Effects of Service Condition on Rolling Contact Fatigue Failure Mechanism and Lifetime of Thermal Spray Coatings——A Review

The service condition determines the Roiling Contact Fatigue（RCF） failure mechanism and lifetime under ascertain material structure integrity parameter of thermal spray coating. The available literature on the RCF testing of thermal spray coatings under various condition services is considerable; it is generally difficult to synthesize all of the result to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the parameters which has a great effect on a thermal spray coating＇s resistance of RCF. The effects of service conditions（lubrication states, contact stresses, revolve speed, and slip ratio） on the changing of thermal spray coatings＇ contact fatigue lifetime is introduced systematically. The effects of different service condition on RCF failure mechanism of thermal spray coating from the change of material structure integrity are also summarized. Moreover, In order to enhance the RCF performance, the parameter optimal design formula of service condition and material structure integrity is proposed based on the effect of service condition on thermal spray coatings＇ contact fatigue lifetime and RCF failure mechanism. The shortage of available literature and the forecast focus in future researches are discussed based on available research. The explicit result of RCF lifetime law and parameter optimal design formula in term of lubrication states, contact stresses, revolve speed, and slip ratio, is significant to improve the RCF performance on the engineering application.

Optimization of Preventive Grinding of Backup Roll against Contact Fatigue Cracking

In order to optimize the current grinding procedure of the backup roll of 2050 continuously variable crown (CVC) mills, the behavior of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracking was investigated. Two RCF short cracks, including vertical short crack and ratcheting short crack initiated from ratcheting, were observed. The behavior of both RCF cracks was analyzed in detail. Then a modified grinding procedure was proposed according to the behavior of RCF cracks and the preventive grinding strategy.

The Morphology of Rolling Contact Fatigue Fracture of Hardened Steels

Rolling Contact Fatigue(RCF) is a cumulative damage phenomenon when metals are subjected to repeated contact stresses. The fomation of pitting on the contact surface is the result of the rolling contact fatigue. The morphologies of rolling contact fatigue fracture of the har- dened steels (86CrHoV7, 42CrMo) show that strong resemblance in fractuye mechanisms exists between rolling contact fatigue and uni-axial fatigue. Since fatigue striations are hardly observed in hardened steels under uni-axial fatigue, it is interesting to note that the state of stress in rolling contact fatigue is more favor- able to ductile fractures than in uni-axial fatigue.

Microstructure and Contact Fatigue Behavior of Nano-SiO_2/Ni Coating Prepared by Electro-Brush Plating

The composite coating nano SiO 2/Ni was prepared by co depositing nano SiO 2 particles with pure nickel through electro brush plating. By taking into account the effect of microstructure, heat treatment and load on the contact fatigue life, the anti contact fatigue behavior of the composite coating was examined and compared with that of nickel coating. As a result, the contact fatigue life decreased with the increasing of load. The contact fatigue lives of nano SiO 2/Ni coating were 16.5% and 45.2% higher than those of nickel coating respectively under the loads of 60 N and 140 N, and 326.3% higher than its counterpart of nickel coating after annealed under the load of 140 N. From the SEM image of fatigue fracture, it has been observed that the fatigue fracture of the composite coating initiated in the sub surface as well as at the track surface due to the huddling of units, and propagated along the interface between grain units.

ROLLING CONTACT FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF CERAMIC BALLS LUBRICATED BY LUBRICANTS WITH EXTREME PRESSURE ADDITIVES

An experiment is conducted to investigate the effects of lubricant10#, which contains extreme pressure additives T304 and T305, on the rolling contact fatigue （RCF） life of the contact pairs of a Si3N4 ceramic ball and a steel rod. The experimental investigation is carried out using a ball-rod RCF test rig. The results show that the extreme pressure additives increase the anti-contact-fatigue performance of ceramic balls; When the content of the additives varies from 1% to 5%, the increasing gradient of the RCF life curve decreases; And the oil sample with 1% T305 additive corresponds to the maximal gradient of the RCF life curve, with the RCF life being increased by about 10.77 times. The fatigue surface of the ceramic ball is analyzed with scanning electron microscope （SEM） and X-ray electron dispersion analysis（EDAX）, and the physical model of extreme pressure additives＇ increasing the RCF life of the ceramic ball is proposed. It is found that the extreme pressure additives form a corrosive film and a transfer film on the surface of the ceramic ball, which decrease the surface tangential stress, and to increase the surface energy is the most effective means for increasing the RCF life.

