A fatigue failure investigation and improvement of a high-speed cylindrical roller bearing in a turbofan engine

Abstract

High-speed cylindrical roller bearings are critical components used in turbofan engines. The failures in the cylindrical roller bearings are common failure cases in the turbofan engines due to the tough speed and load conditions, which can increase downtime and create an enormous loss. Thus, it is necessary to understand the failure reasons including the careless handling, improper clearance or mounting, ineffective sealing, and unsuitable lubrication. This paper introduces a failure analysis of a high-speed cylindrical roller bearing used in the turbofan engine. A detailed analysis of high-speed cylindrical roller bearing failures is proposed by using the finite element method. The failure reasons are identified as the manufacturing errors in the effective length of the inner ring, which led to the high-stress concentrations at the two ends of the roller resulting in fatigue failures. The failure mechanisms are understood. The optimization design of the structure to avoid the failures is presented. The validation test shows that the prevention strategies for similar failures are addressed. This paper can provide some guidance for analyzing and identifying the spalls and wear failures in the high-speed cylindrical roller bearings used in the turbofan engines.