Bearing lubrication

and application

SKF Technology Fair—Caterpillar

May, 2007
Daniel R. Snyder
Basic bearing lubricants
Why bother about lubrication?

whole operation

machine

bearing high impact !

grease
or oil
low cost
downtime
 Premature bearing failure root causes

Improper fitting
16 % Brute force and ignorance causes 16% of premature bearing
failures. Specific tools and techniques are the answer.
36 % Inadequate lubrication
Specifying proper greases and lubrication systems can prevent
up to 36% of all premature bearing failures.
14 % Ingress of contamination
Specially tailored sealing solutions prevent contamination from
causing 14% of premature bearing failures.
34 % Abuse in service
Condition monitoring can detect and interpret the 'early warning
________ signals of distress leading to 34% of all premature bearing
failures.
100 %
Bearing lubrication purpose

What is the purpose of lubrication in rolling bearings?

• To lubricate the sliding contacts within a bearing, i.e., cages,
flanges, raceways, etc.
• To provide elastohydrodynamic lubrication for all true rolling
contacts
• Reduce friction
Bearing lubrication purpose

What is the purpose of lubrication in rolling bearings?

Secondary functions are:
• To protect the highly finished surfaces from corrosion
• To help seal against foreign matter (with grease pack)
• To provide a heat transfer medium

Note: Both oil and greases are used for rolling bearings
 Bearing surfaces

A bearing surface under the microscope

Even a seemingly smooth surface requires lubrication

v 1.1, 1/9
to prevent wear and to reduce friction
 Lubrication films

The incredible performance of a lubricant:

lubricant film thickness withstanding pressure of

1/100-th of a paper sheet ! 10 cars on a finger nail !
v 1.1, 1/8
How large?

How thick is an oil film?

oil film
0.2 micron
Hair strand
(cross section)
50 microns
1 micron

dirt particle
10 microns
Bearing oils and greases
What's inside a lubricating oil?

Oil = Base oil + Additives

(content) (70-95 %) (balance)

an ts
t io xid
An b itors
In h i
Rust ear
ti -w
P a n d an itives
E add
Oil types

Mineral oils (~90% of all applications)

standard applications

Synthetic oils (~10%)

special properties, more expensive

Natural oils (~ 1%)

food compatible, biodegradable
Oil types, additional

Type Subtype Reason Price

Mineral Classic types standard, inexpensive 1
Chemical treat. improved properties >2

Synthetic SHC or PAO wider temperature use 3

Polyglycol excellent lubricity, rubber comp. 3
Ester low start up, some biodegradable 10
Silicone very low and high temperature 100
PFPE extreme high temp, inert 500

Natural Rapeseed food compatible, biodegradable 3

Other oil properties

minimum operating
temperature

compatibility
viscosity index

oxidation resistance

resistance to
foaming
rust protection ability

maximum operating
temperature
(but use reliable sources)
What's inside a lubricating grease?

Grease = Base oil + Thickener + Additives

(content) (70-95 %) (< 30 %) (<10 %)

an ts
d
nt ioxi
A
i b i t ors
u s t Inh
R ear
ti - w
d an
EP a n
d d i tives
a
Thickener types, the ‘sponge'

Metal soap thickener (~70%)

Lithium, also Calcium and others

Polyurea thickener (~20%)

Alternative for metal soap

A grease is a
"THICKENED" oil Silicon/clay thickener (~5%)
Wide temperature range
it gives the grease its
“consistency”
PTFE ('Teflon') thickener (~1%)
Very high temperatures, expensive
 Thickener types, additional

Type Subtype Reason

Metal soap Lithium Standard, effective

Calcium Water resistance

Aluminium Thermal stability

Complexes Sometimes increased performance

Non soap Polyurea High or wide temperature

Clay No drop point, wide temperature

Silicon No drop point, wide temperature

PTFE Thermal stability, high temp

Main grease properties
influencing factor:
O = Oil
A = Additive
T = Thickener
Operating temperature range M = Manufacturing
(OAT)
(OAT) Load Carrying ability Corrosion protection (TA)
Anti-wear / EP
Water resistance (TMA)