The Effects of Different Post-Heat Treatments on Rolling Contact Fatigue Behaviors of Direct Laser Cladding Inconel 625 Coatings

In this paper,the microstructures and rolling contact fatigue behaviors of laser cladding Inconel 625 coatings with or without post-heat treatments were analyzed.The results revealed that the fatigue resistance of the laser cladding coating after any post-heat treatment was worse than that of the as-deposited coating.First,through the finite element analysis,the distribution of stress along the thickness direction of the coating was obtained,and it was concluded that the bonding interface between the coating and the matrix had little effect on the fatigue properties of the coating.Then X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and energy dispersive spectrometry(EDS)were used to analyze the microstructure and failure morphology.The results revealed that the subsurface failure morphology of the coatings showed a consistent correlation with rolling fatigue property after different heat treatments.The TCP phase and carbides have been shown in the laser cladding coating.The coating after stress relieved annealing exhibited chain-shaped granular carbides on the grain boundaries which could accelerate crack propagation.The aging heat treatment made small amounts of Laves phase dissolved in the coating,while the dispersed phase was precipitated which could result in the formation of pores.And the solution treatment made large amounts of Laves phase dissolved,while the rod-shape brittle phases were generated which was easy to fracture and contribute to crack initiation and spalling.

Influence of Rare Earths on Contact Fatigue of Rail Steels

Rail/wheel contact fatigue of NbRE rail, Nb rail and U74 rail was investigated using contact fatigue tester. Microstructure and morphology as well as microhardness in the fatigue profiles were analyzed by scanning electron microscope and Vickers hardness respectively. The experimental results show that rare earths are able to delay the initiation and the propagation of fatigue cracks and postpone the surface shelling or spalling, even more, to reduce the crack propagation angle and the crack propagation depth in steady stab as well as the plastic deformation area, and to improve work-hardening of the rail steel.

INFLUENCE OF SURFACE HARDENING ON CONTACT FATIGUE LIFE OF NODULAR CAST IRON

The influence of laser surface melting and induction hardening on the surface structure,con- tact fatigue life and failure behaviour of the nodular cast iron has been investigated.The con- tact fatigue life can be improved by both laser treatment and induction hardening,but the fail- ure process and type are different from each other.The former is due to lumpy and deep spal- ling caused by crack propagation between the quenching zone and the substrate,and the latter is due to nubby and surface flaking caused by the oil wedged action into surface cracks.

EFFECT OF FRICTIONAL FORCE ON GEARING CONTACT FATIGUE STRENGTH

The model for computing frictional coefficient between two teeth faces at the state of mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication is established. And then more than 80 sets of numerical calculations and six sets of disc fatigue tests are completed. The results show that when the film thickness ratio λ 〈1.6, frictional coefficient μ is drastically decreased as λ. rises; Thereafter it decreases smoothly until λ=4.5. When λ〉4.5, however, it goes up again with λ, which indicates that the excessive film thickness ratio will deteriorate gearing contact fatigue strength. At the end, the formulae for determining the frictional coefficients are formed.

Exploring the ultrahigh rolling contact fatigue life of M50 bearing steel by adjusting the cryogenic sequence

The influence of different cryogenic sequences on the rolling contact fatigue(RCF)life of M50-bearing steel has been studied.The results show that direct cryogenic treatment after quenching can effectively improve RCF life.The L_(10)life is strikingly 5 times longer than that with cryogenic treatment after tem-pering.This is caused by the distinct lattice construction of martensite and the transformation of retained austenite.More secondary nanocarbides and fine twins are formed via cryogenic treatment before tem-pering compared with cryogenic treatment after tempering.The improvement in the RCF life of the steel is attributed to the joint effects of the secondary nanocarbides and twin boundaries with a width of 5-13 nm,which delays significantly crack initiation and propagation.This study highlights a common method to improve the service life of high-carbon and high-alloy steels by adjusting the cryogenic se-quence.

Effects of Primary Carbide Size and Type on the Sliding Wear and Rolling Contact Fatigue Properties of M50 Bearing Steel

The influences of primary carbide size and type on the sliding wear behavior and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) properties of M50 bearing steel were systematically investigated under oil lubrication condition. A major breakthrough was achieved in the influence of primary carbide on tribological behavior. The opposite effect brought by primary carbide size on the sliding wear resistance and RCF life of M50 bearing steel was determined. Wear resistance increased with an increase in the studied primary carbide size, whereas RCF life decreased significantly. Compared with the 0 R and R positions with a relatively small carbide size, the wear volume of the 1/2 R position with a large carbide size was the smallest. Compared with the 0 R and R positions, the L10 life of the 1/2 R position decreased by 82.7% and 84.8%, respectively. On the basis of the statistical correlation between primary carbide size and the two tribological properties, a critical maximum carbide size of 5-10 μm was proposed to achieve optimal tribological performance. This research suggests that the equivalent diameter of the primary carbide should be controlled to be smaller than 10 μm, but further decreasing primary carbide size to less than 5 μm is unnecessary. The influence of primary carbide type in M50 bearing steel on sliding wear resistance was also discussed. Results indicate that the MC-type carbides with higher elastic modulus and microhardness exhibit better wear resistance than the M2C-type carbides.

