Damage mechanics approach for bearing lifetime prognostics

The ability to achieve accurate bearing prognostics is critical to the optimal maintenance of rotating machinery in the interest of cost and productivity. However, techniques to real time predict the lifetime of a bearing under practical operating conditions have not been well developed. In this paper, a stiffness-based prognostic model for bearing systems based on vibration response analysis and damage mechanics is discussed. As the bearing system is considered as a single-degree-of-freedom vibratory system, its natural frequency and its acceleration amplitude at the natural frequency can be related to the system stiffness. On the other hand, the relationship between failure lifetime, running time and stiffness variation can be established from the damage mechanics. Combining the above two, the natural frequency and the acceleration amplitude of a bearing system can be related to its running time and failure lifetime. Thus, the failure lifetime of a bearing system can be predicted on-line based on vibration measurement. Experiments have been performed on a tapered roller bearing life testing stand under various operation conditions to calibrate and to validate the proposed model. The comparison between model-calculated data and experimental results indicates that this model can be used to effectively predict the failure lifetime and the remaining life of a bearing system. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.