Low Speed Bearing

Monitoring
A Case Study of Low Speed Bearing
Monitoring in a Paperboard Plant
Summary
This case study from a UK Paperboard manufacturer clearly
illustrates the ability of bearing enveloping techniques to
successfully diagnose faults in bearings that operate at low
speeds. It also dispels the myth that study of any problem on low
speed machinery requires use of specialized low frequency
sensors and equipment.

MB01001
Mel Barratt
8 pages
May 2002
SKF Reliability Systems
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Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

Introduction
In late 1997 the in-house condition monitoring
program at Iggesunds plant in Workington
(UK) detected a problem associated with a
cylinder support bearing on their Number 2
Board Machine. Iggesund staff estimated that
complete failure of the suspect bearing could
result in machine shut down for up to six
months, due to the size and weight of the
cylinder in question. This is the Machine
Glaze (MG) cylinder, which is more than 6
meters diameter, and weighs approximately
165 tons (Figure 1). The Number 2 Board
Machine is over 200 meters long and
manufactures coated carton-board for the
packaging and pharmaceutical industries.

Users of modern vibration instrumentation are

accustomed to fast data collection times. On
common electric motors running at around
1500 3000 RPM it is necessary to sample
only a few seconds of data to enable fault
detection at an early stage of development. It
should be remembered that in 2 seconds, a
motor doing 1500 RPM completes 50
revolutions of movement. The same length of
data sample applied to a bearing at 12 RPM
means that less than half of one shaft
revolution is studied. Therefore, study of
rolling element bearings operating at low
speeds does not necessarily require special
equipment, but does require special
consideration. Using a technique known as
Enveloped Acceleration Measurement may
further enhance the effectiveness of vibration
analysis on low speed bearings.
Although a bearing fault can transmit a
significant force through the bearing housing,
the response of the supporting structure is
usually very small (as measured by an
accelerometer mounted near the bearing load
zone).

Figure 1. MG Cylinder.

The MG cylinder typically operates at around

12 RPM. It is a commonly held misconception
that studying any problem at such a low speed
requires specialized equipment. It is true that
resulting vibration from basic mechanical
problems, such as unbalance or misalignment
occurs at low frequencies that fall outside the
range of most general purpose
accelerometer sensors. However, the vibration
frequency generated by a fault in a rolling
element bearing is still relatively high, even at
low rotational speeds. Therefore, they may be
studied using standard equipment, provided
due allowance is made in the configuration of
measurement parameters.

Figure 2. Time Domain Data From Accelerometer.

Figure 2 shows a time domain plot of such an

accelerometer signal. It depicts a bearing
defect impulse signal summed with low
frequency vibration, due to imbalance or
misalignment. The measurement difficulty
here is to accurately separate and sense these
small bearing signal excitations in the

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Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

presence of generally larger vibration
components. In the very early stages of
surface distress, transducer signals are buried
in noise. Measurements of these early-stage
signals require instrumentation that
incorporates wide dynamic range, low
inherent amplifier noise, and circuitry to
enhance these negligible bearing response
signals. In the early stages of bearing
deterioration, defect frequency components
are very small and are usually not discernible
in the transducer signals normal amplitude
spectrum plot. It is during these early stages of
bearing wear that enveloping methods are
useful to enhance the response signals of small
repetitive defect impacts.
This incident serves to illustrate a number of
points:

The cost effectiveness of a disciplined

vibration monitoring program

The value of the enveloping techniques

in bearing fault diagnosis

The manner in which low speed bearing

problems may be studied without
specialized (i.e. low-frequency) sensors
and equipment.

Detection of the Problem

A study of vibration velocity measurements
taken from the MG cylinders front side
bearing cap over a three-year period (Figure 3)
shows a mean value of 0.74 mm/sec RMS
(root mean squared value). As monitoring
continued during late 1997 is was noted that
this level rose to a new record of 1.21 mm/sec
RMS. The change was clearly visible despite
the fluctuations that occurred in the value as a
result of different machine operating
conditions.
A velocity level of 1.21 mm/sec RMS on
many machines is not significant. Indeed,
many other machines on the Iggesund site
typically operate at higher levels. However,
the MG cylinder operates at low speed,
typically around 12 RPM. It was the change in
the level that was considered significant
enough to warrant further study.

Figure 3. Vibration Velocity Trend Data.

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Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

Figure 4. Velocity Spectrum.

