False brinelling

False brinelling describes shallow wear depressions in raceways that form while the bearing is stationary. Unlike true brinelling caused by overload, the marks result from micro-movements between rolling elements and raceway under external vibration. Because there is no rolling motion, the lubricant film is displaced locally and fretting wear develops at rolling-element pitch. ISO 15243 assigns this damage to the wear and fretting category. Typical causes are transport without shaft locking, standstill vibration from nearby machines and small oscillating movements. Remedies include securing shafts during transport, preloading, periodic rotation during standstill, vibration isolation and greases with suitable anti-wear additives.