Method to monitor a thrust load on a rolling bearing and machinery equipped with a system to monitor said thrust load

A method to monitor a thrust load on a rolling bearing, comprising:

• obtaining a first parameter based on a bearing cage rotation speed and a first race rotation speed of a bearing;
• obtaining a calculated thrust load on the rolling bearing based on the first parameter and the first race rotation speed;
• and
• verifying if the first parameter falls within a first range, and (i) if the first parameter falls out of the first range, a verification is performed to determine whether the first race rotation speed corresponds to a predicted variation at the calculated thrust load, and (ii) if the first parameter falls inside the first range, the step of obtaining a first parameter is repeated with new values of the bearing cage rotation speed and the first race rotation speed,
• wherein a load correction is performed if the first race rotation speed does not correspond to the predicted variation at the calculated thrust load to improve bearing performance and extend bearing life.