Q: What is fatigue fracture in ball bearings?
A: Fatigue fracture occurs when a bearing has been in use for an extended period, and the material essentially "breaks from exhaustion." It is one of the most classic and common modes of failure in ball bearings.
Simply put:
· The balls repeatedly compress and roll over the raceway.
· Tiny cracks gradually begin to form within the steel material.
These cracks progressively expand > until the component eventually fractures completely.
This phenomenon is known as fatigue fracture.
Q:What preventive measures can be taken to address fatigue fracture in ball bearings?
Answer:
1. Ensure that the bearing housing complies with the dimensional technical specifications.
2. For split bearing housings, ensure that the two sections are correctly joined.
3. The bearing housing must be clean (free of chips or debris, as these can lead to localized stress concentrations).
4. Use appropriate installation tools and methods.
The following are common types of bearing fatigue fracture
The inner ring of the bearing suffered severe spalling, leading to fatigue fracture.
The bearing outer ring suffered fatigue fracture due to an incorrect bearing housing bore position.
Fatigue fracture of the bearing outer ring caused by fretting corrosion, resulting from an incorrect bearing housing bore position.
