Assuming proper design, application, and lubrication, rolling element bearings will fail sooner or later due to their natural material fatigue life limit, but all bearings will fail prematurely from abuse or neglect. BY L. (TEX) LEUGNER Troubleshooting of rolling element bearing problems and recognizing their root cause of failure is often difficult, because many failure types look very similar. This is because bearing failures are almost always precipitated by spalling or flaking conditions of the bearing component surfaces. Spalling occurs when a bearing has reached its fatigue life limit, but also when premature failures occur. For this reason, it is important for the troubleshooter to be aware of and able to recognize all the common failures of rolling element bearings. This ability to correctly troubleshoot and recognize the root cause of bearing failures will lead the analyst to the right conclusions. We often hear the comment, even by knowledgeable and well-meaning enginee...
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