Introduction to Roller-Bearings and Damage Analysis

Semih Genculu, PE

Course Outline

This 2-hour online course is prepared for engineers to help them understand the possible causes of rolling-element bearing damage. The common rolling-element bearing types, bearing materials and typical bearing damage mechanisms are discussed along with corrective actions.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Become familiar with types of rolling-element bearings;
• Gain knowledge about the principal components of the bearings;
• Have information about the factors that need to be considered during selection of bearing type for the application;
• Become familiar with the basic materials of construction;
• Understand how to determine expected bearing service life;
• Gain knowledge about the various types of lubricants used along with their limitations;
• Learn about the various failure mechanisms and their causes; and
• Become knowledgeable in the evaluation methods and how to prevent premature failures.

Intended Audience

This course is mainly intended for maintenance, reliability, mechanical and materials engineers, however engineers from other disciplines may also benefit as bearings are used in a wide variety of products and utilized in many industries.

Benefit for Attendee

Attendees of this course will not only become knowledgeable about the basic types, materials of construction and areas of use of the rolling-element bearings, but will become familiar with the various common failure mechanisms and how to avoid them.

Course Introduction

Common bearing construction materials and types of rolling-element bearings are explained. Root causes of bearing damage and how that relates to improving the performance of bearings and bearing systems are discussed.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

Introduction to Roller-Bearings and Damage Analysis

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

You may need to download Acrobat Reader to view and print the document.

Course Summary

The common bearing types, their principal components, and the various damage mechanisms such as wear, corrosion, fatigue, excessive preload, installation damage and fitting practices are discussed along with analysis techniques.

Related Links and References

ASM Metals Handbook, 9th Edition, Volume 11
Mechanical Engineering Design, J. E. Shigley
Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers
The Timken Company, www.timken.com
Koyo Bearings, www.koyousa.com
American Bearing Manufacturers Association, www.americanbearings.com
Dynaroll, www.dynaroll.com
www.skf.com

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

---

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

---