DJJ50203

TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE FOR

MECHANICAL COMPONENTS

TOPIC 4 : BEARING

Prepared by:
Mr. Roslan bin Hashim
Mechanical Engineering Department
Ungku Omar Polytechnic
 A bearing is a machine element that constrains
relative motion and reduces friction
between moving parts to only the desired
motion.
 The design of the bearing may, for example,
provide for free linear movement of the moving
part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or,
it may prevent a motion by controlling
the vectors of normal forces that bear on the
moving parts. ROLLING
ELEMENT

INNER RACE

OUTER RACE
WHAT AND TYPES OF BEARINGS
HIDRODYNAMIC BEARING (JOURNAL BEARING)
There are at least 6 common application of bearing:
 Plain bearing also known by the specific styles:
bushing, journal bearing, sleeve bearing, rifle bearing
 Rolling-element bearing such as ball bearings and
roller bearings
 Jewel bearing in which the load is carried by rolling
the axle slightly off-center
 Fluid bearing in which the load is carried by a gas or
liquid
 Magnetic bearing in which the load is carried by
a magnetic field
 Flexure bearing in which the motion is supported by
a load element which bends.
Plain bearing Roller bearing Magnetic bearing Flexure bearing

Jewel bearing Fluid bearing

ABMA : American Bearing Manufacturers Association
 Internal factors
 In light to normal load applications, metal fatigue is rarely an
issue, but grease life is a limiting factor when determining the
life of a sealed bearing.

 External factors
 The service life of the bearing is affected by many parameters
that are not controlled by the bearing manufacturers. For
example, bearing mounting, temperature, exposure to external
environment, lubricant cleanliness and electrical currents
through bearings etc. High frequency PWM inverters can induce
currents in a bearing, which can be suppressed by the use
of ferrite chokes.
 The temperature and terrain of the micro-surface will determine
the amount of friction by the touching of solid parts.
 Certain elements and fields reduce friction while increasing
speeds.
 Strength and mobility help determine the amount of load the
bearing type can carry.
 Alignment factors can play a damaging role in wear and tear, yet
overcome by computer aid signaling and non-rubbing bearing
types, such as magnetic levitation or air field pressure.
 Rolling element bearings
Rolling element bearing life is determined by
load, temperature, maintenance, lubrication,
material defects, contamination, handling,
installation and other factors.
These factors can all have a significant effect
on bearing life. For example, the service life of
bearings in one application was extended
dramatically by changing how the bearings were
stored before installation and use, as vibrations
during storage caused lubricant failure even when
the only load on the bearing was its own weight; the
resulting damage is often false brinelling.
 Plain bearings
For plain bearings, some materials give much
longer life than others. Some of the John
Harrison clocks still operate after hundreds of
years because of the lignum vitae wood employed
in their construction, whereas his metal clocks are
seldom run due to potential wear.

 Flexure bearings
Flexure bearings rely on elastic properties of a
material. Flexure bearings bend a piece of
material repeatedly. Some materials fail after
repeated bending, even at low loads, but careful
material selection and bearing design can make
flexure bearing life indefinite.
 Composite bearings
Depending on the customized specifications
(backing material and PTFE compounds),
composite bearings can operate up to 30 years
without maintenance.

 Fluid and magnetic bearings

Fluid and magnetic bearings can have practically
indefinite service lives. In practice, there are fluid
bearings supporting high loads in hydroelectric
plants that have been in nearly continuous service
since about 1900 and which show no signs of wear.
 L10 life
Bearings are often specified to give an "L10" life (outside the
USA, it may be referred to as "B10" life.) This is the life at
which ten percent of the bearings in that application can be
expected to have failed due to classical fatigue failure (and not
any other mode of failure like lubrication starvation, wrong
mounting etc.), or, alternatively, the life at which ninety percent
will still be operating. The L10 life of the bearing is theoretical
life and may not represent service life of the bearing. Bearings
are also rated using C0 (static loading) value. This is the basic
load rating as a reference, and not an actual load value.

