Cracks on Bearing Rings II

 

Structural changes in roller bearing rings resulting in cracks

  Damage to a bearing ring and the grinding pattern of a crack network after etching with a nital solution Copyright: © MSE Damage to a bearing ring and the grinding pattern of a crack network after etching with a nital solution

Motivation

Failures are currently being noted in roller bearings long before their calculated fatigue life. The damage is superficial and is characterized by axial cracks or eruptions. A structure change can be detected through preparation of the affected areas by grinding and subsequent etching. These areas then appear white and are referred to as white etching areas, WEA for short, or because of the crack network as white etching cracks, WEC for short and were the focus of this project.

 

Research objectives

The objective of the project was to extend our understanding of WEA / WEC formation in rolling contacts. The partial objectives of the project were therefore as follows:

  • Identification of operating points critical to WEA / WEC
  • Assessment of the impact of relevant operating parameters on the emergence of damage
  • Derivation of a damage hypothesis

Research and project partners

  • Institute for Material Applications in Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, IWM
  • Central Facility for Electron Microscopy, RWTH Aachen University, GFE

  Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action Copyright: © BMWK

Promoted by

The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action

  Aif, FVA Logo Copyright: © AIF, FVA

Project sponsor

Federation of Industrial Cooperative Research Associations, AiF

Research Association for Drive Technology, FVA