A modified model of Lundberg-Palmgren rolling contact fatigue formula considering the effects of surface treatments

The Lundberg–Palmgren(L–P)fatigue life formula,as a statistical fatigue theory,has been widely used in the industry.However,its direct applicability is limited to the components treated by surface strengthening technologies.Rolling contact fatigue tests and surface integrity measurements of American Iron and Steel Institute(AISI)9310 rollers with several surface treatments were performed to address this issue.Based on these results,a modified L–P fatigue model was proposed,enabling the consideration of surface modification including surface roughness,residual stress,and hardening introduced by different surface treatments.Compared with the original L–P fatigue formula,its results are more accurate for surface strengthened specimens.Furthermore,this method can assess the contact fatigue life of gears treated by surface strengthening techniques.

Study on contact fatigue of a wind turbine gear pair considering surface roughness

Contact fatigue issues become more and more crucial in gear industry as they significantly affect the reliability and service life of associated mechanical systems such as wind turbine gearboxes.The contact fatigue behavior is mostly determined by the mechanical properties of materials and stress fields near the contact area,which is further influenced by the lubrication and surface roughness due to pressure fluctuations.In this study,a numerical model incorporating the lubrication state,tooth surface roughness,residual stress,and mechanical properties of the material is developed to determine the contact fatigue behavior of a megawatt level wind turbine carburized gear.The variations of the hardness and residual stress along the depth were characterized by the Vickers hardness measurement and X-ray diffraction test,respectively.The elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory was applied to predict the contact pressure distribution,highlighting the influence of the surface roughness that stemed from the original measurement through an optical profiler.The stress histories of the studied material points during a complete contact loading cycle were fast calculated using the discreteconcrete fast Fourier transformation(DC-FFT)method.Modified Dang Van diagrams under different working conditions were determined to estimate the contact fatigue failure risk.The effect of the root mean square(RMS)value of the surface roughness on the failure risk at critical material points were discussed in detail.Results revealed that the surface roughness significantly increases the contact fatigue failure risk within a shallow area,and the maximum risk appears near the surface.

Microstructure, hardness and contact fatigue properties of X30N high nitrogen stainless bearing steel

Microstructure, hardness and fatigue properties of X30N high nitrogen stainless bearing steel were investigated. It was found that nitrogen addition could effectively reduce the amount and size of coarse carbides. The original austenite grain size was obviously refined. Additionally, more retained austenite was found in X30N steel after quenching at 1050 ℃, which could be reduced from about 30% to about 6% by cold treatment at - 73 ℃ and subsequent tempering, and thus, the ultimate hardness was increased up to about 61 HRC with reduction of austenite and precipitation of carbonitrides. Furthermore, the rolling contact fatigue lives of X30N steel ate superior to those of 440C steel, which was attributed to the enhanced hardness and a certain retained austenite in the high nitrogen steel.

Rail fatigue crack propagation in high-speed wheel/rail rolling contact

To study the wheel/rail rolling contact fatigue of high-speed trains, we obtain the distribution of contact forces between wheel and rail by introducing the strain-rate effect. Based on the finite element simulation, a two-dimensional finite element model is established, and the process of a wheel rolling over a crack is analyzed to predict the crack propagation direction. The statistics of possible crack prop- agation angles are calculated by the maximum circumfer- ential stress criterion. The crack path is then obtained by using the average crack propagation angle as the crack propagation direction according to Weibull distribution. Results show that the rail crack mode of low-speed trains is different from that of high-speed trains. The rail crack propagation experiences a migration from opening mode to sliding mode under the low-speed trains; however, the rail crack mainly propagates in the opening mode under high- speed trains. Furthermore, the crack propagation rate for high-speed trains is faster than that for low-speed trains. The simulated crack paths are consistent with the experimental ones, which proves that it is reasonable to use the average value of possible crack propagation directions as the actual crack propagation direction.

