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Failure Analysis of Ball Bearing of Conveyor: Overusage

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A Correction to this article was published on 10 November 2020

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Abstract

Rolling bearings are machine elements found in a wide field of applications. They are reliable even under the toughest conditions. When bearings fail to meet their expected life, the consequences are increased down time, loss of revenue and missed delivery. Hence, it is important to know the bearing theoretical fatigue life. However, unfortunately, it sometimes happens that a bearing does not attain its calculated rating life. There may be many reasons for this—heavier loading than has been anticipated, inadequate or unsuitable lubrication, careless handling, ineffective sealing, improper mounting and improper clearance. This article describes the failure of a conveyor bearing in rolling contact fatigue. The investigation consists of visual observation, chemical analysis, characterization of microstructures using optical microscopes and hardness test. The study also calculates the bearing fatigue life (L10) under these operating conditions. Surface-initiated rolling contact fatigue, leading to spalling, is a life-limiting failure mode in bearings. Ferrography test, discussed in this paper, indicates fatigue spalling. Analysis suggested that the conveyor bearing failed near its calculated fatigue life and the failure occurred in rolling contact fatigue. Periodic schedule, after calculating L10 life, for changing the bearing and scheduled ferrography checks can eliminate this type of unplanned breakdown.

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Change history

  • 10 November 2020

    In the original version of the article, Prabhash Gokarn’s last name was misspelled. The original version of the article has been corrected.

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Acknowledgment

Authors are thankful to the management of Tata Steel Limited for granting permission to publish this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Laboratories, Scientific Services Division, Tata Steel Limited, Kalinganagar, India

    Urbi Pal, Piyas Palit & Prabhash Gokarn

  2. Mechanical Design, Tata Steel Limited, Kalinganagar, India

    Samiran Kanrar

Authors
  1. Urbi Pal
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  2. Piyas Palit
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  3. Prabhash Gokarn
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  4. Samiran Kanrar
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Correspondence to Urbi Pal.

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The original online version of this article was revised: Prabhash Gokarn’s last name was misspelled.

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Pal, U., Palit, P., Gokarn, P. et al. Failure Analysis of Ball Bearing of Conveyor: Overusage. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 20, 1992–2002 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-01014-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-01014-5

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