Comprehensive review on improvement in surface properties of bearing steel

Abstract

This paper presents the review of various techniques used to improve surface properties of bearing steel SAE 51200. The selection of method depends on solubility, adhesion or bond strength between foreign material and the core/substrate material surface. To improve the various tribological properties, the studies of various past and current technologies and also selection of the best treatment for different bearings used under specific service conditions are reviewed in this paper. One important part is material to be deposited and second important part is by which method the material is deposited. Various coating materials used are Titanium Nitride (TiN), Titanium Carbo Nitride (TiCN) and Titanium Aluminium Nitride (TiAlN), Thin chrome-nitride, Diamond-like carbon (DiC), Carbide–chromium–nickel WC– (W, Cr)2C–Ni) coating, Single-layered TiN and a multi- layered (TiN–NbN, TiN–TaN, TiN–CrN) coating. The different processes used are Thermal Spraying (TS), Combustion flame spraying, Physical vapour deposition (PVD), Chemical vapour deposition (CVD), Ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD), Reactive mag- neutron sputtering (RMS), Plasma Spraying (PS) are discussed in details. The Rolling contact fatigue life depends on the compressive forces induced in bearing material. Surface modification technology plays an important role in improvement in life of bearing.