Investigating Roller Bearing Failures by Physics of Failure Analysis-1

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How to use Physics of Failure Analysis for Roller Bearing Failures

Abstract
How to use Physics of Failure Analysis for Roller Bearing Failures: A tutorial explaining the
Physics of Failure method applied to regularly failing roller bearings in a dewatering press.
After three years of exhaustive efforts to solve the cause of the bearing failures it was decided to
test Physics of Failure Analysis with the aim of finding a lasting answer.
Keywords: Physics of Failure Analysis, (PoFA) Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Root Cause Failure
Analysis (RCFA), roller bearing failure investigation
Four ‘twin wire’ de-watering presses were used by a company in the paper making industry. The
presses ran at 15 rpm, every machine had 8 rolls (4 against 4). They had experienced endless
bearing failures during the past four years, with a bearing in one of the machines failing every 3
months. Their worst rate of failure was when vibration analysis identified another failing
bearing on three consecutive days. Six weeks previously the three bearings had been installed
new.
Construction of Shaft Roller Bearing Arrangement
Figure 1 is the bearing arrangement at the roll ends. The bearing was a spherical roller tapered
bore bearing 23236 CCK/W33 installed directly on the taper shaft. Old grease from the bearing
purged out a pipe fixed on the front cover. Old seal grease purged past the axial V-ring.
Figure 1 De-watering Press Roller Fixed End Bearing Arrangement
C:\Users\MikeS\Documents\Lifetime Reliability\LRS Maint Methodology\Physics of Failure Equipment Strategy\De-Watering Press Bearing Failure\Physics of Failure Analysis for Roller Bearing Failures.docx 1
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Figure 2 shows how the roll sets were driven by the wire, with no direct motor drive. Operating
temperature ranged 50-70C. The pressing rolls were in a chamber with a vapour extraction
system at the top.
M
Wet 1 2 3 4 Dry
Product Product
Figure 2 Roller Arrangement
The upper bearing housing was mounted to the press using two lugs, a left and a right, each with
a hole for a retaining pin. The upper housing was unmovable and solidly fixed to a 5 cm thick
machine frame by 4 cm pins that went through the lugs and frame and were secured by a collar at
the ends. The lower bearing housing also had two lugs for hinged pins. One hinge was fixed to
the frame as described above; the other had a hydraulic cylinder mounted to permit adjustment of
roller pressure (not too unlike the lugs and pins shown in Figure 3).
Figure 3 De-watering Press Adjustable Roller Bearing Housing
Seals were O-rings between each cover and housing; a primary shaft seal 240x270x15 V-ring
made of NBR material DIN3760 running over a bush and greased; a secondary axial shaft seal
V-ring VA-250 HNBR.
Bearing Failure History
The spherical roller bearing design details were as shown in Figure 4.
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Figure 4 23236 CCK/W33 Bearing Details
When asked to provide information about the bearing failures the comments received were:
“The history of damage was that all but one failure happened in the bottom rolls—the adjustable
rolls. Total failures were 11 in a period of 3 years at different machines:
 6 failures on different machines at the drive side (fixed bearing): 3 failures @ roll number
3, 1 failure @ roll 1, 1 failure @ roll 2, 1 @ roll 4
 4 failures on different machines at non-drive side (floating bearing): 3 failures @ roll
number 3, 1 failure @ roll 4.”
 1 failure at non-drive side upper rolls
“The history of the failures shows that 80% of the damage is on one
side of the outer ring, 20% of the bearings are damaged on the other
side, which indicates an axial load (but the 4 press roll sets are driven
by the wire, no direct driving motor.). The rolling elements always
have minor damage—black spots and raceway contact damage, as
shown in Figure 5.”
Figure 5 Elements
“The bearing has normal clearance, replacement bearings are always like the old one—same
supplier and same model number.”
“The failures are happening to many rolls in different positions on the presses. If it was a shaft
dimension problem it would limited to a shaft and not the random distribution of failures we
have suffered for the past four years. Even with brand new housings, rolls and bearings, the
failures continue to occur randomly—we do not know which roll will next fail!”
“Failures are detected by vibration measurement. When stripped the grease inside is black and
smells bad. In the past we found that some automatic greasing modules / lines were not
functioning. Since then the greasing system was checked and repaired; but we are still getting
failures. The grease still is black and smells.”
“We changed grease to a better quality— resistant to water and load—but it did not help, we still
had bearing failures. The bearing failure on inspection is deep fatigue spalling and cracking;
small pieces separate from the outer ring, then cage destruction, and finally total failure.”
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“From our early detection of bearing failure we noticed black spots (hydrogen attack) due, we
thought, to aggressive environment (water and vapour) which made the surface very brittle and
lead to cracking. There was something interesting that we found based on early failure
detection: the bearing fails first then the grease fails later. We found black spots on the raceways
but the grease was still in good condition. Maybe the vapour inside the bearing condenses to
water after shutdown (for example, if we shut-down for a week).”
“Today I found the third defective bearing; this is the worst measuring cycle I have ever had.
Maybe it will help you to know that two bearings have outer raceways defects and one bearing
has an inner ring defect and a small defect on the outer raceway. (Most of the failures we have
are on the outer race, the inner race usually has smaller spall.) Six weeks ago they were in good
condition (no vibration signs), after detection they will not live more than 2 weeks!
The bearing is installed in the taper by hydraulic nut. The nut is turned on the thread of the shaft
until it touches the bearing. A dial indicator tip touches the inner ring (axial direction); pumping
oil the inner ring is pushed to the desired distance, as indicated by the dial gauge.”
Physics of Failure Analysis
From the history of bearing failure events the evidence indicates:
 10 out of 11 bearing failures were on the bottom rolls

