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3. TYPICAL DAMAGES OF MACHINE PARTS

3.1 SLIDING BEARINGS

In general the damage in sliding bearing is wear plus fatigue. Static loads cause wear whereas
dynamic load cause wear plus fatigue. In cases where lubricant contains corrosion-stimulating
substances like acids produced by aging lubricant, water leaking in lubricant becomes an
important damage.

In shaft bushing system, normally, the bushing is designed as the desired element of failure. But
when dealing with damages of the system, the whole system has to be considered especially with
respect to
‐ Alignment and shape of bush hole or bore,
‐ Lubrication, and
‐ Deformation of shaft under applied loads.

3.1.1 Factor influencing damages of slide bearing

The important factor that influence damages of bearing, among others are the following:
‐ Bearing forces,
‐ Design of bearing, material and lubrication,
‐ Manufacturing accuracy,
‐ Assembling conditions:-misalignment causes reduced contact area which produces
fatigue,
‐ Service and operation conditions.

The process of wear in sliding bearing is a complex one and depends on the wear velocity and
operation conditions, particularly, temperature.
‐ High temperature and high wear velocity produce overheating which change the
properties of the material.
‐ Presence of foreign substances in the lubricant causes increased wear velocity.
‐ Self-lubricated bearings operate only up to the life expectancy
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Fig 3.1(a) and (b) show how the application of loads affects the wear of slide bearings. In case of
symmetrically applied load, wear in the bearing and shaft are uniform with higher wear
occurring in the bearing. Eccentrically applied load affect contact between the bearing and shaft
giving rise to excessive localized contact which results in higher wear in those area.

3.1.2 Typical slid bearing failures

Typical slide bearing failures and their characteristics are outlined in the table below along with
their causes. The remedy for these failures is eliminating or reducing the causes for the failure by
proper lubrication, assembly, manufacture, operation and maintenance.

Table 3.1 bearing failure, their characteristics and causes

Bearing
failure Characteristics Causes

‐ Excessively contaminated lubricant by

Scoring or ‐ Bearing surface is eroded in the non- metallic dirt exceeding the
erosion direction of motion minimum oil film thickness- which roll
between surfaces

‐ Inadequate clearance
‐ Bearing surface melts especially for ‐ Insufficient supply of lubricant
Wiping materials with low- melting point ‐ Overheating
‐ Excessive load
‐ Distorted bore

‐ Random crack on bearing surface ‐ Excessive dynamic loading causing

‐ Loss of area of lining reduction in strength
Fatigue ‐ Overheating
‐ High speeds causing excessive
centrifugal forces

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Excessive ‐ Distortion of bearing bore causing
interference overheating and fatigue at the
bearing joint faces
‐ Welding or metal pick-up from the
bearing housing
Fretting ‐ Vibration from external source
causing damage while journal is
stationary
‐ Uneven wear of bearing surface
Misalignment ‐ Fatigue in diagonally opposed in top
and bottom halves
‐ Removal of bearing material
Cavitation leaving a roughened surface
erosion ‐ Attack of bearing material in
isolated area in random pattern
‐ Formation of hard deposit on
surface of white –metal lining
Corrosion ‐ Deep pitting and attack on copper
base alloys
‐ Black coloration due to formation of
copper sulphide
Faulty ‐ Localized fatigue or wiping
assembly ‐ Overheating
‐ Pick-up at the sides of the bearing
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‐ Excessive interference during
interference
‐ Inadequate interference fit
‐ Improper housing design
‐ Small sliding movements under
operating conditions
‐ Misalignment of bearing housing on
assembly
‐ Journal deflection under load
‐ Changes of pressure in oil film
associated with interrupted flow of oil
‐ Formation of organic acids by
oxidation of lubricant
‐ Electrolyte in oil
‐ Attack by sulphur compounds from oil
additives or fuel combustion products
‐ Stagger at joint faces during assembly
‐ Incorrect grinding of journal radii
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Seizure of ‐ Bearing seizes obstructing smooth ‐ Inadequate pump capacity

bearing motion ‐ Inadequate oil –way dimensions
‐ Blockage of oil supply

3.1.3 Slide bearing lubrication

The most suitable lubricants for slide bearing are mineral oils and greases. The most important
property of lubricant for slide bearing is the viscosity of the lubricant used. If the viscosity of
lubricant used is low, the load –carrying capacity of the bearing will be low; and if the viscosity
is too high, there will be high loss of power and the operating temperature will be higher .the
general characteristics of lubricants used for plain bearing are show in the table below.

