BEARINGS

When correctly installed and efficiently lubricated, bearings require little but thorough, attention during
service, to ensure a long working life. The majority of bearings used in aircraft engineering are of the
sealed or shielded type. These bearing are designed to prevent the ingress of foreign matter, which will
damage or contaminate the bearing contact surfaces.

10.1 CLEANING AND INSPECTION OF BEARINGS

Cleaning

Before a bearing can be checked it must be cleaned thoroughly to remove any dirt and the old
lubricating fluid.

The manual will dictate the cleaning process including use of any solvent, but a typical method is as
follows.

Remove any excess grease with clothes and dry compressed air, whilst ensuring that the rolling
elements remain stationary or only rotate slowly.

Soak the bearing in an approved solvent, such white spirit, to remove the remaining grease. The
solvent may be applied as a forced jet if necessary.

Dry the bearing by using clean warm and dry compressed air, again avoiding fast rotation of any
rolling elements.

Lightly lubricate all bearing surfaces with oil to prevent the onset of corrosion.

Testing

 Testing a bearing is usually restricted to rotational checks and excessive backlash or free play.
 Slow rotation of the rolling elements and raceway will highlight any roughness due to damage,
corrosion or wear.
 A serviceable bearing should have a smooth actuation.
 Free play should be tested in both a radial and axial direction and is normally done by using a
DTI. S
 some wear is usually permitted and will depend on the grade of fit, but any wear that leaves
excessive backlash in the system is unsatisfactory.
 The rate of this wear depends on the speed the bearing is rotated at, with high speed bearings
failing quicker than those which rotate slowly or through distances of less than one complete
revolution.
 A bearing that has any indication of a fault should be discarded immediately.
 Due to their construction internal inspection of shielded bearings will be restricted.
 Taper bearings can be dismantled and a thorough inspection of the rolling elements and
raceway surfaces can be completed.
INSPECTION OF BEARINGS

Once clean the bearing should be inspected for signs of failure, some of the more common being:

1. Normal Fatigue 2. Excessive Loading 3. Installation and Misalignment 4. Loose Fitting or Spinning 5.
Brinelling 6. Overheating and Lubrication Deficiency 7. Contamination and Corrosion

1) Normal Fatigue
a) Normal fatigue failure is often shown as a fracture of the running surface, with subsequent
removal of small particles of metal and is commonly called spalling.
b) It occurs on both rolling elements and raceways, and is always accompanied by an increase in
vibration. Moderately spalled areas show the bearing has reached the end of its normal service
life.
2) Excessive Loads
a) Excessive loading of a bearing is usually the same as normal fatigue, but the rolling elements
wear path is usually heavier. There is also increased evidence of overheating with a widespread
and deeper fatigue

3) Installation and Misalignment

i) Installation damage is usually the result of an impact that occurs when a bearing is fitted
incorrectly. This may be due to a sharp strike from a drift or pressing the wrong raceway
when mounting the bearing.
ii) Misalignment damage can be seen on the raceway of the non-rotating ring because the
rolling element wear path is not parallel to the raceway edge. Excessive misalignment can
cause high temperatures as well as heavy wear of the cage.

4) Loose Fit

i) A bearing should always be mounted onto a shaft or housing with an interference fit.
ii) If the raceway becomes loose then it will rotate on these surfaces and cause fretting.
iii) This fretting will remove metal particles, which oxidise and leave a distinctive brown colour.
iv) It usually occurs when the bearing outer raceway rotates inside a worn housing.
 v) The external surface of the raceway will be scored and discoloured as a result of a loose
fitting bearing.

5) Brinelling

i) Brinelling marks on a bearing raceway resemble the indentations that result from a Brinell
Hardness Test. They are described as being either True Brinell or False Brinell marks.

ii) True Brinelling occurs when loads on the bearings raceway exceed the elastic limit of the
raceway material. Brinell marks are indentations on the rolling element caused by an
excessive static or dynamic loads.

iii) The indentations can be seen on the raceways and will increase bearing noise and vibration,
which leads to the bearings premature failure. The damage is often caused by dropping the
bearing or installing it incorrectly.

iv) False Brinelling occurs when there is only small relative motion between the rolling
elements and raceways during non-rotation periods. It is characterised by elliptical wear
marks in the axial direction at each rolling element position (Refer Fig. 3 Right).
v) If the bearing is not turning then an oil film cannot be formed to prevent raceway wear.
False Brinelling marks are normally perpendicular to the line of motion, well defined and
maybe surrounded by debris.
6) Overheating and Lubrication Failure
i) Excessive heating of a bearing manifests itself as discoloration of the rings, rolling elements
and cages from gold to blue. Excessive temperatures will usually be in excess of 400°C. In
extreme cases the rolling elements and raceways will deform. A blue/black colour indicates
an area close to the heat source and changes to a silver/gold discoloration the further you
move away.

ii) Failure or lack of lubrication often has similar signs as overheating because good lubrication
should cool the material and transfer away any heat produced during rotation. Restricted
flow and excessive temperatures can also degrade the chemical composition of the oil,
making it ineffective and increase wear rates.

iii) The outcome of either overheating or lubrication failure will always result in the eventual
failure of the bearing.
7) Contamination and Corrosion
i) Contamination is one of the leading causes of premature bearing failure. The symptoms are
dents or scratches embedded in the bearing raceway and rolling elements, resulting in
bearing vibration and wear.
ii) The contaminant would be an abrasive substance that gets into the bearing, such as sand,
grit or dust. The principal sources are dirty tools, contaminated work areas, dirty hands and
foreign matter in the lubricant or cleaning solutions.
iii) Corrosion is usually the result of a chemical attack on the bearing material by an
incompatible fluid such as moisture. It manifests itself as either black pitting marks or
red/brown rust coloured areas on the rolling elements, raceways, or cages. It usually results
in increased vibration followed by wear.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

The cleaning of bearings for inspection normally involves the use of solvents, so the appropriate PPE
should be worn. This will include respiratory, eye and skin protection by using breathing masks,
goggles and inspection gloves. The moisture from the human hand may contaminate a bearing
surface, as easily as the lubricant can cause damage to the skin through dermatitis.
STORAGE

If a bearing is to be used immediately after inspection, it should be lubricated with correct lubricant
and installed. If there is liable to be a delay before installation, then the bearing should be coated in
rust-preventing inhibiting oil, wrapped in greaseproof paper, boxed and labelled. The bearing should
always be stored horizontally, in a clean dry atmosphere.