Crack initiation mechanism of M50 bearing steel under high cycle fatigue

Abstract

The fatigue properties of M50 bearing steel under high cycle fatigue were studied by rotating bending fatigue test at room temperature. The fatigue cracks of M50 bearing steel were primarily nucleated at MgO-Al2O3 inclusions and MC/M2C primary carbides. The voids were initiated through inclusion debonding from the matrix and primary carbide cracking under cyclic loading. Small cracks were initiated on the void along the direction perpendicular to the tensile stress. Small cracks propagated at a speed of 8.81 × 10-10 m/cycle with hysteresis in the fine granular area (FGA). When the stress intensity factor range for the subsurface defect was lower than the stress intensity factor range threshold for M50 steel, the initiation stage of fatigue crack was composed of crack nucleation caused by defects and fatigue process in FGA. The fatigue cracks propagated at the fish-eye area (FiE) when the stress intensity factor range at the FGA front exceeded ΔKth. There was a stress concentration at the inclusion-matrix interface or the primary carbide-matrix interface during a long-term cyclic loading which resulted in the nucleation of fatigue cracks. A fatigue crack nucleation model was established based on the true stress at the defect, size of the defect, and number of cycles. A fatigue life model was constructed based on fatigue crack nucleation and fatigue crack propagation processes.