Table3.2 bearing lubrication oils

Lubricant Operating range Remarks

All condition of load and ‐ Wide range of viscosities available

Mineral oils speed ‐ Potential corrosion problem with some additive
oils
Used for low operating
Greases speeds, below 2 m/s ‐ Good for sealing against dirt and moisture
‐ Good use for intermittent motion

When good properties are sough at high and low temperatures, synthetic oils may be used if
suitable viscosities are available the application is however costly.

Methods for lubricant supply vary from application to application. The following are some
typical applications.
‐ For low speed journal bearing hand oiling is possible
‐ For journals in machine tools drip and wick feed method of supply is used
‐ Bath and splash lubrication is used in engines, process machinery, etc.
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‐ For high speed and heavily loaded bearings in machine tools, engines, etc… pressure –
fed supply is used.
For satisfactory performance and long life, cleanliness of the oil supply is always essential.

3.1.4 Bush bearing assembly

In bush bearing assembly the following main feature must be provided.
‐ When bush bearings are installed at both ends thrust bearings or collars should be
provided to take up the axial load.
‐ The bush outside diameter must be locked in housing either by a locking pin (AI) or
locking set screws.
‐ An axial play must be ensured.
‐ For proper lubrication of the bush bearing, lubricating grooves must be cut on the bush
surface and connected with the lubricating hole.
‐ Proper fits and tolerance should be provided (basic hole/basic shaft systems).

3.2 ANTIFRICTION BEARING: (ROLLER AND BALL BEARINGS)

Ball and roller bearing normally fail by fatigue. In the case of tightening and lubrication
problems, wear can also occur. Rarely failures can occur by random damages like overload.

Bearing tracks and rolling elements are loaded with periodic loads, which cause fatigue of these
elements. This loading condition causes cracks (which are detected only after long time). The
cracks develop to form pitting which in turn leads to abrasion of parts.

High contact pressure causes damage of inner and outer races. In case of over load and assembly
problems failure takes place in a short time.

Wear of bearing elements increases axial and radial play, which can be a cause for vibration
leading to increased fatigue. Continuation of lubricants causes abrasion impact loads in standstill
produces chatter marks causing vibration
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3.2.1 Analysis of damages:

Due to damages bearing will either get heated up or will run with abnormal noise and/or
vibration
‐ Heating can be felt by touching with hand
‐ Abnormal noise can be detected by taking a rod (screw driver of length 200-300mm) and
placing one end on the bearing housing and listening from the other end. A good bearing
run noiselessly and a defective bearing will a continuous knocking or rubbing sound.

i. Bearing inner race loose on shaft:

Bearing running with such a defect gets heated up.
Correction:-
‐ Knurling of shaft (temporary repair only);
‐ Chromium plating
‐ Metal deposition by welding
‐ Installing of a sleeve
‐ Welding a new shank at the end sections

ii. Housing bore loose on shaft:

The bearing gets heated up.
Corrections:
‐ Housing bore knurled (temporary)
‐ Installing a sleeve

iii. Bearing running dry

In the absence of lubrication bearing gets heated up

iv. Mis-alignment

v. Damage of one or more ball/rollers

vi. Damage of running race
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vii. Deformed separation

Due to one of these defects bearing runs with a continuous knocking sound.
Correction: replacement.

viii. Radial play

Radial play causes vibration of the system on which the bearing is mounted.
Correction:-
‐ Angular contact baring, taper roller bearings and ball/roller bearings with conical-
bore can be corrected by tightening the regulating nuts.
‐ Other types have to be replaced.

3.2.2 Characteristics of rolling bearing damages

Rolling bearing damages as recognized by their operational behavior are outlined as follows in
the table below.

