Predicting the Failure Rate of Grease-Lubricated Cylindrical Roller Bearings from the Instantaneous Oil Content of the Grease

In this article a method is presented to investigate the relation between the failure rate and oil content of grease lubricated cylindrical roller bearings. By experimentally establishing a relation between the instantaneous failure rate, obtained from R0F + testing, and the momentary oil content, obtained from grease samples taken at fixed time intervals from the test bearings, we are able to predict the survival probability of these bearings from the reduction of the base oil content in the bearing. This is a major step toward the development of a remaining grease life model.