Analysis of the Rolling Contact Residual Stresses and Cyclic Plastic Deformation of SAE 52100 Steel Ball Bearings

Stress-controlled, low-cycle, push-pull fatigue tests were performed on three variants of the bearing steel SAE 52100 with slightly different compositions and heat treatments. The experiments demonstrated differences in the cyclic plastic behaviour of differently hardened steels (bainitically-hardened and martensitically-hardened, respectively), whereas the two martensitic variants, which differ in composition, behaved very similarly. Bainitically-hardened SAE 52100 steel exhibited initial hardening followed by cyclic softening above a stress amplitude level of 1200 MPa. In contrast, the rnartensiticallyhardened variants showed a pronounced cyclic hardening. The deformation behaviour of the martensitically-hardened bearing steel in a monotonic tensile test and during the first cycles can be well understood on the basis of the transformation of retained austenite. This process leads to an onset of plastic deformation at lower stresses compared to the bainitically-hardened bearing steel. As a result of the subsequent cyclic hardening of the rnartensitic variants, the CSS curves are almost identical for the differently hardened conditions under investigation. Additional tests under pulsating compression documented that a high negative mean stress enhances the cyclic plasticity. NOMENCLATUREE, = Young's modulus at zero stress N = number of cycles N, = number of cycles till failure R, = tensile strength R f 1 2 = 0.2% yield strength As,, = plastic strain range E, = total strain E,, = elastic strain sp, = plastic strain u = stress

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this situation, the stress state can only be estimated roughly, and the localized strain in the region of maximum stress is not accessible to a quantitative determination. Only a few studies exist on the CSS behaviour of hardened steel in general and of hardened 52100 steel [15,20,21], in particular.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatigue Behaviour of Three Variants of the Roller Bearing Steel Sae 52100

Christ

Sommer

Mughrabi

et al. 1992

“…Initially, Bhargava et al 11 used a two‐dimensional (plane strain) elastoplastic finite element model with an elastic‐perfectly plastic idealization of the cyclic plastic behaviour. Later on, Hahn et al 12 and Batista et al 13 developed an elastic‐linear‐kinematic hardening‐plastic behaviour model. In 1991, Kulkarni et al 14 extended the study to three‐dimensional rolling contact with the same material behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and numerical rolling contact fatigue study on the 32CrMoV13 steel

Coelho¹,

Dias²,

Lieurade³

et al. 2004

A B S T R A C TThe aim of this work is to study pure rolling contact fatigue in 32CrMoV13 quenching and tempering steel. The study involves both experimental and numerical work. The influence of the roughness and the residual stresses on the mechanisms and zones of cracking were studied. The results show a rapid reduction in roughness during the first minute of test but even so there will be specimen deterioration. The residual stress profile after rolling contact tests have high compression values in the surface and at a depth of approximately 240 µm, which is related with the Hertzian maximal shear stress. The numerical simulation of the Hertzian loading was used both to determine the elastic shakedown of the material and to apply a high-cycle multiaxial fatigue criterion. The threedimensional finite element analysis used in the numerical calculation includes elastic-linear kinematic hardening plastic material and allows the introduction of an initial residual stress state. Taking into account the elastoplastic load induced by the Hertz pressure, low-cycle fatigue tests were used to characterize the mechanical properties of the material. In order to validate the numerical simulation, the results of the calculation after elastic shakedown were compared with the values measured by X-ray diffraction after rolling contact tests. The results showed a reasonable agreement between calculated and measured stresses. The Dang Van high-cycle multiaxial fatigue criterion showed a good relationship with the experimental findings.

“…Several types of test methods are applied to evaluate the RCF of bearings, including the four‐ball–rolling tester, the five‐ball–rolling tester, the v‐groove/ball tester, the rolling‐element‐on flat tester and the three‐contact‐point tester . Materials with distinct constitutive behaviour were considered by different groups to connect the rolling behaviour with mechanical properties, in particular how the hardening behaviour of the materials would affect the RCF of those bearings. In those studies, the researchers paid more attention to the fatigue of ball bearings under point‐contact conditions and obtained many valuable conclusions at the same time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…As reported by many groups, two fracture modes are identified in the fatigue process of high‐strength steels under very‐high‐cycle fatigue. The first is the surface‐induced fracture, and the second is the interior inclusion‐induced fracture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical analysis on rolling contact fatigue in railroad axle bearing steel

Guo

Yang

et al. 2018

High‐strength steels are widely used in high‐performance bearings utilized in most mechanical systems. However, there has been little statistical analysis regarding the fatigue failure behaviour of the material, where surface peeling resulted from contact fatigue during rolling is a significant life‐limiting mechanism. In this study, we examine the statistical behaviour of surface‐crack nucleation, propagation, and peeling in a high‐speed train axle bearing made of GCr15 steel by using a laboratory rolling‐contact equipment. We reveal that cyclic rolling‐contact leads to the formation of a hardness gradient in the outer ring of the bearing. The gradient layer is of several millimetres. The peeling rate could be as high as 28 μm per million cycles when the contact pressure is close to that applied in real service. Peeling‐induced cracking is dominantly transgranular. The incipient angle is about 23.2°, and its depth could be hundreds of micrometres. The findings reported here could be employed to assess the lifetime of bearings made of GCr15 steel and possible other engineering metals.