ON INITIAL FAULT-DETECTION OF A TAPERED ROLLER BEARING - FREQUENCY-DOMAIN ANALYSIS

The frequency characteristics of vibration for a defective bearing subjected to various loadings are investigated. The vibration model developed by McFadden and Smith [2] is extended to describe the bearing vibration induced by a single defect, or by multiple defects located at arbitrary positions, of a bearing under diverse loadings. On the basis of the model, the vibration spectrum is a discrete one with a pattern of "equal frequency spacing distribution". In the demodulated spectrum, there are peaks at the defect frequency and its harmonics. Around each peak, there are side bands associated with the periodic properties of the loadings and the transmission path. The validity of the analytical study is confirmed by an extensive evaluation of experiments. © 1992.