Rolling Contact Fatigue Type Analysis of Rolling Bearing by XRD and TEM

Abstract

In the rolling bearing, the flaking caused by rolling contact fatigue is classified into two types: surface originated flaking and subsurface originated flaking. It has been recognized that marked microstructural change can occur in subsurface originated flaking due to rolling contact fatigue. But there are few reports in surface originated flaking about microstructural change. In this study, surface originated flaking caused by rolling contact fatigue was investigated based on microstructural change. Thrust ball bearing and radial ball bearing was used for fatigue test. Simulation of dent originated flaking was carried out using the bearing with artificial dent. Another fatigue test subjected to surface originated flaking was done under shortage of oil film thickness lubrication condition. Microstructural change was measured by X-ray Diffractmetry (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) during fatigue testing. Microstructure of bearing steel used for fatigue test is consisted of martensite with small amount of retained austenite. XRD measurement reveals that the half peak width of martensite and volume fraction of retained austenite decreasing with increasing testing time, and the amount of decrease in these parameter were small in the surface originated flaking compared with subsurface originated flaking when the specimens were flaking. This suggests that surface originated flaking occurs in spite of mild microstructural change. TEM observation about the surface originated flaking shows plastic flow in the surface layer. Especially, it was confirmed that partial recrystallization occurs in the fatigue test under shortage of oil film thickness lubrication condition. But it was also confirmed that degree of recrystallization is lower in the surface originated flaking than subsurface one, and this reasonably explains XRD result. From these results, it was cleared that recrystallizaiton of martensite is differ in degree but not in kind between surface originated flaking and subsurface originated flaking.