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Failure Analysis of a Jet Engine Gearbox Drive Gearshaft Ball Bearing

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Abstract

The case study presented in this article details the failure investigation of an M50 alloy steel bearing used in a jet engine gearbox drive assembly. It discusses the investigative steps and analytic tools used to determine the root cause, highlighting the importance of continuous, thorough questioning by the investigating activity. The combined analyses demonstrated that the bearing failed by a single event overload as evidenced by bulk deformation and traces of foreign material on the rolling elements. The anomalous transferred metal found on the rolling elements subsequently led to the discovery of overlooked debris in an engine chip detector, and thus resulted in a review of several maintenance practices.

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References

  1. ASTM E407-07 Standard Practice for Microetching Metals and Alloys, Etchant 74

  2. ASTM A892-09 Standard Guide for Defining and Rating the Microstructure of High Carbon Steels

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metallurgical Analysis Section, Tinker AFB, 3001 Staff Dr. Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, OK, 73145, USA

    Rodolfo Villa & Scot Roswurm

Authors
  1. Rodolfo Villa
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  2. Scot Roswurm
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rodolfo Villa.

Additional information

This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2012 Annual Meeting, held July 29-August 2, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, and has been expanded from the original presentation.

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Villa, R., Roswurm, S. Failure Analysis of a Jet Engine Gearbox Drive Gearshaft Ball Bearing. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 13, 359–367 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-013-9678-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-013-9678-1

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