Fan Support Bearing Looseness

During our latest vibration monitoring visit, we identified a critical issue involving the fan support bearing. Our analysis revealed signs of looseness, which was clearly evident in the vibration data below.

Key Findings:

Multiple harmonics appeared at fan shaft frequency, consistent with looseness in mechanical components.
The presence of higher-order harmonics indicated an unstable connection between the bearing and the fan housing.
Peak frequency analysis pointed to a clear deviation from normal operating conditions, highlighting the bearing’s need for attention.
This is a reminder of the power of regular vibration analysis in predictive maintenance – it helps us detect issues before they escalate into more serious failures, saving both time and cost in repairs and downtime.

Below you can see the images of our findings. The bearing cage had broken, there's fretting and damage seen on the shaft, and indications of water ingress which has induced rusting on the ball bearings.

This shows the importance of regular vibration testing and good maintenance practices.

fan looseness case study