfaces
continually changes with time (see Figure 1). due to interference fit of the rings and
As the bearing rotates, individual differential thermal expansion of the inner
ball loads, hence elastic deflections at the and outer rings during operation.
rolling element raceway contacts, change Variable compliance vibration levels can SURFACE ROUGHNESS
be higher than those produced Surface roughness is a significant
by roughness and waviness of source of vibration when its level is high
the rolling surfaces. However, compared with the lubricant film thickness
in applications where vibration generated between the rolling element-
is critical it can be reduced to raceway contacts (see Figure 2). Under
a negligible level by using ball this condition surface asperities can break
bearings with the correct level of through the lubricant film and interact with
axial pre-load. the opposing surface, resulting in metal-
to-metal contact. The resulting vibration
Ra al Load consists of a random sequence of small
Geometrical imperfections impulses which excite all the natural modes
Because of the very nature of the bearing and supporting structure.
of the manufacturing processes Surface roughness produces vibration
used to produce bearing predominantly at frequencies above sixty
components geometrical times the rotational speed of the bearing.
imperfections will always be Thus the high frequency part of the
present to varying degrees spectrum usually appears as a series of
Figure 1 Simple bearing model depending on the accuracy resonances.
Figure 5(a) Signal from a good bearing Figure 5(b) Signal from a damaged bearing
life. This type of defect can take a variety of structural or electro-mechanical vibration. to a number of factors the rolling elements
forms, viz. indentations, scratches along and For a stationary outer ring and rotating undergo a combination of rolling and sliding.
across the rolling surfaces, pits, debris and inner ring, the fundamental frequencies As a consequence, the actual characteristic
particles in the lubricant. are derived from the bearing geometry as defect frequencies may differ slightly from
Bearing manufacturers have adopted follows those predicted, but this is very dependent
simple vibration measurements on the on the type of bearing, operating conditions
finished product to detect such defects but fc/o = fr/2 [1 d/D Cos ] and fits. Generally the bearing characteristic
these tend to be limited by the type and fc/i = fr/2 [1 + d/D Cos ] frequencies will not be integer multiples of
size of bearing. An example of this type of f b/o = Z fc/o the inner ring rotational frequency which
measurement is shown in Figures 5(a) and f b/i = Z fc/i helps to distinguish them from other sources
5(b) where, compared to a good bearing, f b = D/2d fr [1 (d/D Cos )2] of vibration.
the discrete damage on a bearing outer ring Since most vibration frequencies are
raceway has produced a characteristically where fr = inner ring rotational frequency proportional to speed it is important when
impulsive vibration which has a high peak/ fc/o = fundamental train (cage) comparing vibration signatures that data is
RMS ratio. frequency relative to outer ring obtained at identical speeds. Speed changes
Where a large number of defects occurs fc/i = fundamental train frequency will cause shifts in the frequency spectrum
individual peaks are not so clearly defined relative to inner ring causing inaccuracies in both the amplitude
but the RMS vibration level is several times f b/o = ball pass frequency of outer ring and frequency measurement. Sometimes,
greater than that normally associated with a f b/i = ball pass frequency of inner ring in variable speed equipment spectral orders
bearing in good condition. fb = rolling element spin frequency may be used where all the frequencies are
D = Pitch circle diameter normalized relative to the fundamental
Bearing characteristic frequencies d = Diameter of roller elements rotational speed. This is generally called
Although the fundamental frequencies Z = Number of rolling elements order normalisation, where the fundamental
generated by rolling bearings are expressed = Contact angle frequency of rotation is called the first order.
by relatively simple formulas they cover a The bearing speed ratio (ball pass
wide frequency range and can interact to The bearing equations assume that there frequency divided by the shaft rotational
give very complex signals. This is often is no sliding and that the rolling elements frequency) is a function of the bearing
further complicated by the presence on the roll over the raceway surfaces. However, loads and clearances and can therefore give
equipment of other sources of mechanical, in practice this is rarely the case and due some indication of the bearing operating
performance. If the bearing speed ratio
is below predicted values it may indicate
insufficient loading, excessive lubrication
or insufficient bearing radial internal
clearance, which could result in higher
operating temperatures and premature
failure. Likewise, a higher than predicted
bearing speed ratio may indicate excessive
loading, excessive bearing radial internal
clearance or insufficient lubrication.
A good example of how the bearing
speed ratio can be used to identify a
potential problem is shown in Figure
6, which shows a vibration acceleration
spectrum measured axially on the end cap
of a 250 kW electric motor.