(TM) Mechanical Stability Biodegradability (O)

(OAT) Fretting Protection Quiet running

characteristics (TMA)
(TOM) Consistency
Oil bleeding
(OA) Oil viscosity characteristics (TOM)
Pumpability
(TO)
Additive types

Anti-oxidants
for longer grease life

Extreme Pressure (EP) additives

protection against cold welding

Anti-corrosion additives
for bearing protection

Solid additives (graphite, MoS2)

for when liquid lubrication fails
 Which to use?

Grease or oil?

Grease Oil

+ simple installation (cheap!) + additional cooling

+ additional bearing protection + filtering and quality

(against dirt, moisture) control possible

v 1.1, 1/6
Grease
Advantages
1. Easy to apply
2. Helps to seal
3. Wide range of applications
4. Better control of leakage
Disadvantages
1. Poor heat dissipation
2. Collects and retains
contaminants
3. Structural change possibility
(i.e. - work hardening)
4. Possible compatibility problems
if greases are mixed
Oil

Advantages Disadvantages
1. Better heat dissipation 1. Possibility of leakage
2. Higher speed capability 2. Does not seal
3. Can be circulated 3. Can be displaced by water
4. Can be cleaned
Lubrication system – oil or grease ?

Oil (cont.)
Base oil
• Additives Oil = (70-95 %)
+ Additives

ts
o x idan
• EP or anti-wear Ant
i
t Inhibit
ors
Ru s i-wea
r
d an t
• Viscosity improvers EP an es
iv
addit
• Friction modifiers

• Filtration GREASELGMT3/180
Ga a e Ga e
G ea e Ga o

• Filter type
• Filter size
• Filter rating
Lubrication delivery

Static oil bath

Circulating oil and oil mist
Grease delivery systems
Elastro-Hydrodynamic (EHL)
bearing films
How does hydrodynamic
bearing lubrication work?

• Rollers / shaft surf on a thin lubricant film

• No metal-metal contact
 Creating pressure

Wedge effect & Buffer effect

HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURE

fluid is
squeezed
out

Hydrodynamic pressure is generated by:

• the sliding velocity
• the design (beveled or rounded leading edge)
• adequate oil supply
• oil viscosity
Films and materials

EHL effect
• for 'hard' EHL the pressures • for 'soft' EHL the pressures
are high (e.g. steel surfaces) are low (e.g. plastic / rubber
surfaces)
 Bearing lubrication –
Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL)
Characterized by
• Elastic deformation of surfaces
• Large increase in lubricant pressure and viscosity
Fluid pressure curve

Under the high loads in the rolling

contact the oil can become 'solid' !
Film thickness build-up at increasing speeds

speed = 0 0.06 0.11 0.24 m/s

Lubricant film formation
Oil influences

• Oil type and film forming ability

• Mineral oil
• Synthetic
• Blend
• Supply mechanism

• Oil bath
• Circulating
• Mist, air-oil
Film contributors

Speed

Temperature

Viscosity
Importance of base oil viscosity

Lubricant film thickness in the bearing depends on:

• bearing temperature

• speed of rotation

• load

Base oil viscosity is the main tool

to adjust lubricant film thickness
Oil viscosity

VISCOSITY = "resistance to flow" of a fluid

H
O
N
E
Y

Water: low viscosity Honey: high viscosity

(1 cSt at 20 °C) (~1200 cSt at 20 °C)
Important viscosity terms

Viscosity: a measure of the "flowability" of an oil [unit: mm2/s or cSt]

Note: this property is highly influenced by the temperature !

