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Lubricant formulations and lubricant additives have been slanted heavily toward protecting gear concentrated contacts from galling and wear. Much of the performance differentiation of these lubricants has been dependent on highly accelerated standardized laboratory testing. The area of contact fatigue has played a less important role in shaping lubricant formulations, but new test results for several commercially available gear lubricants suggest this area warrants a closer examintion. The implications of these findings for equipment applications are discussed, and suggestions are made for ways to minimize or avoid potential detrimental performance effects.

Increased size, payload and horsepower requirements are the trend in today's off-highway industry. This paper discusses the role of new anti-friction roller bearing technology in avoiding problems created by changing design considerations and the performance/cost/EPA triad currently squeezing designers and manufacturers of rubber tired earthmoving machinery. A comparison is made of bearing fatigue life determined by several methods including those derived from vehicle instrumentation and purely empirical criteria. Some common problems relating to the mounting and set up of large wheel bearings are also reviewed together with corresponding remedies.

Environmental effects on fatigue and non-fatigue modes of tapered roller bearing damage are discussed. Primary emphasis is placed on the influence of load, speed, lubricant and temperature on the fatigue modes of damage. Effects of dissolved water in oil, traction fluids and fire resistant hydraulic fluids are included.