Effects of solid friction modifier on friction and rolling contact fatigue damage of wheel-rail surfaces

In railway network,friction is an important factor to consider in terms of the service behaviors of wheel-rail system.The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a solid friction modifier(FM)in a railway environment.This was achieved by studying the friction,wear,and rolling contact fatigue(RCF)damage on the wheel-rail materials at different slip ratios.The results showed that when a solid FM was applied,the friction coefficient decreased.After the solid FM was separated from the wheel-rail interface,the friction coefficient gradually increased to its original level.With the application of the solid FM,the wear rates of the wheel-rail decreased.In addition,the thickness and hardness of the plastic deformation layers of the wheel-rail materials were reduced.The worn surfaces of the wheel-rail were dominated by pits and RCF cracks.Without the FM,RCF cracks ranged from 84 to 120μm,and subsurface cracks were generated.However,with the FM,RCF cracks ranged from 17 to 97μm and no subsurface cracks were generated.These findings indicate possible methods of improving the performance of railway rolling stock by managing friction,and reducing wear and permanent RCF damage affecting both the wheels and rails.

Rolling Contact Fatigue Properties of SAE 8620 Steel after Case Carburizing

Rolling contact fatigue（RCF）properties of SAE 8620 steel after case carburizing have been investigated under two contact stresses of 4.0and 5.5GPa.Results show that the RCF life ranges from 2.5×10^6 to 3×10^7 cycles under the contact stress of 5.5GPa,while it can be more than 1×10^8 cycles under the contact stress of 4.0GPa.The rated fatigue life L_（10）（lives with the 10%failure）is also drastically shortened from 9.8×10^6 to 5.4×10^5 cycles when the contact stress is increased from 4.0to 5.5GPa.Theoretical calculations and fractographs show that the maximum shear stress and the contact area increase with increasing the contact stress,making RCF tend to occur earlier.

Microstress cycle and contact fatigue of spiral bevel gears by rolling-sliding of asperity contact

The rolling contact fatigue(RCF)model is commonly used to predict the contact fatigue life when the sliding is insignificant in contact surfaces.However,many studies reveal that the sliding,compared to the rolling state,can lead to a considerable reduction of the fatigue life and an excessive increase of the pitting area,which result from the microscopic stress cycle growth caused by the sliding of the asperity contact.This suggests that fatigue life in the rolling-sliding condition can be overestimated based only on the RCF model.The rubbing surfaces of spiral bevel gears are subject to typical rolling-sliding motion.This paper aims to study the mechanism of the micro stress cycle along the meshing path and provide a reasonable method for predicting the fatigue life in spiral bevel gears.The microscopic stress cycle equation is derived with the consideration of gear meshing parameters.The combination of the RCF model and asperity stress cycle is developed to calculate the fatigue life in spiral bevel gears.We find that the contact fatigue life decreases significantly compared with that obtained from the RCF model.There is strong evidence that the microscopic stress cycle is remarkably increased by the rolling-sliding motion of the asperity contact,which is consistent with the experimental data in previous literature.In addition,the fatigue life under different assembling misalignments are investigated and the results demonstrate the important role of misalignments on fatigue life.

Review of the damage mechanism in wind turbine gearbox bearings under rolling contact fatigue

Wind turbine gearbox bearings fail with the service life is much shorter than the designed life.Gearbox bearings are subjected to rolling contact fatigue(RCF)and they are observed to fail due to axial cracking,surface flaking,and the formation of white etching areas(WEAs).The current study reviewed these three typical failure modes.The underlying dominant mechanisms were discussed with emphasis on the formation mechanism of WEAs.Although numerous studies have been carried out,the formation of WEAs remains unclear.The prevailing mechanism of the rubbing of crack faces that generates WEAs was questioned by the authors.WEAs were compared with adiabatic shear bands(ASBs)generated in the high strain rate deformation in terms of microstructural compositions,grain refinement,and formation mechanism.Results indicate that a number of similarities exist between them.However,substantial evidence is required to verify whether or not WEAs and ASBs are the same matters.

Rolling-contact-fatigue behavior in backup roll of 5% Cr forged steel

With a focus on the backup roll, a rolling-contact-fatigue experiment was performed on samples of 5% Cr forged steel. The P-S-N fatigue curves were determined and the fatigue strength was calculated. The emergence of cracks on the test-sample surfaces was observed at different fatigue cycles. A micro-hardness tester was used to measure the hardness of the subsurface fatigue layer. The microstructures were analyzed at various magnifications with an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Based on these tests, the rolling-contact-fatigue mechanism of the large forged steel backup roll was also considered. The results showed that the contact-fatigue strength of the tested backup roll steel was 1 249 MPa;the surface fatigue crack lengthened continuously as the number of cycles increased and followed an S-shaped curve; the subsurface fatigue hardness reached its highest value at about 90 （HV） increment from the matrix hardness of 540 （HV） in the backup roll; the subsurface martensite/bainite microstructure was crushed and the dislocation density was greatly increased. Under alternating contact stresses,the surface/subsurface material was damaged and exhibited many microdefects. At the least, the surface fatigue layer on backup rolls should be fully removed before the microcracks enter a period of rapid propagation.