October 13,2026
Corrosion Resistance Required Scenario of bearing typically arise in environments where water, salt spray, acidic or alkaline media, or reactive gases are present. Different corrosion levels require different types of bearings.
Based on corrosion severity, these environments can be broadly classified into three categories:
Water-Rich Environments: These include high-humidity conditions, condensation, seawater splash or direct water contact. Examples include marine propulsion systems, fishing equipment, and food washing equipment.
Mildly Acidic or Alkaline Environments: These involve weakly corrosive chemical media or cleaning solutions. Examples include beverage sterilization equipment, high-performance membrane cleaning equipment, and certain chemical processes.
Strongly Acidic or Reactive Gas Environments: These are the most severe corrosion conditions, involving contact with strong acids, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and other reactive media. Examples include sour gas environments in the oil and gas industry, etching processes in semiconductor manufacturing, and CMP equipment.
In addition, in the marine engineering and shipbuilding sector, seawater itself is a strong electrolyte that triggers electrochemical corrosion, often accompanied by marine biofouling and fretting corrosion. Stern tube bearings, seawater pump bearings, and similar components are continuously exposed to such environments.
Depending on the corrosion level, the following bearing types are available:
Stainless Steel Bearings
These use martensitic stainless steel (such as G95Cr18, G102Cr18Mo) or precipitation-hardening stainless steel for rings and rolling elements. They are suitable for high-humidity, water-rich, and salt-spray environments. Materials such as G102Cr18Mo are explicitly used in bearings for marine, petroleum, and chemical machinery. Stainless steel bearings are the basic choice for corrosion-resistant applications, suitable for atmospheric corrosion and general wet conditions.
Hybrid Ceramic Bearings
These combine stainless steel rings with silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) ceramic rolling elements. Ceramic rolling elements are chemically inert, do not react with acids, alkalis, or salts, and offer extremely high hardness. In sour gas environments containing hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), hybrid ceramic bearings can achieve a service life more than 6 times that of conventional all-steel bearings (23,300 hours vs. 3,800 hours). These bearings are suitable for severe corrosive conditions in oil and gas, chemical pumps, and compressors.
Full Ceramic Bearings
Both inner and outer rings and rolling elements are made entirely of ceramic materials, offering extremely high chemical stability and non-magnetic properties. They are suitable for strong acid, strong alkali, and reactive gas environments, as well as applications requiring non-magnetic and insulating properties, such as semiconductor manufacturing and electron beam lithography.
Corrosion-Resistant Coated Bearings
These feature a nickel-based coating applied to the bearing surface to enhance resistance to hypochlorous acid and oxidizing media. They are suitable for sterilization and cleaning equipment, etching equipment, and similar applications.
Super Corrosion-Resistant Resin Bearings
Rings and cages are made from special fluorine-based resin materials, offering advantages across a wide range of applications including water-rich, alkaline, and strongly acidic environments. They are completely waterproof.
Copper Alloy Sliding Bearings
Copper-based alloys such as aluminum bronze and tin bronze have inherent resistance to seawater corrosion and are commonly used in stern tube bearings, pump shaft sleeves, worm gears, and similar components. Aluminum bronze in particular is explicitly used for marine components requiring resistance to corrosion and wear under heavy loads.
Key Considerations for Selection
The corrosion resistance of a bearing depends not only on the ring and rolling element materials but also critically on the cage and seals. For example, if a stainless steel bearing is fitted with a standard steel cage, the cage may still rust. Additionally, although ceramic rolling elements are corrosion-resistant, if the lubricant is contaminated or emulsified by water, the overall bearing life will still be affected. Therefore, the lubrication solution must be matched to the required corrosion resistance level.
If your equipment requires corrosion-resistant bearings but standard bearings cannot meet the requirements, please feel free to contact us. We can provide customized solutions tailored to your specific needs.
