Identification of Surface Damages of Rolling Bodies of Ball Bearings Using Vibration Diagnostics under Contact Fatigue Testing

One of the main tasks that are solved in the process of developing specialized contact fatigue test rigs is the choice of a reliable method for identifying damage on the specimen surface. The paper presents the results of testing the method of spectral analysis of vibration signals and the envelope of their high-frequency components on a test rig for rolling bodies of ball bearings. For determine and select reliable vibration diagnostic parameters corresponding to various degrees of development of contact fatigue failure, calibration samples with artificially inflicted damage of various sizes were tested. In the frequency range 10—10,000 Hz range the most damage-sensitive vibration parameters were identified and their threshold levels were established relative to damage size and the used placement of transducer. Criteria for semi-automatic test termination upon reaching the critical stage of specimen failure were defined. The validity of the methodology for surface condition diagnostics and monitoring during the operation of a pilot (non-standardized) test rig has been experimentally substantiated. Results from a series of tests confirm the effectiveness of the selected and implemented approaches. The findings have been integrated into a vibration monitoring system and used to develop methods for research, quality control, comparative, and other types of laboratory contact fatigue testing of rolling bearing elements.

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