Bearing Life Extension

Practical Guidelines for Maintenance and Reliability

Engineers

Summary
Reliability and Maintenance Engineers are often given the task of
improving the reliability of bearing arrangements in a variety of
applications. Lubrication, contamination levels, and seals are key
areas to explore for improvement opportunities. For this article,
we use the New Life Method to review typical bearing
applications. The New Life Method is the latest calculation
technique for predicting the effects of lubrication and
contamination on bearing life. Practices such as proper
lubrication schedules, choosing correct lubricant viscosities and
film thickness, identifying and removing contamination sources,
and temperature control are advanced as potential strategies for
bearing life extension.
Joe Conyers
Reliability Maintenance Institute
12 pages
May 2002
SKF Reliability Systems
@ptitudeXchange
4141 Ruffin Road
San Diego, CA 92123
United States
tel. +1 858 244 2540
fax +1 858 244 2555
email: info@aptitudexchange.com
Internet: www.aptitudexchange.com

Use of this document is governed by the terms

and conditions contained in @ptitudeXchange.

Bearing Life Extension

p = exponent of the life equation

Introduction
Reliability and Maintenance Engineers are
often given the task of improving the
reliability of bearing arrangements in a variety
of applications. Lubrication, contamination
levels, and seals are key areas to explore for
improvement opportunities. For this article,
we use the New Life Method to review typical
bearing applications. The New Life Method is
the latest calculation technique for predicting
the effects of lubrication and contamination on
bearing life. Practices such as proper
lubrication schedules, choosing correct
lubricant viscosities and film thickness,
identifying and removing contamination
sources, and temperature control are advanced
as potential strategies for bearing life
extension. Moreover, it allows engineers to
select cost-effective, practical solutions from
available practices - without guesswork. This
can be the first step in planning a strategy for
implementing a successful program plantwide.

Basic Life Equation

The basic method for determining bearing life
(by Lundberg and Palmgren) is well known.
Bearing life is a function of the applied load,
versus the basic dynamic load rating.

C
L10 =
P
L10 h

1,000,000 C
=

60n P

With:
L10 = basic rating life, millions of revolutions
L10 h = basic rating life, hours of operation
C = basic dynamic load rating

p=3, for ball bearings

p=10/3 for roller bearings
n = speed, revolutions per minute
Two general conclusions we can draw from
the Basic Life Equation are:
1. Bearing life varies inversely with speed
(double the speed, life is reduced by half).
2. Bearing life varies exponentially with
applied load ( P ) (double the load, life is
reduced to 0.125 of its original value for
ball bearings and more for roller bearings).
The effects of these conclusions can be
dramatic operationally. Consider a conveyor
belt system whose speed is increased by 25%.
Perhaps we can accept a bearing life reduction
of 25% due to the speed increase. Are there
any other considerations? More material will
be conveyed per unit time, which increases
weight on the system. Loads on the bearings
also increase. If sheaves are changed to
achieve the speed increase, the V-belts may
begin to slip, which are tightened to
compensate. If the combined effect of these
changes increases the overall load only 10%,
life for the ball bearings in this application is
reduced by an additional 25%. The overall
loss of life may be unacceptable. Significant
design changes may be required to offset life
reduction from something that appears, at the
outset, as a straightforward speed increase.

Adjusting the Basic Life Equation

The advent of cleaner bearing steels in the late
1950s had a dramatic improvement on bearing
life. Bearing manufacturing processes
continued to improve, and the basic life
equation was extended to reflect these
improvements. The Adjusted Life Equation
was the result:

P = equivalent dynamic load

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

C
Lna = a1a23
P

Lnah

1,000,000
C
a1a23
=
60n
P

bearings and change them out at an

operational life well below the predicted
fatigue failure life to achieve an adequate
safety margin.
Reliability

Lna

a1

with:

90%

L10 a

Lna = adjusted rating life, revolutions

95%

L5 a

0.62

Lnah = adjusted rating life, hours

96%

L4 a

0.53

a1 = reliability adjustment factor

97%

L3a

0.44

a23 = material / lubrication adjustment factor

98%

L2 a

0.33

99%

L1a

0.21

The a1 factor allows us to adjust the basic life

rating equation for reliability greater than 90%
(Table 1). This factor can be used to downrate applications where safety is critical.
Another use of the a1 factor is high reliability
applications. For example, bearings in aircraft
turbine engines require extreme reliability.
The weight penalty from enlarging bearings
and support components to meet reliability
needs is unacceptable. In this case, a more
cost-effective decision is to use smaller

Table 1. The a1 factor Allows us to Adjust the Basic

Life Rating equation for Reliability Greater Than 90%.

