Analysis of Cage Wear in Rolling Bearing Greased

Abstract

In this paper, based on the tribological characteristics of rolling bearing greased, we employ X-ray fluorescence spectrum analysis to study the effect of wear in cage with brass, iron and nylon as the main materials. We are especially interested in revealing the relationship between the wear of cage and the wear of rolling bearing parts. Statistical data results show that cages made of different structures or materials always have a certain degree of wear in the operation of grease lubricated bearings. In addition, the wear of the cage is usually less than that of the bearing rolling parts. Our research also indicates that wear particles from different cage materials impose significantly different influences on bearing and grease. Among those cage materials, the influence of the wear particles from nylon cage is more reflected as the mechanical action of the hard filler in the polymer cage. As a comparison, for the iron cage, since its wear particles have metal activity and catalytic properties, they also play important roles in both accelerating the chemical oxidation process of the grease and damaging the network structure of the grease thickener beside the abrasion.