Experimental Study of the Effects of Surface Defects on Rolling Contact Fatigue Behavior

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks initiated from surface and subsurface defects are typical failure modes of bearing systems. In this paper, the effects of surface defects on RCF behavior of M50NiL and M50 steels were studied experimentally. Artificial dents were introduced on the rolling surface by using Rockwell hardness tester. The influences of dent shape and dent shoulders were examined by thrust-type RCF tests. Surface cracks initiation, propagation and spalling were monitored by scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. The results showed that artificial dents reduce RCF lives of M50NiL and M50 steels with mineral oil lubrication. The fatigue failure initiates at the surface defect with the effects of dent shape and dent shoulder. M50NiL steel has higher contact fatigue resistance than M50. The features of surface and sub-surface cracks propagation during RCF tests were also observed.