Theoretically, the service life of rolling bearings in centrifugal pumps is 20,000 to 80,000 hours. However, the actual life depends on many factors - premature bearing failures can lead to costly equipment downtime and sometimes even more serious consequences. Bearing specialists from NKE (Austria) offer some simple but practical tips for optimizing bearing performance.
Satisfactory bearing life begins with the correct bearing selection. From the outset, bearing designers have extended bearing life and equipment performance by choosing the right bearings for different applications. This process takes into account many factors such as load, hardness, bearing life prediction, operating environment, and so on.
Correct storage
In principle, all bearings should be kept in their original packaging before installation. They need to be left in a clean, moisture-free, relatively constant temperature environment. Rolling bearings should be kept away from dust, water and corrosive chemicals. Shaking and vibration can permanently damage the mechanical properties of the bearing, so vibration must be avoided during handling and storage.
Basically, all bearings must be stored horizontally, as some heavier bearings may be deformed by their own weight after standing for a long time.
Pre-coated greased (or sealed) bearings require special care because the density of the grease changes after prolonged storage. Thus, when the bearing is used for the first time, there will be a certain degree of rotational noise. Therefore, the shelf life of such bearings should be controlled on a first-in, first-out basis.
Clean
Cleaning is very important for rolling bearings. The surface roughness of the rotating surface of the bearing ring and the rolling elements is typically 1/10 μm. Such a smooth surface is very sensitive to damage caused by contaminants. The lubricating layer between the rotating faces is usually 0.2 to 1 μm, and particulate impurities larger than the particle size of the lubricant may be excessively crushed by the rolling elements to generate partial pressure in the bearing steel, which may eventually cause permanent material fatigue. In addition to this, dust particles in the external environment can be up to 10 μm in size, which can also cause damage to the bearings. Therefore, a clean, dust-free environment is critical to the storage and installation of the bearings.
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