Deterioration of lithium soap greases and functional life in ball bearings

The deterioration of greases, one of the factors which affect the functional life, was investigated from the view of the deterioration of the lithium soap thickeners. The deterioration of lithium soap was studied with six kinds of greases, the oils of which were paraffinic mineral oil, polyalphaolefin and polyolester, and the soaps of which were lithium stearate and lithium 12-hydroxystearate