From Innovation to Standardization—A Century of Rolling Bearing Life Formula

This review paper is an homage to Arvid Palmgren’s pioneering paper on rolling bearing service life to highlight its relevance a century later. It follows the evolution of bearing service life theory from Palmgren’s fundamental research to the contemporary international standard ISO 281. Palmgren’s theory, based on the previously published papers of Stribeck and Hertz, laid the basis for the later development of bearing service life assessment methodology. Based on the Weibull theory of probability of damage, Lundberg and Palmgren introduced stochastic elements to explain the effect of reliability on bearing service life prediction. Harris and Ioannides, who made a significant contribution to the revision of the international standard on rolling bearing load rating and rating life are mentioned as well. Zaretsky’s critical analysis also was not neglected in this review, due to a different approach respecting the original influence of material properties and bearing performances. Despite standardization, ongoing research by leading advanced bearing industries and academic institutions continues to refine methodologies for service life assessment. Through a comprehensive review and analysis, this paper offers insight into the current state of bearing service life theory, highlighting the collaborative efforts bringing progress in this field.