In this case the Type 6217 radial ball
bearings were experiencing a high axial
load as a result of the non-locating bearing
Figure 6 Axial vibration acceleration spectrum on end cap of a 250 kW electric motor failing to slide in the housing (thermal
Cage damage
The vibration spectrum shown in Figure
11 was measured on the spindle housing
of an internal grinding machine which
was grinding the raceways of bearing outer
rings. Although the machine was producing
work to the required quality the routine
vibration measurement immediately raised
some concerns regarding the condition of
Figure 9 Spectra obtained from the housing of a taper roller bearing
the spindle.
The spindle was rotating at 19,200
rev/min (320 Hz) and the most unusual
filter, rectifying and then using a low roller, plus a number of harmonics, i.e. aspect of the spectrum is the presence of
pass filter the envelope of the signal is 186.5 (x 3), 497 ( 8), 560 ( 9), 748 ( a large number of discrete peaks spaced at
left, the frequency of which corresponds 12), 873 ( 14) and 936 Hz ( 15). 140 Hz, which related to the fundamental
to the repetition rate of the defect. This This would suggest some deterioration train frequency of the angular contact ball
technique is often used to detect early in the condition of the roller(s), which bearings which had a plastic cage and were
damage in rolling element bearings and is was confirmed upon examination of the lubricated with oil mist.
also often referred to as the High Frequency bearing. The spectrum also shows discrete Upon examination of the bearing the
Resonance Technique (HFRT) or Envelope
Spectrum.
Figure 11 Vibration acceleration measured on the spindle housing of an internal grinding machine.
Raceway damage
Also a number of the rollers had black critical operations is grinding of the bearing
corrosion stains, which was consistent with raceways which have to meet very tight
the vibration at cage rotational frequency, tolerances of roundness and surface finish,
fc=4 Hz, in the envelope spectrum (see and any increase in machine vibration can
Figure 15). result in a severe deterioration in workpiece
The modulation of the time signal at quality.
cage rotational frequency can be clearly seen Figure 17, which shows the vibration
in the time signal, Figure 16. acceleration spectrum, 0-500 Hz, measured
on the spindle housing of an external shoe
Effect of bearing vibration on centreless grinding machine during the
component quality grinding of an inner ring raceway, where
Even low levels of vibration can have the typical values for out-of-roundness and
a significant impact on critical equipment, surface roughness were >4 m and 0.3
such as machine tools that are required to mRa respectively. The most distinctive
produce components whose surface finish feature on the finished raceway was the
Figure 14 Type 23036 spherical roller bearing and form are critical. A good example of presence of 21 lobes which, when multiplied
outer ring raceway showing black corrosion stains this is during the manufacture of bearing by the workpiece rotational speed (370 rev/
inner and outer rings. One of the most min or 6.2 Hz), corresponded to a frequency
of 129.5 Hz. This was very close to the 126
Hz component in the spectrum which was
associated with the ball pass frequency
relative to outer raceway of a ball bearing
in the drive head motor. Also present are
harmonics at 256 and 380 Hz. The discrete
peaks at 38, 116 and 190 Hz correspond
to the spindle rotational speed and its
harmonics.
Figure 18 shows that after replacing
the motor bearings the vibration at 126
Hz reduced from 0.012g to 0.00032g and
the associated harmonics were no longer
dominant. This resulted in a dramatic
improvement in workpiece out-of-roundness
of <0.4 m and the surface finish improved
to 0.19 mRa. This demonstrates that with
some critical equipment such as machine
tools it is possible to assess directly the
Figure 15 Envelope spectrum of the Type 23036 spherical roller bearing condition of the machine by measuring the
resultant workpiece quality [2, 3].
consistent with the highly modulated signal
and high amplitude of vibration at 5f b/o.
The overall RMS vibration level of the motor
increased from typically 0.22g to 1.64g.
Another example of a vibration
acceleration spectrum obtained from the
housing of a Type 23036 (180 mm bore)
spherical roller bearing, located on the main
drive shaft of an impact crusher, is shown
in Figure 13. The spectrum shows a number
of harmonics of the outer raceway ball pass
frequency, 101 Hz, with a dominant peak
at 404 Hz (4f b/o) with sidebands at shaft
rotational frequency, 9 Hz.
When the bearing was removed from
the machine and examined one part of the
outer raceway had black corrosion stain (see
Figure 14). Figure 16 Acceleration time signal of the Type 23036 spherical roller bearing
steve.lacey@schaeffler.com
42 | Nov/Dec 2008 ME | maintenance & asset management vol 23 no 6