Viscosity Index (VI): a number indicating the rate of change

in viscosity with temperature

Note: higher numbers indicate a low change, lower numbers

indicate a relatively large change: good oils have a VI in
excess of 100.
VI effect illustration

example: oils with 100 mm2/s at 40°C

10000
1000

100
viscosity (mm²/s)

10
VI
5 160
140
120
100
85
2
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
temperature (°C)
Oil viscosity effects

Low viscosity: High viscosity:

+ low friction + thick oil film
- thin oil film - high friction

Finding the right balance

 Choice of base oil viscosity

if: select:
high speed; low load; low temp. low base oil viscosity
low speed; high load high base oil viscosity

Viscosity (at 40 °C) application

(typically) conditions:
----------------- -------------------
10-25 cSt low temp, high speed
70-200 cSt standard applications
400-1000 cSt (very) heavy load,
(very) low speed

v 1.1, 2/11
EHL and bearing life
Lubrication effect on life

Increasing life t

Increasing film condition t

Elastro-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL)

Stress field with lubrication

EHL pressures and stresses

The pressure for a real surface is obtained by FFT adding

the corresponding contribution of each Fourier mode according
to the operating conditions.
Subsurface stresses from lubrication condition

τ =μσ

Smooth Surface Rough Surface Rough Surface,

high friction
 Background of Kappa

The lambda ratio:

z
hmin
λ=
(Rq )
x
2 0 .5 1 L
∫0 [z ( x )] dx
2
1 + Rq2 Rq 2 = 2
L
Required viscosity:
Viscosity needed under fixed conditions
to have a lambda ratio = 1

Kappa:
Ratio between the actual (used) ν
viscosity and the required viscosity κ=
ν1
Kappa calculation

h
λ= =
minimum film thickness

σ root mean square composite surface roughness

κ= actual kinematic viscosity of lubricant

kinematic viscosity, ν1 , req’d to just achieve surface separation

Note: ν1 is for  equal to 1.0

Bearing lubrication

Full film Mixed lubrication Boundary lubrication

κ ≥4 κ <4 κ < 1 .0
Bearing life adjustment – operating conditions

p
L 10m = a1 aSKF (C/P)

L10m = Adjusted life in millions of revolutions

a1 = Adjustment for reliability ( a1 = 1.0 for 90%)
aSKF = Life modification factor for operating conditions
including lubrication, temperature and contamination

ISO 281:2007
Life calculation - aSKF

aSKF - adjustment factor based on:

• Material (e.g. cleanliness, hardness, surface structure, fatigue limit, response to
temperature)
• Lubrication (e.g. viscosity, speed, bearing size, type of lubricant, additives)
• Environment (e.g. contamination level, humidity)
• Contaminant particles (e.g. hardness, size, form, material)
• Internal stresses in the rings (e.g. from the manufacturing , from inner ring interface
after mounting)
• Bearing load
Surface fatigue

Contamination & Rolling Element Surface Fatigue

Debris initiated damage

Sub-surface stress field

Back edge of dent

SKF’s method to calculate bearing life
aSKF for radial roller bearings
Factor aSKF for radial roller bearings

50
aSKF

20

10

4
κ=

2
1
0. 8
1

6
0.
0.5
0.5

4
0.
0.3

0.2
0. 2
0.15
0.1
0.1 c
0.005 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 Explorer

0.05
0.005 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5

ηc Pu/P
Required viscosity diagram:  = /1

ISO VG -VI=95
Contamination factor circulating oil

Diagram for the selection of the contamination factor

ISO 4406 code -/15/12 (Filter rating 12 = 200)

c
 ISO 281(2007)

ISO 281:2007 Standard “Rolling Bearings – Dynamic Load Ratings and Rating Life”
prescribes a standard life rating equation for rolling element bearings

( )
p
C
L10 = a ISO
P
where C = basic dynamic load rating;
P = equivalent applied radial load and
a ISO is a single stress-life factor incorporating
all operational parameters that influence life
Thank
you!