Ideal Failure Curve of Rolling Contact Bearings

The prevailing cumulative failure curves of Rolling Contact Bearings (RCB) have two main drawbacks: they begin at the origin and have a large dispersion. The purpose of this study is to develop an ideal failure curve and overcome the present drawbacks. The ideal failure curve of RC bearings is obtained by applying a water-free lubricant to the tested bearings. This eliminates the cavitation erosion from the Bimodal failure mechanism and the synergistic effect with the mechanical failure mode. This new concept considers the fatigue process involved in the failure mechanism and suggests decreasing the dispersion of bearing life.