Estimation of the Reliability of Rolling Element Bearings Using a Synthetic Failure Rate

As rolling element bearings are key parts of rotating machinery, the estimation of their reliability is very important. In this context, different standards and research articles propose how to estimate fatigue life for different levels of reliability. However, when trying to do calculations based on data from a real system, there are many difficulties because of economic and safety reasons. Consequently, the use of physical models to simulate the cases that are difficult to reproduce in a real system allows us to generate synthetic data related to them. Thus, in this paper a synthetic failure rate of rolling element bearings is calculated using a physical modelling approach. A multi-body model of a bearing is used in order to obtain its dynamic response in non-stationary conditions and in different degradation levels. Thus, synthetic data are generated to cover a range of degradation related to geometric changes in the surface of the parts of the bearing. Some of the output variables of these synthetic data, such as vibration, are used as covariates of a proportional hazard model, which is then trained to estimate the reliability of the bearing.