Study of the vibration velocity spectrum

(Figure 4) indicates a harmonic family with
spacing of approximately 3 Hz. The peak
levels were very low, as was the total spectral
energy. Defective bearings usually display
higher levels of vibration with more clearly
defined peaks.
The bearing was identified as an SKF 230/630
CAK-C4-W33 (double spherical roller). The
bearing defect frequencies at this speed were
calculated:

Inner-race defect frequency = 3. 05 Hz

Outer-race defect frequency = 2. 55 Hz

Rolling element defect frequency = 0. 2

Hz

Cage rotational speed = 0. 9 Hz

Rolling element rotational speed = 1. 08

Hz

After applying this information to a further

study of the velocity spectrum, it was
concluded that the peaks belonged to either an
inner-race or outer-race frequency, but it was

not possible to be more specific. (All bearings

are prone to a degree of slippage and
sliding).
Typically, the signal from a bearing defect is
attenuated as it travels through the machine
from its source to the sensor. It may be
reduced by as much as 50% when it crosses
the interface between two surfaces. The signal
from an inner-race defect crosses more
interfaces before the vibration transducer
mounted on the bearing housing senses it.
Therefore, an inner-race fault may be more
serious than the vibration levels suggest.

Using the Enveloping Technique

for Further Fault Analysis.
Analysis of faults in rolling element bearings
involves the study of vibration generated by
impacts occurring between flawed rollingcontact surfaces. Typically, this vibration is
within the range of a good, general-purpose
industrial accelerometer.
The signal is passed through a band-pass filter
to separate the high frequency components

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

from the low frequency machinery vibration.
The bursts of high frequency vibration from
the bearing are very repetitive, due to the
bearings geometry and speed. The signal is
passed though a peak detection circuit,
which emphasizes the repetitive components,
and de-emphasizing random noise.
Applying this technique to the vibrations from
the MG cylinder resulted in the enveloped
acceleration spectrum shown in Figure 5. As
you can see, the resulting spectral peaks
strongly suggest the problem is with the innerrace. Studying the side bands around the fault
frequency peaks further supported this
diagnosis.

Figure 6 shows a zoomed view of the

enveloped spectrum. The spacing between the
sidebands is 0. 2 Hz, which corresponds to the
rotational speed of the inner-race. This effect
in the FFT display is caused by the
modulation of the inner-race defect signal as
the rotation of the raceway carries the defects
in and out of the bearings load zone.
Thus, use of the bearing enveloping technique
positively identified the defect as an innerrace problem most probably a raceway
crack.

Figure 5. Enveloped Acceleration Spectrum.

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

Figure 6. Spectral Sidebands.

Subsequent Action
The bearing was closely monitored on a daily
basis. The resulting trend data is given in
Figure 7. Levels continued to be higher than
previously recorded amplitudes, and varied
with machine speed. The highest recorded
level on the bearing was 1. 98 mm/sec RMS.
The offending bearing was removed during a
planned shutdown. Examination of the bearing
revealed at least two raceway cracks.
Raceways had a mirror-like surface with
discoloration. These can indicate a
deterioration in lubricant film thickness,
possibly caused by the presence of water.
There were also shallow craters with
crystalline surfaces and gray / black streaks on
the raceways. Engineers came to the
conclusion that the failure stemmed mainly

from a lubrication problem, and that water

was present in the bearing at some time.
SKF believes that the Iggesund condition
monitoring team picked up the second crack,
which was caused by the stresses imposed by
the original crack. Cracks in bearings are
generally seen as secondary damage caused by
primary defects such as wear and distress.
As was expected, there was an improvement
in readings taken after bearing replacement.
Figure 8 shows the enveloped acceleration
spectrum taken from the new bearing.
The trend of subsequent velocity readings is
given in Figure 9. Velocity levels returned to
the previous low values, with some fluctuation
from varying machine speed.

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

Figure 7. Velocity Trend Prior to Shutdown.

Figure 8. Enveloped Acceleration Spectrum Following Repair.

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved

Low Speed Bearing Monitoring

Figure 9. Velocity Trend After Repair.

Conclusions
Note that, even at the time of bearing
replacement, there were no other indications
of the developing problem. There was no
discernable increase in the bearings operating
temperature, nor any noticeable difference in
machinery noise. The incident provides a
graphic example of the improved maintenance
lead-time provided by an organized approach
to vibration monitoring.
Use of the enveloping technique to attain
accurate and specific fault diagnosis in this
bearing demonstrates the possibilities of
employing standard vibration equipment to
study low-speed machinery faults.
People question the need for a specific
diagnostic system for use on rolling element
bearings. In many situations, it is accepted that
the engineer only needs to know whether or
not the bearing is fit for further duty; the
nature of the fault within the bearing becomes
irrelevant. Whether the fault is an inner / outer

ring, cage or balls makes little difference. This

is particularly true when the bearing is part of
a small machine or assembly, and
maintenance consists of replacing that
assembly. However, even in such cases the
decision to take a plant off-line for the
purpose of carrying out that work can have
significant financial and operational
implications. The ability to base such a
decision on very specific information provides
the engineer with more confidence when
making such recommendations.

References
Early Warning Fault Detection in Rolling
Element Bearings Using Microlog
Enveloping, SKF Condition Monitoring Inc,
Application Note CM3021.
Monitoring of Slow Speed Bearings Using the
Microlog CMVA 60 ULS (Ultra Low speed),
by Dr Bob Jones, SKF Condition Monitoring
Inc, Application Note CM3052.

2004 SKF Reliability Systems All Rights Reserved