Bearing lubricating procedures

Bearing fill quantity

The proper fill quantity is important to ensure that all

contact surfaces are provided with a suitable lubricating By providing a cavity outside of the contact area greater
film over the designed operating life. However, over- than the static free space of the bearing, there is
lubrication is as detrimental as under-lubrication. With enough of an area available for the excess lubricant.
over-lubrication, there is an increase in the internal This cavity will also provide a lubricant reservoir that
friction of the component as excess lubricant is moved may continually feed the lubrication point, through
through the free space. This results in increased heat capillary action, during operation. This cavity must be
generation and therefore a shorter application operating large enough to be able to contain the total volume of
life. With under-lubrication, a boundary lubrication excess lubricant, but small enough to ensure the proper
condition will occur, as all contact surfaces are not capillary action. The availability of a proper grease
supplied with the proper quantity of lubricant. This reservoir can aid in sealing and extend the overall
condition may lead to wear and/or lubrication starvation lubricant life.
resulting in shorter operating life. The following rules of thumb forbearing fill quantity are
recommended by most bearing and grease
The correct lubricant quantity is determined by the manufacturers:
design, operating speeds, reservoir volume, and the
extent of sealing or shielding found in the application. low speed fill volume equal to
The objective of the lubricant fill quantity is to provide n/ng < 0.2 90 %
the contact surfaces with a consistent lubricating film, ka•nDm < 90,000 of bearing free space
medium speed fill volume equal to
thick enough to prevent metal-to-metal contact and 0.2 < n/ng < 0.4 67 %
support full fluid film lubrication. 90,000 < ka•nDm < 500,000 of bearing free space
Fill quantity becomes of particular interest when high speed fill volume equal to
0.4 < n/ng < 0.8 33 %
the application requires the use of grease lubricated
500,000 < ka•nDm < 1,000,000 of bearing free space
bearings. The bearing modified speed factor (ka•nDm very high speed fill volume equal to
– bearing correction factor x bearing pitch diameter x n/ng < 0.8 25 %
maximum operating speed - see table for correction ka•nDm < 1,000,000 of bearing free space
factors) along with the operating speed ratio (n/ng –
application maximum operating speed divided by rated Note: special attention must be given to relubrication
bearig operating speed for grease lubrication) for the quantities so that an over-lubrication condition is
1 1
application becomes an important factor in determining avoided. Typical relubrication amounts are /3 to /2 of
the proper grease quantity. the original fill quantity.

During run-in, when the lubricating film is setting up, 1 1.1 1.4 1.67 2.5
excess lubricant will be expelled from the contact
surface area. It is important that this excess lubricant is
not restricted from leaving the contact surface area so
as not to increase the internal friction of the system.
When the application is sealed or shielded (no exit path
for the excess lubricant) it becomes especially
important to choose the proper fill quantity. nDm correction factors (ka) for various bearing
configurations

Typical Bearing Configuration

Klüber Lubrication München KG, a member of the Freudenberg group

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