Table 3.3 rolling bearing damages and their operational behavior

Damage characteristics Reasons for damage

1. Running Out of Roundness ‐ Damage at the rings (pitting, rippling)

‐ Contamination
‐ Too much bearing clearance

2.Uncommon Running Noise ‐ Too small bearing clearance

2.1 Howling, Whistling

‐ Too big bearing clearance

2.2 Unequal noise rattling, scrabbling ‐ Damage on racing tracks (pitting,
roughening’s, impressions)
‐ Contamination
‐ Too viscous lubricant
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‐ Changing of effective bearing clearance

2.3 gradual change of noise (caused by change in
‐ Fast fatigue process
‐ Fast arising of impression

3. High Temperature ‐ Too small bearing clearance

3.1 Overheating ‐ Insufficient lubricant
‐ Excessive lubricant

3.2 Sudden increase in temperature ‐ Lack of lubricant

‐ Fast arising of pitting

‐ Deformed bearing due to :

4. Difficulty in Running  Mounting failure
4.1 Uniformly  Use of strong seals
 Tight sealing
‐ Too much lubricant (overfilling)
‐ Too viscous lubricant

4.2 Non- uniformly ‐ Contamination causes by large foreign

material limited local damage of tracks

3.2.3 Typical damages of rolling bearing

Typical rolling bearing failures and their characteristics are gives in the table below along with
their causes. The remedy for these failures is eliminating or reducing the causes for the failure by
proper lubrication, assembly, manufacture, operation and maintenance, as implied by the cause
of the failure.
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Table 3.4 bearing failures, their characteristics and causes

Bearing failure Characteristics Causes

‐ Flaking with ripple pattern across the ‐ Fatigue due to repeated
Fatigue flake loaded part of the race stressing
‐ Numerous irregular pits with irregular ‐ Exposure to moist
Atmospheric bottom conditions
corrosion ‐ Reddish brown or dark brown in color ‐ In sufficient grease
protection
Roller staining ‐ Formation of dark patches on rolling ‐ Bimetalic corrosion in
surface and end faces of rollers storage
‐ Poor storage conditions
‐ Insufficient cleaning
during manufacturing
‐ Formation of dents or grooves in the ‐ Rolling elements brought
Bruising (true bearing track conforming to shape of into violent contact with
brineling) rolling elements race during assembly

False brinelling ‐ Depression in the tracks varying from ‐ Vibration while the
shallow marks to deep cavities bearing is stationary
‐ Depression have roughened surfaces ‐ Small oscillating
movement while under
load
‐ Pieces broken from the inner race ‐ Bad fitting
guiding flanges
Fractured flange ‐ Damage to cage and shields
‐ A patchy discoloration of the outer ‐ Insufficient interference
surface between race and housing
Outer race ‐ Presence of reddish brown debris thin outer race
fretting
‐ Cracks extending inward from the
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fretted zone
‐ Heavy fretting of shaft ‐ Too little interference or
Inner race ‐ Inner race may show some fretting slight clearance between
fretting marks inner race and shaft

Inner race ‐ Softening and scoring of inner race and ‐

spinning shaft
‐ May lead to complete seizure

Skew running ‐ Running marks on stationary race ‐ Misalignment

marks
‐ Normal fatigue flaking limited to one
Uneven fatigue side ‐ Misalignment

Roller-end ‐ Flaking near the roller end radius ‐ Misalignment

collapse
‐ Collapse of material near corner radii of ‐ Manufacturing problem
Roller - end roller accelerated by
chipping misalignment

‐ Fatigue loading Heavy

Roller peeling ‐ Patches of the surface of the roller
removed

Magnetic damage ‐ Softening of running track and rolling ‐ Magnetic field

elements

Overheating ‐ Blackened bearing parts ‐ Overheating

‐ Blackened lubricant

Smearing ‐ Discoloration of bearing surfaces ‐ Heavy loads

‐ Poor lubrication
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‐ Dull working surfaces ‐ Presence of abrasive

Abrasive wear particles in lubricant
‐ Presence of hard wear
particles
‐ ‐ Lubricant failure on high
Molten cage speed bearings

3.2.4 Rolling bearing lubrication

Rolling bearings may be lubricated with grease or oil depending on working temperature, speed,
load, bearing and housing design. The general guideline for use of lubrication in bearing is
outlined below.
Grease is used for
‐ Low temperature up to 1200c,

‐ Lower speed factors up to 300,000

‐ Low to moderate loads

‐ Radial ball and roller bearing, and
‐ Relatively simple housing design.
Oils are used
‐ For bearing temperature up to 2000c

‐ With higher speed factors up to 500,000

‐ For all types of bearing designs ,and

‐ Complex housing design.
When grease is applied to lubricate bearings, balls and roller bearings are packed with grease.
Generally, the grease should not fill more than three- quarters of the total available free space in
the cover with the bearing packed fill. For dirty environments with low to medium speeds, the
grease must completely fill bearing and cover.
When oils are applied to lubricate bearings, bath or splash system may be used for low speeds;
oil flingers or drip-feed lubrication is used for high speeds; pressure circulating and oil mist
systems are used for high speeds.
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3.2.4 Assembly of bearing units

