STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF BEARING STEEL UNDERGOING CYCLIC STRESSING.
Abstract
The development of white etching areas in hardened steels is a well known phenomenon associated with cyclic stressing in rolling contact. This particular type of microstructural change has been studied in detail and the following characteristics have been determined: (1) shape and size; (2) orientation to the surface; (3) the density distribution of white areas with depth has been determined and related to the distribution of shear stresses with depth below the contact surface; (4) the rate of white area development with cycling has been compared for two groups of bearings (a) an air melt 52100 steel group which exhibited average group life behavior, and (b) a group of bearings made from the fifth vacuum remelt of the same steel described above, which exhibited a group life nearly 4 times higher than the above group; (5) the tempering behavior of white areas has been studied in detail between room temperature and 750 C; and (6) the appearance of white areas after treatment with different etchants and various degrees of etching have been studied by light and electron replica microscopy. A second microconstituent in the vicinity of white etching areas was identified as carbides. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 03, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0462896
Entities
People
- J. A. Martin