Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of white etching bands in 100Cr6 bearing steel under rolling contact-fatigue
AU - Fu, H.
AU - Rivera-Díaz-Del-castillo, P.E.J.
PY - 2019/4/27
Y1 - 2019/4/27
N2 - The formation of white etching bands (WEBs) occurs at the subsurface of rolling contact-fatigued bearing inner rings, exhibiting microstructural decay detrimental to bearing life. Despite the fact that WEBs have been observed in bearing steels for nearly 70 years, the understanding of WEB formation is still limited and mostly qualitative. Therefore, a systematic investigation is carried out in this research to reveal the evolution of WEBs with respect to the number of contact cycles. WEBs formed at different stages are reproduced by full-scale bearing RCF tests with predetermined numbers of cycles. Multi-scale characterisation techniques such as optical microscopy, micro-indentation, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are conducted on the microstructural alterations to study the development and microstructure of WEBs. WEBs are found in the absence of dark etching regions which is attributed to the heat treatment. With an increasing number of cycles, WEBs grow in number density and in all three dimensions, and their formation is found to be controlled by the maximum shear stress component. Ferrite bands within WEBs that contain dislocation cells manifest accumulated plastic strain in the material. Based on the characterisation results, the evolution of plastic strain under RCF is quantified.
AB - The formation of white etching bands (WEBs) occurs at the subsurface of rolling contact-fatigued bearing inner rings, exhibiting microstructural decay detrimental to bearing life. Despite the fact that WEBs have been observed in bearing steels for nearly 70 years, the understanding of WEB formation is still limited and mostly qualitative. Therefore, a systematic investigation is carried out in this research to reveal the evolution of WEBs with respect to the number of contact cycles. WEBs formed at different stages are reproduced by full-scale bearing RCF tests with predetermined numbers of cycles. Multi-scale characterisation techniques such as optical microscopy, micro-indentation, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are conducted on the microstructural alterations to study the development and microstructure of WEBs. WEBs are found in the absence of dark etching regions which is attributed to the heat treatment. With an increasing number of cycles, WEBs grow in number density and in all three dimensions, and their formation is found to be controlled by the maximum shear stress component. Ferrite bands within WEBs that contain dislocation cells manifest accumulated plastic strain in the material. Based on the characterisation results, the evolution of plastic strain under RCF is quantified.
KW - Bearing steels
KW - Dislocation density estimation
KW - Lenticular carbides
KW - Martensite decay
KW - Microstructural alterations
KW - Rolling contact-fatigue
KW - White etching bands
U2 - 10.3390/met9050491
DO - 10.3390/met9050491
M3 - Journal article
VL - 9
JO - JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society
JF - JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society
SN - 1543-1851
IS - 5
M1 - 491
ER -