During assembly of bearing, the following general procedures have to follow.
i. Washing
Before assembling a bearing unit, the bearing must be washed thoroughly with a mixture or
petrol and lubricating oil/or with kerosene and allowed to dry. After drying all bearing surfaces
are coated with a film of oil by dipping it in oil.
ii. Assembly
A small bearing is mounted on the shaft by hammering its inner ring uniformly through a copper
or a steel tube/pipe of bore slightly bigger than the shaft. Direct hammering on bearings is not
recommended.
Large bearings are installed on the shaft by heating bearing in an oil bath and slight hammering
where necessary.
iii. Two radial bearings
Two radial bearing should be installed with axial clearances on the outer ring of one of the two
bearing to allow for thermal expansion of the shaft.

3.2.5 Storage of bearings

‐ Bearing must be stored with packing materials on as otherwise might cause corrosion
‐ Upright position may cause deformation of bearing rings, therefore bearings must be kept
in a flat position

3.3 GEAR DAMAGES

Gear failure occurs rarely. A gear pair has not failed until it can no longer be run. This condition
is reached when any one or both of the following has occurred:
‐ One or more teeth have broken away preventing transmission:
‐ Teeth are so badly damaged or worm-out that unacceptable vibration and noise are set up
when the gear runs.

3.3.1 Gear failures

In general, gear failures can be classified in one of the following.
‐ Surface fatigue (pitting)
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‐ Pits start forming on teeth contact surfaces with the running of the gear.
‐ The cause is over stressing of gear material
‐ The remedy is removing the causes of over stressing.
‐ Scuffing
‐ This is the result of disruption of the lubricant film.
‐ The tooth surface are severely roughened and torn as a result of unchecked adhesive
wear
‐ Cause is the rise of temp. for contacting surfaces above the critical tem for the
lubricant.
‐ The remedy is to use high grade oils with high critical temperature.
‐ Abrasive wear
‐ During normal operation, if hard foreign material dimensionally larger than the film
thickness in the range 1.00 - 0.6 μm contaminates the lubricant, the tooth surfaces are
affected by abrasive wear.
‐ Working surfaces become dull and scratched in direction of sliding.
‐ The remedy is protection of oils from contamination and preventing dirt from
entering in.
‐ Plastic deformation
‐ With ductile materials, heavy loading exceeding the elastic limit, produces plastic
deformations.
‐ The remedy is to avoid overloads.
‐ Tooth breakage
‐ If a whole tooth breaks away the gear has failed.
‐ The cause of fracture has to be assessed for the future performance of the gear.

3.3.2 Typical gear failures

Most gear failures and their characteristics are discussed in the table below. The causes of the
failures and their remedies are also included.
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Table 3.5.gear failures, their characteristics, causes and remedies

Gear failure Characteristics Causes Remedies
1. Surface fatigue(pitting)
‐ Pits formation with
persistent running ‐ Over-stressing of gear ‐ Remove cause of
‐ Rapid increase material overload (e.g.
may large pieces correct alignment)
a. Progressive of teeth breaking
pitting away
‐ Continuous line of
pitting reduces
bending resistance
in the affected
tooth
‐ Development of cracks
‐ Appreciable area in the max hertizian ‐ Providing adequate
of the skin on shear stress case depth
skin hardened ‐ More often surface ‐ Tempering gear
b.Case teeth flake away cracks. material after
exfoliation from parent ‐ High residual stress hardening
metal resulting from severe
hardness gradient
between case and core
‐ Dedendum covered
by a large number ‐ Possibly vibration in ‐ Use of more
of small pits(with the gear unit viscous lubricant
c. Dedendum mat appearance)
attrition ‐ Formation of a
step at the pitch
after a continued
running
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2. Scuffing

‐ Tooth surface ‐ Disruption of the ‐ Use of high grade

appear dull and lubricant film with the oils with higher
slightly rough in gear tooth surfaces temperature
a) Light comparison with temperature reaching
scuffing unaffected areas critical temperature of
‐ wear in the lubricating oil
direction of sliding ‐ Use of low viscous
the tip and root of oils
the engaging teeth