 A common failure mechanism because the same failure mode was found in all failures
 Bearings always have black spots (hydrogen attack)
 The black spot appears while the grease is still in good condition
 Failure mode is spalling of outer raceway (80% one side of raceway, 20% the other side)
We look for common events and situations that happen to all bearings. These include:
 the process material,  shaft positioning system

 chemicals in the process stream,  shaft seal material,
 wash water,  bearing seal material,
 design of bearing,  seal design,
 bearing materials-of-construction,  bearing installation and mounting,
 bearing clearance,  purchase of replacement bearings,
 shaft design,  storage of replacement bearings,
 shaft manufacture,  building vibration,
 shaft taper shape,  Equipment support and hold-down,
 housing design,  grease type,
 housing installation  grease supply, and so on.
Table 1 lists a range of PoF factors considered relevant to the situation. The list was developed
from a table containing many more factors by removing those not judged to apply to the situation.
For example, all manufacturing and electrical events were removed, since manufacturing errors
and electrical discharges were not thought to be a cause of the bearing failure mode experienced.
Many events noted in the table will not be a cause of the failures. But we still list them because
at this stage we are not certain that they do not contribute to the bearing failures. Each of the
issues listed are investigated in detail. If the reason has not been found after testing those failure
causes believed to apply to these events, then the removed items can be included back into the
investigation to be reconsidered.
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Table 1 Physics of Failure Analysis Bearing Failure Causes
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The list still contains many factors that may be involved in the failure mechanism. Using the
known facts we start to group those causes that that relate to each fact.
Black spot is known to be caused by the presence of hydrogen. One example is hydrogen
embrittlement, where hydrogen builds up around the grain boundaries of the microstructure.
Research of articles on the Internet indicated that it is related to the presence of high pressure
and/or high temperature. In steels it occurs in those with high tensile strength properties. To
have hydrogen attack hydrogen must be present. This can come from the steel itself, or it is in
present in the local environment through suitable chemical reactions. Table 2 was developed
from the list of PoF causes that are failure mechanisms related to black spot attack.
Item Failure Facts PoF Cause

1 Black spot (hydrogen attack) due to stress Compressive force overload
Interference fit tight
Physical deformation
Misalignment
2 Black spot (hydrogen attack) due to chemical reactions Acidic atmosphere
Humidity - condensing
Moisture ingress
Product ingress
Chemical reaction
Oxidisation
Table 2 Bearing Failure Mechanisms
We have reduced the bearing failure scenario down to two potential situations—high stress and
hydrogen generating chemical reaction. Each of these is to be closely investigated before
looking at other possible failure mechanisms. The question now becomes: What can occur to a
roller bearing to create the two situations identified? Table 3 lists possible situational causes and
how they can be tested. Figure 6 shows the type of problems that need to be checked.
Inner and outer rings

distorted to one another
Inner and outer
rings not in line Unequal taper on
shaft and inner ring
Confirm bearings not forced together (or apart) by housings
Confirm housings are aligned
Figure 6 Possible Causes of Bearing Failures

