Predicting Surface Distress on Rolling Element Bearing Raceways in Modern Automotive Transmissions

This paper explains how today the automotive driveline industry has accepted methodologies to predict fatigue life in rolling bearings that incorporate classical sub-surface fatigue without the influences of lubrication. More torque, increased number of speeds, lighter components, and longer change intervals puts new demands on today's lubrication oil in automotive transmissions. In addition transmission manufacturers and oil refineries are continually investigating lower viscosity oils to increase efficiency^{8, 9, 12, 13}. The performance of the oil under these conditions will have an effect on the failure mode of the rolling bearings.

Updated calculation methods must be used to accurately predict the fatigue life of rolling bearings used in these modern conditions. In 2007 ISO published a third edition to ISO 281, the international standard for determining the rating life of rolling bearings. The third edition is the first update of ISO 281 in 17 years. The updated rating life method incorporates lubrication and contamination to consider these influences when calculating fatigue life of rolling bearings.