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Investigation of rolling contact fatigue cracks in ball bearings

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Abstract

Rolling contact fatigue in a ball bearing is studied using the experimental method. Fatigue pits and spallings on the rolling surface are investigated, and the strain-hardening beneath the contact surface is studied using the microhardness profile. Moreover, surface and subsurface crack layouts and the effect of inclusions on crack nucleation are studied by optical and electron microscopy. Additionally, a simulated model is used to study the influences of the crack inclined angle and the inclusion’s hardness on fatigue damage in bearings.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2011CB706605), Innovative Research Team Development Program of Ministry of Education of China (No. IRT13087), Innovative Research Groups of the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2011CDA12), High-end Talent Leading Program of Hubei Province (No. 2012-86) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2013-IV-014) for the support given to this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology of Automotive Parts, School of Automotive Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan , 430070, China

    Song Deng, Lin Hua, Xinghui Han & Song Huang

Authors
  1. Song Deng
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  2. Lin Hua
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  3. Xinghui Han
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  4. Song Huang
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Correspondence to Lin Hua.

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Deng, S., Hua, L., Han, X. et al. Investigation of rolling contact fatigue cracks in ball bearings. Int J Fract 188, 71–78 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-014-9947-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-014-9947-3

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