The factors a2 (material adjustment) and

a3 (operating conditions) are interdependent,
and are combined as a23 . These adjustments
make corrections for the effects of modern
steels lubricant film thickness (Figure 1).

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Factor a23
Use this chart to choose the value of a23
from a known viscosity ratio, Kappa (k).
The darkened area under the curve
represents better performance that may be
achieved with the addition of EP additives
to the lubricant.
Note: This chart applies only to standard
52100 bearing steels. Contact your
manufacturer if using stainless, ceramics or
other bearing materials.

Figure 1. The Factor a 23 as a Function of Viscosity and EP Additives.

In order to use factor a23 (Figure 1), we must

first determine the viscosity ratio, k (kappa).
Kappa is the ratio of actual viscosity ( v1 ) to

required viscosity ( v ) of the application at the

operating temperature. These viscosities can
be calculated or selected from charts (Figures
2 and 3).

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Figure 2. Minimum Required Oil Viscosity. Pitch Diameter dm is Defined as the Mean of Bore and Outer Diameter.

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Figure 3. Viscosity-Temperature Chart. (Viscosity classification numbers are according to international standard
ISO 3448-1975 for mineral oils with a viscosity index of 95. Approximate SAE viscosity grades are shown in
parentheses.)

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Applying the Adjusted Life

Equation

Lnah =

To illustrate the effects of the Adjusted Life

Equation, we examine a 6210 ball bearing in
an oil-lubricated application. (This is an
example from the catalog reference [1].)

1,000,000
C
a1a23 =
60n
P

1,000,000
35,100
=
1 1.15

60 3600
4000
= 3,600 hours

Example one: 6210 Single Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing

New Life Method

Bearing:

In many cases, using the Adjusted Life

Equation is a good starting design point. But
some lightly loaded, clean applications have
operational lives far in excess of the life
predicted by the Adjusted Rating Life
Equation. Contaminated applications are
tough design problems (and extremely dirty
applications defy accurate life prediction). The
SKF New Life Method is an extension of the
Adjusted Rating Life Equation and predicts
bearing life much more accurately when
lubrication and contamination conditions are
better known. It allows designers and
manufacturers to take advantage of controlled
downsizing, exploit the enhanced life potential
of modern bearings, and recognize the
significance of contamination. A simplified
equation that illustrates the relationship to the
two ISO (or ABMA) life equations was
derived:

6210

Bearing Boundary Dimensions: 50mm bore x

90mm Outside
Diameter x 20mm
wide
Basic Dynamic Load Rating:

35,100 N

Operating Conditions:
Applied Load:

4,000 N Radial
Load

Speed (n):

3,600 rpm

Bearing Operating Temp:

70C
p

L10 h =

1,000,000 C
=
60n P
3

1,000,000 35,100
=

= 3,130 hours
60 3600 4000

In this case, life can be increased slightly

when the effects of oil film are included. To
determine the adjusted rating life, we need the
a1 and a23 factor. Assume no change in desired
reliability above the standard 90%, so a1 = 1.
To select a23, we need to know the required oil
viscosity at the operating temperature of 70C.
We use good quality, lightweight mineral oil
(ISO VG32, VI 95). Figures 2 and 3 give the
required oil viscosity for a 6210 bearing as 9
mm2/s. The actual viscosity of our ISO VG 32
oil at bearing operating temperature is about
11 mm2/s, which makes the viscosity ratio,
kappa, ~1.2. Figure 1 gives us a resulting a23
value of 1.15. The expected life becomes:

C
Lnaa = a1askf
P

Lnaah

1,000,000
C
a1askf
=
60n
P

with:

Lnaa = adjusted rating life, new life method,

millions of revolutions
Lnaah = adjusted rating life, new life method,
hours
askf = SKF adjustment factor

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

The a skf factor brings in two new concepts
regarding bearing life:
1. There is a minimum load for every bearing
below which fatigue failure will not occur.
In other words, the bearings stress levels
are too low to produce subsurface
cracking.
2. The effects of solid particle contamination
on bearing life are quantifiable. The
relationship is complex, but is simplified
through the use of charts (Figure 4).

