Chain Failure Glossary
Failure mode
Roller Wear and Spalling
Also known as Roller damage, roller breakup
What roller wear and spalling is
Rollers take the impact each time a link meets a sprocket tooth and roll along the tooth flank under load. Impact wear, spalling and flats develop where the roller surface fatigues or is battered by load peaks, and a seized roller turns a rolling contact into a sliding one.
Common causes
- Impact loading at sprocket entry, common on drives with poor chordal behaviour
- Under-lubrication causing rollers to seize and skid instead of roll
- Contamination from hard particles that bridge the roller and tooth
- Sprocket teeth worn or incorrectly matched to the chain pitch
Warning signs
- Flats, scoring or pitting on roller surfaces
- Rollers that do not rotate freely when the chain is flexed by hand
- Rough mesh and noise at the driver sprocket
- Fragments of roller material collecting under the drive
Prevention and correction
- Keep sprockets matched to the chain pitch and replace them with the chain
- Lubricate to keep rollers free and turning
- Reduce impact speed by increasing sprocket tooth count where space allows
- Fit guards and screens to keep hard debris out of the mesh
Fix it with the right product
Conveyor and roller chain rangeNeed a second opinion?
Send us the chain, the running hours and a photo. Our engineers will confirm the failure mode and quote the right replacement.
All chain failure modes
Chain ElongationFatigue FailureSide Plate CrackingPin and Bush WearRoller Wear and SpallingAbrasive WearAdhesive WearCorrosionStress Corrosion CrackingHydrogen EmbrittlementGallingSurface PittingTensile OverloadShock LoadingImpact FractureLubrication StarvationTight Links and KinkingMisalignmentChordal ActionSprocket Tooth Wear
Same & Next-Day Delivery Areas
Roller chain supply across South Yorkshire & the North
Dispatched from our Rotherham depot — order by 1pm for next-working-day delivery, or collect same-day within our 30-mile radius.
RotherhamDepot location
Sheffield9 mi · ~25 min
Barnsley6 mi · ~15 min
Doncaster16 mi · ~30 min
Mexborough3 mi · ~8 min
Maltby5 mi · ~12 min
Wath-upon-Dearne4 mi · ~10 min
Wakefield20 mi · ~35 min
Leeds25 mi · ~45 min
Huddersfield30 mi · ~50 min
Scunthorpe22 mi · ~35 min
Mansfield28 mi · ~45 min
Chesterfield18 mi · ~30 min
Worksop14 mi · ~25 min