Filtration and coating effects on self-generated particle wear in boundary lubricated roller bearings

A specially designed test system involving boundary lubricated roller bearings was used to study wear at low particle concentration levels. A separate oil system circulated the oil through the test bearings. The effects of self-generated contaminants from the system were studied. Even at very low concentration levels, self-generated contaminants can cause significant wear. The concentration of self-generated particles was very high during the running-in period. It is therefore important that the filtration be very efficient during this period. The experimental results show that filtration during run-in for 1 h with a 3 μm filter can reduce both the mass loss and the number of self-generated particles by a factor of 10. Furthermore, the results also show that while the bearings with standard rollers can have significant wear, those with coated rollers are at the same time almost unaffected by wear. Also, the number of particles generated in the contact was significantly less when using coated rollers. There were twice as many self-generated particles when using a standard bearing as those compared with a coated bearing.