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No Failure Facts PoF Cause Situational Causes Test to Check Cause

Black spot Compressive  Bearing is too far up taper  Confirm shaft is truly to original press equipment manufacture’s (OEM)
(hydrogen force  Bearing is not far enough up taper measurements and tolerance (A non-OEM shaft may be machined wrong.)
1 attack) due to overload  Bearing-to-bearing distance is too far  Calculate from datum where bearing(s) should sit on taper and measure actual
stress  Bearing-to-bearing distance is too position
close  Check taper is to bearing OEM tolerance and form
Interference  Inappropriate bearing internal  Check housing bore is to the bearing OEM tolerance and form
fit tight clearance for the application  Check taper is to the bearing OEM tolerance and form
 Wrong shape/angle of taper
 Skewed taper
 Wrong size housing bore
 Skewed housing bore
Physical  Housing(s) located in wrong position  Confirm housings are truly to OEM design and position on frame
deformation  Housing(s) not made to bearing OEM  Check position of housing locating pins in lugs and in frame are correct
specs  Use dial gauges to see deformation of housing when fixed to frame in assembly
 Positioning ram distorts housing  Use dial gauges to check housing distortion when rams force rollers together
 Shafts are bent during operation under operating conditions and pressures
Misalignment  Housings are out-of-alignment  Calculate from datum where shafts and housings should sit on machine frame
 Shafts are bent and measure actual positions are eh same on both sides of frame
 Put shafts on flat datum and check extent of bending
Black spot Acidic  Process chemical in bearing chamber  Confirm with seals’ OEM that shaft and housing size, tolerance and finish is as
2
(hydrogen atmosphere required
attack) due to Humidity -  Vapour condenses in bearing chamber  Check centre of bearing housing and centre of seal housing are identical
chemical condensing  Vapour enters up grease drain  Check grease drain does not permit moisture/vapour ingress
reactions Moisture  Seals not sealing  Confirm bearings are never hosed-down
ingress  Bearing housings hosed with water
Product  Seals not sealing  Confirm with seal OEM that shaft and housing size, tolerance and finish is as
ingress required
Chemical  Chemicals entering with moisture  Confirm chemical compatibility of seal material(s) with water and process
reaction and/or vapour chemicals found in product
Oxidisation  See ‘Chemical reaction’
Table 3 Potential Situational causes of Bearing Failure and Checks to Undertake
Phone: +61 (0) 402 731 563
Fax: +61 (8) 9457 8642
My best regards to you,
Mike Sondalini
Lifetime Reliability Solutions
Lifetime Reliability Solutions Consultants
Perth, Western Australia, Mob/Cell (+61 8) 0402 731 563, Office Ph. (+61 8) 9457 6297, Fax (+61 8) 9457 8642
Web: www.lifetime-reliability.com
Photograph of Mike Sondalini

