Patent ID: 7813906

Claim:
A method of predicting residual service life for rolling bearings comprising the steps of: obtaining fundamental data that uses a testing device to obtain data regarding the relationship, for rolling bearings ( 3 ) of wear particle penetration levels to vibration levels and service life when no lubricant degradation occurs, and to obtain data regarding the relationship, for rolling bearings ( 3 ) of lubricant degradation levels to vibration levels and service life when no wear particle penetration occurs; measuring, using an accelerometer ( 4 ), to obtain vibration signals of diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) residing on mechanical rotating devices ( 1 , 2 ), for the purpose of measuring signals in resonant frequency bands only detectable at extremely high levels of sensitivity; calculating, using readings obtained via said measuring step and data obtained via said obtaining fundamental data step, rate of increase in said vibration signals to judge whether said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) are in a stage of first signs of fatigue or in a stage of total fatigue failure; determining, if it has been judged that said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) are in the stage of first signs of fatigue, whether said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) are undergoing a process of normal fatigue, a process of wear particle penetration without lubricant degradation, or a process of lubricant degradation without wear particle penetration using readings obtained via said measuring step and data obtained via said obtaining fundamental data step, wherein normal fatigue means there has been no wear particle penetration and no lubricant degradation; and estimating, for said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ), either wear particle penetration levels if it has been determined that said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) are undergoing the process of wear particle penetration without lubrication degradation or lubricant degradation levels if it has been determined that said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ) are undergoing the process of lubricant degradation without wear particle penetration, and predicting, residual service life for said diagnostic rolling bearings ( 3 ).