Mapping of axial plastic zone for roller bearing overloads using neutron transmission imaging

Premature failure of wind turbine gearbox bearings is an ongoing concern for industry, with sudden overload events potentially contributing towards raceway damage, significantly hindering performance. Subsurface stresses generated along a line contact cause material yielding, and a probable crack initiation site. Currently, the ability to study subsurface plastic zone evolution using non-destructive techniques is limited. Neutron Bragg edge imaging is a novel technique, allowing for two-dimensional mapping of the Bragg edge broadening parameter, indicative of bulk plastic deformation. An experiment on the ENGIN-X strain scanning instrument, at the ISIS neutron source, UK, was setup for Bragg edge transmission imaging, to measure the effect of in situ loading on the raceway of a bearing, scaled-down from a traditional wind turbine gearbox bearing. Results demonstrate a strong correlation between load and the Bragg edge width, and allow for future experimental development in studying, not only the effect of overloads on fatigue life, but also the use of neutron imaging for evaluating plastic deformation in engineering components.