 Grease life depends mainly on the following factors:

 Operating temperature

 Speed

 Load
 MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING OF BEARINGS
The fundamental prerequisite for the correct
mounting and dismounting of bearings is
cleanliness of working site, tools, all components of
bearing arrangement, lubricant and bearings
themselves. Any contamination from foreign matter
will result in rapid deterioration of the bearings.
MOUNTING OF BEARINGS
Prepare all the equipment, parts and the necessary tools before
mounting. Ensure that they are clean. Bearings are supplied in
protective packages and should not be taken out earlier than
immediately before mounting so that they do not become dirty.

Rolling bearings can be mounted on the shaft either in cold or warm

condition. While large bearings are mounted by heating them in suitable
mineral oil up to a temperature of 70º to 90º C, small and medium size
bearings can usually be driven on to the shaft in cold condition with the
use of suitable mounting tools and a press. The force applied for pressing
must not be transmitted through the rolling elements, the necessary jig
must be placed so that it bears upon that ring which is being driven on,
and / or upon both rings simultaneously.
DISMOUNTING OF BEARINGS

Dismounting of bearings must be simple and must not damage the

bearings or adjacent components. Small and medium size bearings
can be dismounted by using a puller or other suitable withdrawal
tools. Large bearings generally require greater force for
dismounting and oil injection method is invariably used in such
cases. Induction hearts and thermo withdrawal tools are also used
for dismounting of heavy interference inner rings of cylindrical
roller bearings.
1) FLAKING
EXAMPLE OF FLAKING DAMAGE
2) CRACKING, CHIPPING
EXAMPLE OF CRACKING DAMAGE
3) BRINELLING, NICKS
EXAMPLE OF BRINELLING DAMAGE
 SEALS are usually defined as components or
assemblies which prevent the passage of
fluids between the moving parts of a
machine. Note that "fluid" may refer to
liquid, vapour or gas.
 Where the need arises to prevent the
leakage of fluid between two stationary
parts, different sealing components, often
called GASKETS.
 Function of seal

 Some of the functions seals may be required

to perform are to:
- Prevent escape of lubricant.
- Prevent contamination.
- Prevent the ingress of dirt.
- Prevent pollution and environmental
damage.
 Function of gasket
 Thefunction of the gasket is to conform to
any surface irregularities or slight
misalignment between the two surfaces and
thereby to provide a complete seal.
 Friction of bearing
• Reducing friction in bearings is often important for efficiency, to reduce
wear and to facilitate extended use at high speeds and to avoid
overheating and premature failure of the bearing. Essentially, a bearing
can reduce friction by virtue of its shape, by its material, or by
introducing and containing a fluid between surfaces or by separating the
surfaces with an electromagnetic field.
By shape, gains advantage usually by using spheres or rollers,
or by forming flexure bearings.
By material, exploits the nature of the bearing material used.
(An example would be using plastics that have low surface
friction.)
By fluid, exploits the low viscosity of a layer of fluid, such as a
lubricant or as a pressurized medium to keep the two solid
parts from touching, or by reducing the normal force between
them.
By fields, exploits electromagnetic fields, such as magnetic
fields, to keep solid parts from touching.
Temperature of bearing
• Bearing temperature generally rises with start-up and
stabilizes at a temperature slightly lower than at start-up
(normally 10 to 40 °- higher than room temperature) in a
certain time. The time before stabilizing depends on the
size, type, speed, and lubrication system of the bearing
and the heat dissipation condition around the bearing. It
ranges from about 20 minutes to as long as several hours.

•High bearing temperature is not desirable in view of

maintaining an adequate service life and preventing
lubricant deterioration. A desirable bearing temperature
is generally below 100 °C
Major causes of high bearing
temperature :
(1) Extremely insufficient or excessive lubricant
(2) Poor installation of the bearings
(3) Extremely small bearing clearance or
extremely heavy load
(4) Extremely high friction between lip and seal
groove
(5) Improper lubricant type
(6) Creep between the fitting surfaces
 Friction
- One of the main functions required of a bearing is that it
must have low friction. Under normal operating conditions
rolling bearings have a much smaller friction coefficient
than the slide bearings, especially starting friction.
 The friction coefficient for rolling bearings is expressed by
formula :
 Temperature rise
- Almost all friction loss in a bearing is
transformed into heat within the bearing itself
and causes the temperature of the bearing to
rise. The amount of thermal generation caused
by friction moment can be calculated using
formula

- Bearing operating temperature is determined by the

equilibrium or balance between the amount of heat
generated by the bearing and the amount of heat
conducted away from the bearing.