Repair as an Option to Extend Bearing Life and Performance

Repair and remanufacture has become an accepted method to extend bearing useful life in many applications, including positions within off-highway construction and mining vehicles. However, it has not been an easy task for equipment owners to become confident in the use of repaired bearings, nor has it been an easy task for engineers to select the positions best suited for repair, as robust analytical methods to predict performance are not available. This has lead to many field test campaigns of repaired bearings on different bearing positions until the equipment owners gain enough confidence to make it part of their normal operating procedures.

This paper aims to reduce the test and validation cycle that occurs with the use of repaired and remanufactured bearings by developing analytical methods to predict bearing performance. Life prediction algorithms are presented covering the different levels of repair available. The life predicted using the new model is compared to life test data of repaired tapered roller bearings for model confirmation. Finally, an example of how the new method can be used on a key position within a typical construction and mining vehicle is shown.