‐ Tooth surfaces ‐ Maintained conditions ‐ Eliminate causes of

severely of light scuffing continued light
roughened as a ‐ Deficiency of lubricant scuffing
b) Heavy result of ‐ Temperature of ‐ Use higher grade
scuffing unchecked contacting surface rises oil
adhesive wear above the critical
temperature of
resulting to continued
welding and tearing of
the gear material
c) Abrasive wear

‐ Grooves are cut ‐ Dirt falling in an open ‐ Use clean lubricant

a) Foreign in the tooth flanks gear ‐ Prevent dirt from
matter in oil in the direction of ‐ Inadequate initial gear entering system
the sliding cleaning periodic flushing of
‐ Dislodged scale in oil gear unit
supply pipes
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‐ Essentially similar ‐ Fine foreign material in ‐ Gears should be

to lapping oils cleaned refilled
b) Attrition ‐ cause abrasive ‐ Wear debris in lubricant ‐ Protection of oils
caused by wear from contaminate
fine foreign ‐ Dull and scratched on
matter in oil surface in the
direction of sliding
‐ Destruction of
tooth profiles

d) Plastic deformation

‐ Driven gear ‐ Overloading ‐ Eliminate causes

Dedendum and ‐ Design error of overloading
driving gear
a) scoring addendum carry
numerous ridges
and hollowing
parallel to the
direction of sliding.

‐ A flash (knife) ‐ Heavy loading of gear ‐ Reduction of

edge is formed on material where surface transmitted load by
b) sever plastic the tips of the stress is raised above correcting
flow in steel driving gear teeth the elastic limit and alignment
gear ‐ On the driven gear while in the plastic ‐ More viscous
a ridge is formed range, surface layers lubricant
‐ Highly burnished are displaced in the
tooth flanks direction of sliding
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e) Tooth breakage
‐ At the fracture the ‐ Sudden shear load ‐ Eliminate causes of
a) Brittle surface is rough or which exceeds the shock loading
fracture crystalline impact
‐ Usually more ‐ Characteristics of the
teeth are affected. material
‐ Presence of hard
material

b) Tooth end ‐ Broken tooth tips ‐ Excessive local loading ‐ Limit use to rated
and tip caused by high torque
loading transmitted torque ‐ Proper meshing
,incorrect meshing and alignment

3.3.3 GEAR LUBRICATION

Proper lubrication is important to prevention of premature wear of tooth surfaces. In the basic
action of involute tooth profiles there is a significant sliding component along with rolling
action. In worm gearing sliding is the predominant consideration. Thus, a lubricant is essential
for all gearing subject to measurable loading, and even for lightly or negligibly loaded
instrument gearing it is needed to reduce friction. Excellent oils and greases are available for
high unit load, high speed gearing.
i. Purpose of lubricants
a. Keep moving parts apart:- lubricants are typically used to separate moving parts in a
system .this has the benefit of reducing and surface fatigue, together with reduced
heat generation, operating noise and vibrations. Lubricants achieve this by several
ways. The most common is by forming a physical barrier, i.e., a thin layer of lubricant
separates the moving parts.
b. Reduce friction: - typically the lubricant-to- surface friction is much less than surface-
to-surface friction in a system without any lubrication. Thus use of a lubricant reduces
the overall system friction. Reduced friction has the benefit of reducing heat
generation and reduced formation of wear particles as well as improved efficiency
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c. Transfer heat: - Both gas and liquid lubricant can transfer heat. However liquid
lubricants are much more effective on account of their high specific heat capacity
typically the liquid lubricant may be used to warm as well as to cool when a regulated
temperature is require .this circulating flow also determines the amount of heat that is
carried a way in any given unit of time.
d. Carry away contaminant and debris (Maintaining cleanliness): - Lubricant circulation
systems have the benefit of carrying away internally generated debris and external
contaminant that get introduced into the system to a filter where they can be removed.
Lubricants flowing through meshing parts remove wear debris and external
contaminants thereby keeping the parts clean.
ii. Properties of gear lubricants
The most important property of gear lubricants is their viscosity. The viscosity must be
high enough to maintain adequate lubrication film between meshing teeth under all
conditions. However, high viscosity oils may not always be desirable as they.
‐ increase drag and give rise to increased power losses;
‐ Are less effective as coolants
‐ Are prone to overheating and become oxidized;
‐ Are more likely to foam because of poor demulsibility property.
Viscosity of lubricants is expressed by the viscosity index,
Other important gear lubricant properties are
‐ anti-wear and extreme pressure (EP)property
‐ oxidation resistance,
‐ anti-corrosion property
‐ anti-foaming property,
‐ demulsibility, i.e. good property to separate from water .
These properties are attained by use of suitable additive to the base oil.
iii. Gear lubricant selection
Lubricant selection for gears must be always be based on manufacturers recommendations.
The influencing factors for lubricant selection are;
‐ Gear type, speed, and speed reduction ration:
‐ Gear material and surface finish
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‐ Operating temperature: and