General conclusions from Figure 4:

1. The thickness of lubricant film has a
significant role in bearing life.
2. Oil film thickness greater than four times
the required oil film thickness provides
marginal benefit.
3. Reducing the contamination in
applications greatly extends life.
Determining a more precise value c requires
a firm knowledge of application conditions.
However, we can successfully examine the
effect on life when changes are made to
existing conditions.

Using Tables to Explore the New

Life Method
Our life for the ball bearing application was
relatively short (approximately three months,
perhaps three and a half months using adjusted
life). What can be done to extend the life of
this application?

Figure 4. Factor a skf for Radial Ball Bearings.

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Figure (6): Guideline values for factor c for different degrees of
contamination
Condition Values

c 1)

Very clean
Debris size of the order of the lubricant film thickness
Clean
Conditions typical of bearings greased for life and sealed
Normal
Conditions typical of bearings greased for life and shielded
Contaminated
Conditions typical of bearings without integral seals; coarse
lubricant filters and/or particle ingress from surroundings
Heavily contaminated
(under extreme contamination values of c can be outside the scale
resulting in a more severe reduction of life than predicted by the
equation for Lnaa )

1
0,8
0,5
0,5 ... 0,1
0

1) The scale for c refers only to typical solid contaminants.

Contamination by water or other fluids detrimental to bearing life is not considered.

Figure 5. Guideline Values.

One technique is to use a table of values. We

Example 1: Ball Bearing
can explore the effects of varying a single
Example one: 6210 Single Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing
controllable factor at a time and observe the
result on bearing life. This assists in selecting
the best practical solution for extending life.
Bearing:
6210
Bearing Boundary Dimensions:
50mm bore x 90mm
Exploring alternatives is made easier with the
Outside Diameter x
use of calculation programs (Reference [2]).
20mm wide
The user can easily change operating parameters Basic Dynamic Load Rating:
35,100 N
such as bearing size, oil film thickness,
Operating Conditions:
operating temperature, and contamination
conditions and record the results for a variety of Applied Load:
4,000 N Radial Load
Speed (n):
3,600 rpm
cases. Let's explore the example case again.
Bearing Operating Temperature:

70C

NOTE: We ignored secondary effects that

may occur as a result of changing a single
parameter. For example, increasing oil
viscosity may result in an increase in friction
and lower oil viscosity. For more accurate
results, actual bearing temperatures can be
estimated - contact your manufacturer.

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Bearing Life Extension

Table I: Extending Life: 6210 Single Row, Deep Groove Ball Bearing
Modified Values are indicated in bold

Case

Conditions

Temp.

(Kappa)
askf

a23

L10h

L10ah

(oC)

No.

L10aah

Hours

Existing Dirty Application

70

0.2

(1.2)
1.1

1.15

3130

3600

3410

Use Heavier Oil (VG 46)

70

0.2

(1.6)
1.3

1.4

3130

4380

4060

Reduce Temperature

50

0.2

(2.4)
1.6

1.8

3130

5630

5000

Increase Bearing Size to 6211

70

0.2

(1.3)
1.5

1.2

6000

7200

9000

With Sealed Bearings

70

0.8

(1.2)
6.8

1.15

3130

3600

21,300

Table 2. Extending Bearing Life (Ball Bearing).

Analysis

Sealing the bearings (Case 5) gives the most

dramatic life improvement: about six times
that predicted by the adjusted life calculation.
Controlling the contaminants entering the
bearing nets a huge improvement in overall
life for very little cost. Secondary benefits
with seals are controlled lubrication and
prevention of over lubrication.

prohibitive. Adding cost analysis to the tables

reveals your best choice.
Example 2: Roller Bearing
Example Two: Paper Machine Drying Cylinder
Bearing:
Bearing Boundary Dimensions:
Basic Dynamic Load Rating:

The other cases give significant life

Operating Conditions:
improvement, but may or may not be practical
Applied Load:
in the application. For example, increasing the
Speed (n):
oil viscosity (Case 2) may be precluded by
Bearing Operating Temperature:
other components in the application that
require the original oil, such as a compressor.
Reducing the temperature (Case 3) or redesign
to accept a larger bearing (Case 4) may be cost
2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

22244
220mm bore x 400mm
Outside Diameter x
108mm wide
1,760,000 N (Ref. (3))
200,000 N Radial Load
250 rpm
110C

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Bearing Life Extension

Table II: Extending Life: 22244 CCK Spherical Roller Bearing

Case

Conditions

Temp.

Modified Values are indicated in bold

(Kappa)
askf

a23

L10h

(oC)

No.

