Failure analysis of ball bearing in centrifugal pump using envelope and demodulation techniques

This case study delineates failure of bearing due to ingress of water through seals. In this study, failure of bearing was detected through vibration data acquisition followed by envelope and demodulation analyses. The results were confirmed through mathematical calculations with the help of MATLAB software. The observations confirmed that localized fault was induced in the bearing due to continuous ingress of the water from seals and insufficient lubrication helped corrosion proliferation. Further, root cause and failure analysis (RCFA) were conducted to identify the root causes of repeated premature failure in bearing. Based on recommendations of this study, improvisation in some of the existing mechanical configurations was done in the centrifugal pump to avoid any re-occurrence of such incidents. Vibration data from healthy and the faulty conditions of the bearings were taken and compared for drawing conclusions. © 2022