‐ Load characteristics.
iv. Lubrication application
Application of lubricant to meshing gear teeth is preferably applied at the parting in which the oil
is used for cooling and at the same time reduces amount of oil at the next engagement cycle.
Type lubrication applications for gears are the following.

3.3.4 Repair OF transmission gears

i. Uniform tooth wear on one side
For gears running in one direction only, if uniform wear on the gear occurs, the gear are turned
over by 1800 so that the other face would be the working face.
ii. Uniform tooth face wear on both sides
The smaller of two meshing gears is comparatively worn – out more, and should be replaced by a
new one.to achieve normal gap between meshing teeth ,the depth of cut on the new (smaller)
gear is taken slightly less than the other and the outside diameter of the old gear is reduced in the
same proportion.
iii. Broken teeth
If there is no impact load on the gear, it is recommended to repair the broken teeth by welding.
The welding is done either by using templates (m> 4), or by complete weld filling and
subsequent machining
iv. Cracked/damaged rim or bore of gear wheel
The defective rim or bore portion is machined away and fitted by a new machined part. This new
part is locked in position by welding or set screws installed at the mating periphery. The final
boring and spline cutting is done after fitting. If the rim is replaced the final turning and milling
is done after securing in position.
3.3.5 Gear assembly
i. Spur and helical gears
These gears must be assembled in such a way that the gear axes are parallel with the correct
distance. The correct meshing of such gears is decided by applying blue paste on the teeth of the
driving gear and checking the blue marks on the driven gear after several turns. For correct
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meshing the blue marks on the driven gear should cove 70-80% of the tooth face about and
should be centrally distributed. Otherwise the gear assembly is incorrect
ii. Bevel gears
The correct meshing of such gears is decided in the same way as for spur and helical gears with
50% covered area.
iii. Worm and worm wheel
The correct meshing is decided by applying blue paste on the worm threads and observing the
blue marks after several turns on the worm wheel. Gap between gears can be checked by rotating
a paper tape between the teeth. For normal working gap, the paper will take the form of the teeth
and will be torn at places.

Note: - the most prolific source of trouble in gear assembly is faulty lubrication and
misalignment. Both can be corrected if present, unless scuffing has occurred.

3.4 DAMAGES OF FRICTION SURFACE

Friction surfaces of clutches and brakes usually fail by wear and/or deformation. The damage of
the friction surfaces affects the performance and shortens the life of the component and in
exceptional cases results in complete failure.

3.4.1 Brake damages:

In subsequent tables, damages of metal surfaces and friction lining of brakes will be discussed.

i) Metal surfaces

Table 3.6 Brake metal surface failures, their characteristics and causes
Failure Characteristics Cause
‐ Heat spotted area with ‐ Distortion causing heavily
1. Heat spotting reddish brown color loaded contact on a small
area
‐ Uncomfortable mating
‐ Randomly oriented cracks ‐ Overheating

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2. Crazing on the rubbing surface of a
mating component
- Scratches of the rubbing
path in the line of
3. Scoring movement
ii) friction lining
Table 3.7 brake friction lining failures their characteristic and causes
Failure Characteristics
‐ Heavy gouging caused by
hard spots on drum
1. Heat spotting resulting in rapid lining
wear
‐ Randomly oriented cracks
2. Crazing on the lining resulting in a
high rate of wear
3. Scoring ‐ Grooves formed on the
frictional material in te line
of movement resulting in a
reduction of life
4. Fade ‐ Material degrades or flow
at the frictional surface
resulting in decreased and
loss in performance
5. Metal pickup ‐ Metal plucked from the
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‐ Repeated stress cycling
from comp. to tension
(heating and cooling)
- Too soft metal for the
friction material
‐ Abrasive material
embedded in the lining
material
Causes
‐ Material rubbing against
heat spotted metal member
‐ Overheating of the braking
surface from overheating
‐ Overheating from brake
dragging
‐ Using new friction
maternal against metal
member which need re-
grinding
‐ Overheating caused by
excessive braking or brake
dragging
‐ Unsuitable combination of

