Common faults of spherical roller bearings

1. Raceway/roller surface damage type

1. Indentations

Regular abnormal noise and heavy vibration are typical signs, caused by hammer mounting or metal debris trapped inside.

2. Scoring / Scuffing

Sharp squeaking noise and rapid temperature rise usually result from insufficient grease or abrasive dust inside.

3. Pitting

Gradually increasing vibration comes from fatigue pitting or static corrosion during long shutdown.

4. Large-scale spalling

Large-area spalling is a severe failure, which will cause sudden equipment shutdown and damage matched shafts.

II. Lubrication-related faults (SRB with the highest incidence)

1. Overheating

Excessive grease filling is the most common reason for bearing overheating in mining and cement equipment.

2. Carbonized grease & Sludge

Mixed greases will produce sludge and block the W33 lubrication hole, leading to poor grease circulation.

3. Lubrication failure, dry friction

Without regular greasing, metal-to-metal dry friction will burn the bearing within a short time.

III. Faults due to poor assembly and alignment

1. Seizure / Burning of bearing

Over-tightened adapter sleeve reduces internal clearance too much and easily causes bearing seizure.

2. Creep / Slip of inner ring

Loose lock nut on tapered bore bearings leads to inner ring slipping and abrasion of shaft surface.

3. SRB has self-aligning capacity, but severe shaft misalignment will still overload partial rollers.

IV. Sealing, water ingress, and corrosion failures

1. Corrosion & Rust spots

2RS sealed SRB is recommended for construction and agricultural machines to avoid water and dust ingress.

2. Seal aging and grease leakage

High working temperature will accelerate rubber seal aging and cause grease leakage.

V. Cage failure

1. Cage deformation / Breakage

Never hit the cage during mounting; strong impact load also causes cage fracture.

2. Roller falling off

Broken cage will make rollers fall out and lead to sudden equipment stop.

VI. Other common faults

1. Clearance abnormal

Reduced clearance: Lock too tight, thermal expansion at high temperatures → Heat-induced seizure

Increased clearance: wear, corrosion, long-term overload → high vibration noise

2. Ring cracking of the inner and outer rings of the bearing

Causes: tempering of steel due to excessively high hot charging temperature, significant impact, material defects, and strong knock during installation