How to select bearings for extreme operating environments
Many engineers have at least a basic understanding of rotating bearing technology, and in some cases have become experts in the field as various projects have come and gone over the years. Not a few design engineers will have hands-on experience too, perhaps replacing wheel bearings on a car, or headstock bearings on a motorcycle. But what happens when the talk - and the project - turns to specifying bearings that must survive in a constant 473degC for 3 hours, and then continue to perform faultlessly as the temperature plummets to -219degC for another 3 hours? And for equipment which is going into in space, bearing materials must be well protected against corrosion, but why? What does one need to consider first? Materials technology? Rotating mass? Temperature capability? Lubrication? If your application involves - or might include at some stage in the future - a need to understand how to select and specify bearings that can survive in extremes of heat, cold, or space, bearing industry expert Mike Page of Carter Manufacturing Ltd provides a summarised oversight.