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mating member and
embedded in the lining
6. Grab ‐ Lining contact at ends only
‐ Noisy brake
‐ Erratic performance
3.4.2 Clutch damages
Table 3.8 Clutch failures their characteristics and causes
Failure Characteristics
‐ Clutch plate distorted into
1. Dishing a conical shape
‐ Dragging of plates in
disengaging the clutch.
‐ Clutch plates become
buckled to a wavy pattern
2.Buckling ‐ Preferential heating occurs
‐ Thermal damage and
failure
‐ Friction material adhering
to opposing plate giving
3.Material transfer rise to excessive wear
‐ Material parting at the
4.Bond failure bond to the core plate
causing loss in
performance
5.Grooving ‐ Grooving of the facing
material on the line of
movement
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materials
‐ Incorrect radiusing of
lining (fault in assembly)
Causes
‐ Lack of conformability
‐ Difference over the lining
causing shrinkage
‐ Lack of conformability
‐ (inner area hotter than
outer area causing
shrinkage)
‐ Overheating
‐ Unsuitable friction
material
‐ Poor bonding
‐ Overheating the high temp
affecting bonding agent
‐ Material transfer to
opposite plate
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‐ Facings out of flatness ‐ Unsuitable friction

6.Distortion giving rise to erratic clutch material
engagement

3.5 SEALS
3.5.1 Basic seal types and their characteristics
i) Dynamic seals
Sealing take place between surfaces in sliding contact or narrowly separated surfaces.
ii) Static seals
Sealing take place between surfaces which do not move relative to each other
iii) Pseudo –static seals
Limited relative motion is possible at the sealing surface or the seal itself allows limited
motion; e.g. swivel couplings for pipes, flexible diaphragm
iv) exclusion seals
Devices to restrict access of dirt etc., to a system often used in conjunction with dynamic
seals

3.5.2 Characteristics of dynamic seals

The basic characteristics of dynamic seals, which are the main sealing items in moving
machinery, are represented schematically in fig. 3.2
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3.5.2 Seal damages

i) Rubber seals of all types

Table 3.9 symptoms of rubber seal damages, their causes and remedy
Symptoms
‐ Rubber brittle
‐ Possibly cracked
‐ Seal leaks
‐ Rubber softened, possibly
swollen
‐ Seal motion irregular
‐ Jerky vibration
‐ Seal friction very high on
starting
‐ Seal permanently deformed
Cause
‐ Rubber ageing
‐ Exposure the sunlight
‐ Overheat due to high fluid
temperature or high speed
‐ Rubber incompatible with
sealed fluid
‐ Stick slip phenomena
‐ Static friction ( time
dependent)
‐ Permanent set
(characteristic of rubbers)
Remedy
‐ Renew seal
‐ Change rubber compound
‐ Improve seal
environmental or
operating conditions
‐ Change rubber compound
or change fluid
‐ Higher or lower speed
may avoid problem
‐ Change fluid temperature
‐ Change rubber
‐ Probably inevitable
‐ Effect slowed by softer
rubber or more viscous
fluid
‐ Change rubber compound

ii) o- rings, rectangular rubber rings, u- rings

Table 3.10 symptoms of o-rectangular and U-ring seal damages

Symptoms Cause Remedy
‐ Fine circumferential cut set ‐ Reduce back clearance
back slightly from sliding ‐ Extrusion damage ‐ Check concentricity of
contact zone parts
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‐ Ring completely ejected ‐ Fitting of back-up ring

from its groove
‐ Wear (not restricted to
sliding contact)
‐ Partial or total fracture
‐ Ring rolling or twisting in
groove
‐ Use reinforced seal
‐ Use harder rubber
‐ Replace O-ring by
rectangular section ring or
lobed type ring

iii) Lip seal

Table 3.11 symptoms of lip seal damages their causes and remedy
Symptoms
Rotating lip seals
‐ Excessive leakage
‐ Lip cracked in places
‐ Reciprocating lip seal
‐ Excessive wear/high
friction
Cause
‐ Damaged lip (during
assembly)
‐ Excessive speed
‐ Poor lubrication
‐ Hot environment
‐ Poor lubrication
‐ Seal overloaded
Remedy
‐ Remove cause of damage
during assembly
‐ Improve lubrication
‐ Reduce environmental
temperature
‐ Consider using alternative
rubber compound
‐ Replace single seal
‐ Use heavy duty seal
‐ For aqueous fluids leather
may be better than rubber

3.6 SHAFT FAILURES

Shaft function in a wide ranging operation conditions which include
‐ Corrosive environments
‐ High and temperatures and
‐ Abrasive environments.
Moreover, shaft are subjected to various types of loading conditions and experience tension,
compression, bending, torsion or any combination of these loading conditions. These loads can
be stationary or may vary with time introduction. In additions, shafts are subjected to vibratory
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stress conditions. Added to the service condition, these load conditions are sources of shaft
failures. The basic causes of shaft failures are wear fatigue and misalignment.

