Rolling bearing test bench

In various applications (railroad technology, wind power, hoist gearboxes, automotive technology, heavy machinery), damage in the form of transverse cracks on bearing rings is increasingly occurring. On cylindrical roller bearings, this type of damage has already been detected after very short running times, well before the calculated bearing service life. Metallographic examinations show that cracks have formed under the raceway, which subsequently lead to damage to the raceway surface. Such structural changes are known from the literature under very high Hertzian pressures, but these are not present in the applications concerned.

On the rolling bearing test rig provided, rolling bearings can be subjected to radial (up to ±50 kN/bearing) and torsional (up to 3000 rpm) loads both statically and dynamically with a multi-axis load condition. The resulting Hertzian contacts initially cause fine cracks to form below the surface, which continue to the surface as the load continues and lead to clod-like material breakouts, also known as pitting.