ISO 15243 classifies rolling bearing damage modes into six main categories: fatigue (subsurface and surface-initiated), wear (abrasive, adhesive, and corrosive), corrosion (moisture and fretting), electrical erosion (excessive current and current leakage), plastic deformation (overload and indentations), and cracking/fracture.

What is the most common bearing failure mode?

Fatigue spalling (subsurface-initiated) is the expected end-of-life failure. However, premature failures are most often caused by contamination (wear), inadequate lubrication (adhesive wear/smearing), and improper mounting (deformation/brinelling).

How do I distinguish between fatigue and brinelling?

Fatigue spalling shows material flaking from the raceway surface, typically in the loaded zone. Brinelling shows permanent indentations matching the rolling element spacing, caused by static overload or impact. Fatigue develops over time; brinelling is from a single event.

What causes electrical erosion in bearings?

Electrical erosion is caused by stray currents passing through the bearing, often from VFD-driven motors. It creates characteristic fluting patterns (washboard-like grooves) on raceways and pitting on rolling elements. Use insulated bearings or shaft grounding rings.

How can I prevent premature bearing failure?

Key prevention measures: proper lubrication (correct type, quantity, and interval), contamination control (sealing), correct mounting (proper fits, no hammer blows), alignment, and monitoring (vibration analysis, temperature tracking).

Free Engineering Tool #057

Bearing Damage Classifier

Interactive bearing damage type identifier per ISO 15243. Select the visual symptoms you observe, and get the likely damage mode, root cause, and corrective actions.

ISO 152436 Damage CategoriesInteractive

Six Main Categories

Category	ISO 15243 Code	Sub-types
1. Fatigue	5.1	Subsurface-initiated, surface-initiated
2. Wear	5.2	Abrasive, adhesive (smearing)
3. Corrosion	5.3	Moisture corrosion, fretting corrosion
4. Electrical erosion	5.4	Excessive current, current leakage (fluting)
5. Plastic deformation	5.5	Overload, indentations (brinelling)
6. Cracking & fracture	5.6	Forced fracture, fatigue fracture, thermal cracking

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Bearing Damage Classifier | ISO 15243 | Interactive Diagnostic Tool

Published by admin on February 15, 2026 February 15, 2026

Diagnosis

Six Main Categories