Bearing assemblies and methods of using bearings are provided in the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a bearing ring is provided having o carrier one or more ponents removably coupled therewith. Each carrier component may carry one or more bearing elements. Upon wearing of the bearing elements beyond a desired amount, the carrier components may be removed from the bearing ring.

The present invention permits the repair of rolling contact bearings through a unique combination of material selection and repair process. Bearing raceways may become damaged during their service life. Once damage has occurred, the bearing may need to be replaced. Repairing damaged raceways has not been a viable option due to the combination of high carbon content found in the traditional material alloys along with the application of heat needed to fuse the repair material to the existing raceway. This combination can lead to exceedingly high stresses and brittle microstructure in the attempted repair location. The present invention overcomes the repair issues through the unique selection of an alloy steel capable of providing sufficient hardness while decreasing the resulting thermoelastic stress that occurs during the transformation from austenite to martensite at the repair location thereby reducing the chance of cracking following the repair.

Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods for rotary bearing maintenance are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a valve body defining a fluid passageway; a flow control member in the fluid passageway; a drive shaft coupled to the flow control member, the drive shaft extending through a shaft bore defined in the valve body; and a bearing around at least a portion of the drive shaft. The bearing includes: a first layer including a first material having a first coefficient of friction with the drive shaft when the first material is in contact with the drive shaft; and a second layer including a second material having a second coefficient of friction with the drive shaft when the second material is in contact with the drive shaft, the second coefficient of friction greater than the first coefficient of friction.