Mike Sondalini
Engineering and Industrial Asset Management, Industrial Maintenance Management,
ISO9000, ISO 9001-2008 Quality Management System, Lean Manufacturing and Six
Sigma Consultant, Perth, Western Australia.
Biography:
In engineering and maintenance since 1974, his career extends across original equipment manufacturing, beverage
production, steel fabrication, industrial chemical manufacturing, quality management, project management, industrial
asset management and industrial training. His specialty is helping capital equipment intensive companies build sound
business risk management practices, introduce world-class lean practices, develop ultra-high reliable enterprise asset
management systems and instil the precision maintenance skills needed to continually improve plant uptime.
His more than 35 years in engineering and maintenance spans from mechanical engineering, strategic asset management
to rotating equipment reliability. He was previously a mechanical engineer with the State Energy Commission of
Western Australia, where he conducted equipment failure investigations and constructed improvement plans. He was
then the maintenance manager for the Swan Brewery, responsible for overall plant reliability and project engineering.
Mike then spent over 10 years as maintenance manager and head of maintenance engineering services for Coogee
Chemicals. In this role, he successfully introduced condition monitoring and maintenance strategies that reduced
production down time and maintenance costs.
As a current maintenance, reliability, Lean Six Sigma and quality system consultant, Mike continues to assist
organisations such as BHP Billiton NickelWest, Smorgon Steel (now OneSteel), P&H MinePro, Barrick Mining, Imdex
and State Energy Commission in improving equipment reliability. He is also reputed publisher of numerous online
technical white papers and training materials that are widely sought after by maintenance professionals. His first book,
Plant and Equipment Wellness, was published by Engineers Australia Books.
He is a consultant and trainer in Industrial Asset Management, Maintenance Management, Quality Management
Systems and Lean Manufacturing. He held lecturing positions at Curtin University in Quality Management Systems
and Manufacturing Management Systems. He held project engineering and maintenance management positions during
his 8 years at the Swan Brewery. He held maintenance engineer and maintenance manager positions during his 10
years at Coogee Chemicals. In this role, he successfully introduced maintenance planning, condition monitoring and
maintenance strategies that reduced production downtime and maintenance costs. Two achievements were reducing
bearing failures from 3 a month to 3 a year and mechanical seal failures from over 20 a year to 3 a year. As a
maintenance manager, Mike also successfully initiated and trained others in reliability centred techniques focused
towards equipment reliability, including vibration analysis, particle analysis, thermography, equipment criticality
analysis, root cause failure analysis. He is a qualified mechanical tradesman and an approved internal quality system
auditor.
He has authored numerous maintenance and industrial asset management publications and developed the
www.feedforward.com.au UPTIME training series for chemical and process plants. His current programs for business
– „The Accuracy Controlled Enterprise‟ and „Change to Win Program‟ – inculcate ultra-high reliability best practices
into organisations within 100 days. He is a past Chairman of the WA Chapter of the Maintenance Engineering Society
of Australia and is a confident and exciting presenter at Australian and international conferences and workshops. His
professional qualifications include B Eng (Hons), MBA, Chartered Professional Engineer.
_________________________________________________________
Perth, Western Australia, Mob/Cell (+61 8) 0402 731 563, Office Ph. (+61 8) 9457 6297, Fax (+61 8) 9457 8642
Web: www.lifetime-reliability.com
Testimonial:
"While Mike managed the Maintenance Department at Coogee Chemicals he continually introduced and led
new initiatives to improve plant uptime. Such successes as the preventative maintenance of bearings that
reduced failures from 4 per month to 4 per year on bulk materials handling equipment. He introduced
maintenance planning and scheduling and root cause analysis of asset failures into the company.
He championed the use of shaft laser alignment and made sure the tradesmen were trained in its use. That
initiative, combined with him training the plant operators in the proper use of pumps, saw mechanical seal
failures drop from 20 per year to 3 per year.
He worked enthusiastically with the maintenance crew to improve production equipment designs that
boosted plant availability. In the fertiliser plant reliability rose from 85% to 98% and made the operation
profitable. In pastillation availability went up from 80% to 95% in six months under Mike's stewardship."
Geoff Nott, Maintenance Workshop Supervisor, Coogee Chemicals
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Phone: +61 (0) 402 731 563

Fax: +61 (8) 9457 8642

How to use Physics of Failure Analysis for Roller Bearing Failures

Construction of Shaft Roller Bearing Arrangement

Figure 1 De-watering Press Roller Fixed End Bearing Arrangement

Figure 2 Roller Arrangement

Figure 3 De-watering Press Adjustable Roller Bearing Housing

Bearing Failure History

The spherical roller bearing design details were as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 23236 CCK/W33 Bearing Details

Physics of Failure Analysis

From the history of bearing failure events the evidence indicates:

 10 out of 11 bearing failures were on the bottom rolls

 the process material,  shaft positioning system

Table 1 Physics of Failure Analysis Bearing Failure Causes

Item Failure Facts PoF Cause

Inner and outer rings

Confirm bearings not forced together (or apart) by housings

Confirm housings are aligned

Figure 6 Possible Causes of Bearing Failures

No Failure Facts PoF Cause Situational Causes Test to Check Cause

My best regards to you,

Photograph of Mike Sondalini

Geoff Nott, Maintenance Workshop Supervisor, Coogee Chemicals

Testimonials from course participants

Testimonials from website visitors

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