3.6.1 Shaft failure due to wear

Wear is common cause of shaft failures. The wear process takes place by abrasive wear
mechanism which is followed by removal of material from the surface of the shaft. Abrasive
wear normally occurs due to hard particles of protuberance sliding along the surface. Presence of
foreign particles such as sand, dirt, metallic particles, wear debris in lubricant also results in
abrasive wear. Abrasive wear reduces shaft size and destroys shape of the shaft and causes shaft
failure.

3.6.2 Fatigue failure

One of the more common causes of shaft failure is fatigue. Fatigue failures commonly initiate at
stress raisers. The mechanism of fatigue requires the simultaneous presence of three things:
‐ There must be cyclic stresses on the shaft
‐ These stresses must be tensile in nature and
‐ There must be plastic strain.
The process of fatigue is considered to consist of three stages:
‐ Initial fatigue damage involving plastic strains leading to crack initiation:
‐ Crack propagation that continues to grow across the part until the remaining cross section
of shaft becomes too wear to carry the impose load and
‐ Final and sudden fracture of the remaining cross section, due to overload
Fatigue failure is an insidious because the stresses at which crack initiates and propagation take
place are much lower than the nominal yield strength of the shaft material. These stresses occur
at stress raisers were the crack initiates. Some typical shaft features that act as stress raisers are
‐ Corners, fillers, notches, etc
‐ Key –ways, grooves, splines, etc..,
‐ Press- or shrink fits,
‐ Welding defects,
‐ Metallurgical defects introduced by meat working such as forging , machining, heat
treatment ,etc.
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Other service - related factors that are very important factors in fatigue initiation are damages
cause by corrosion and wear. These problems cause reduction in the cross section and/or change
of shape and local areas may be created which act as stress raisers.

Another service - related problem that results in fatigue crack is fretting where contact occurs
between journal and bearing. Fretting is a minute oscillatory tangential relative motion
commonly known as slip. Fretted surfaces show shallow pits filled with debris. Escape of debris
eventually results in loss of fit which aggravates the fretting process. And debris trapped may
cause seizure of motion. Fretting initiates fatigue cracks over the fretted area and reduces fatigue
strength appreciably.

3.6.3 Shaft failures due to misalignment

Another common cause of shaft failures is misalignment. Misalignment can be introduced due to
the following problems:
‐ Mismatching of mating parts,
‐ Original assembly error of equipment,
‐ Any maintenance activity resulting in maintenance- induced alignment problems,
‐ Deflection or deformation of supporting components,
‐ Deflection or deformation of the shaft itself
Misalignment imposes unexpected bending moments on journals which are responsible for
increasing motion which is a typical cause for development of cyclic stresses.

3.6.4 Other shaft failures

Other shaft failures which need attention from assembly, operation and/or maintenance points of
view are the following
‐ Accidental overload
‐ Corrosion due to working environment
‐ Creep stress rapture
‐ Brittle failures
‐ Metallurgical and manufacturing defects
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‐ Fits and tolerances between shaft and hub

‐ Hydrogen embrittlement
‐ Excessive belt tension, overload.

3.6.5 Remedies of shaft failures

Basic shaft failures can be prevented by identifying the causes that are responsible for the failure
and eliminating the conditions that create these causes .some of the remedies for preventing shaft
failures are the following
‐ Wear of shaft can be reduced /prevented by using proper lubrication in which the
lubricant acts as a wear deterrent and also as a cleaning agent.
‐ Misalignment can be eliminated by proper assembly procedures
‐ Fatigue can be reduced by proper design of local area known as stress raisers i.e. by
streamlining the part at the change of cross section.
‐ Avoiding sharp surfaces during machining as much as possible eliminate the formation of
stress raisers.
‐ Use of proper fits and tolerance reduces fretting problems and misalignment, wear and
fatigue
.