L10ah

L10aah

hours

Existing Application

110

0.2

(0.6)
0.3

0.4

93800

35000

28000

Filter to Improve
Contamination

110

0.74

(0.6)
0.8

0.4

93800

35000

75000

Use Heavier Oil (VG 320)

110

0.2

(0.7)
0.4

0.6

93800

53200

37500

Add Lube with EP additives

110

0.2

(0.6)
2.2*0.3
(doubtful
because
c < 0.5 )

0.8

93800

73400

62000

Reduce Temperature

90

0.2

(1.0)
0.7

1.0

93800

94000

66000

Table 3. Extending Bearing Life (Spherical Roller Bearing).

Analysis

This applications adjusted rated life is

severely degraded by the lack of adequate oil
film thickness. The basic rated life of 10.7
years is reduced to just 4 years due to poor oil
film thickness (and resultant low kappa
values). Generally, SKF recommends hc
values between 0.1 and 0.3 for paper mill
applications. Readjusting with the New Life
Method gets us back to 3.2 years, quite low
for a papermaking machine.
Reducing the application temperature (Case 5)
might be accomplished by increasing oil flow
rates. This may be impractical, as the
manufacturer generally optimizes drying
cylinder oil flow rates.

Changing to oils with EP additives (Case 4)

must be undertaken with extreme care. Some
EP additives used in applications over 80oC
can have a detrimental effect on bearing
steels. They may chemically react with the
steel, which can cause surface distress and
premature failure. Also for low hc values SKF
does not recommend to increase askf because
of the additives (See SKF General Catalogue).
Heavier oils (Case 3) could be considered. A
thorough analysis (contact your manufacturer)
should be made of the operating temperature
change that may occur when thicker oil is
used. The temperature increase may offset the
beneficial effect of the thicker oil on kappa
values and askf.

2002 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

11

Bearing Life Extension

Filtration (Case 2) is a good area to explore
for improvement. This case introduced a 12micron absolute filter with filter efficiency
200 to improve the c value to 0.74, which
resulted in a life improvement to 8.6 years.
For new paper machines, a 6-micron filter
with efficiency 200 is recommended by SKF.
Exploring different filtration cases may help
you choose the most cost effective strategy.

Additional Strategies
You can extend the value of these tables by
factoring in the cost of applying the solutions
and the expected return on your investment.
The objective is to ensure the practicality of
the applied solutions to extend life:

spectroscopy can determine the size, number

and composition of contamination particles
before and after you implement your
improvement strategy. Collect failure
statistics. Examine failed bearings for root
cause and correlate the results with your life
improvement tactics.

Conclusion
The New Life Method can be used to explore
practically deployable strategies to
successfully extend bearing life in rotating
mechanical equipment. Using case analysis
tables with the New Life Method allows us to
choose the most cost-effective course of
action to extend bearing life.

1. Cleaner mounting processes. For example,

simply putting up plastic barriers or
moving the bearing assembly area to a
cleaner atmosphere

References

2. Grease and oil quality sampling as part of

your supplier acceptance process

[2] SKF Interactive Engineering Catalogue

3. Oil Pre-filtering

[1] SKF USA, Catalog 4000 US Third

Edition, 1999-01.

[3] SKF Publication 4401/I E, SKF spherical

roller bearings.

4. Cleaning and flushing new applications

after run-in. Portable filter carts are also
available for temporary use during the runin period.

Acknowledgements

5. Consider portable and fixed water removal

systems. The New Life Method does not
account for contamination other than solid
particles. The effects of water and other
chemical contaminants must be addressed
to achieve acceptable life extension using
the New Life Method. Anecdotal evidence
reveals that as little as 0.1% water in oil
(approximately one teaspoon water in one
gallon of oil) can reduce the effective
viscosity of oils by up to 50%. Strive for
200-500 ppm water in your applications.

Mark Cutler, North American Engineering

Manager, SKF USA Industrial Division

Dan Snyder, Director, SKF USA

Applications Engineering

About RMI

The Reliability Maintenance Institute (RMI)

is a comprehensive offering of training
courses designed to help eliminate machinery
problems and achieve maximum reliability
and productivity. When you attend an RMI
class, you learn about the latest in precision
maintenance techniques, skills, and
technologies.

After applying your solution, take time to

Contact RMI: http://www.skfusa.com/rmi
verify your results. Lubrication condition
Toll
free +1 866 753 7378 (US only)
monitoring can be prime sources for data.
or +1 717 646 2900
Particle counting, ferrography, and
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12