A New Life Theory for Rolling Bearings—By Linkage between Rolling Contact Fatigue and Structural Fatigue

Based on a linkage between rolling contact fatigue and structural fatigue, a new life theory for rolling bearings has been proposed using the three-parameter Weibull distribution function. A minimum life is introduced as the third parameter, which may be considered independent from the statistical strength of material. The following are the new findings: (1) Reliability functions and life equations were introduced for the rolling bearing races and the life test specimens made of the same material (JIS SUJ2/AISI 52100), and the linkage between them has successfully been established by using linkage factors. (2) The 90% load rating and rating life formulas for the races as well as for the whole bearing were developed. (3) Newly introduced 100% load rating and rating life formulas were postulated by introducing the minimum lives for the life tests and theoretical research. (4) For the ratios of each load rating between the test results on the grease-lubricated deep-groove ball bearings and the new life theory, the linkage factors were determined as β = 2.4 and β′ = 2.16 for 90 and 100% load ratings, respectively. (5) A reduction factor λ for 100% load rating was determined as λ = β′/β = 0.9.     

Fatigue life analysis of shot-peened bearing steel

Shot-peening effects on the fatigue life behavior of bearing steel (JIS SUJ2) have been investigated. Hourglass-shaped test specimens were heat-treated and then surface-treated using a shot-peening machine. Results of a rotary bending fatigue test showed that shotpeening suppressed not only much of the surface-originated fracture but also the scattering error of the probabilistic stress-life data, and improved the fatigue life by about 6 times through the load levels of the cyclic tests. Such large increase in fatigue life was driven by the following reasons: The increase of hardness in the skin caused the predicted fatigue limit stress to increase by 15%; fracture-initiating inclusions were distributed at deeper locations, experiencing low nominal stresses; and the increase in the fish-eye fracture size by an average of 180%.     

The Performance of Heavily Loaded Oscillating Roller Bearings from 300 F to 600 F

Over 1000 roller bearings have been evaluated at elevated temperatures as oscillating bearings and load-life characteristics determined through statistical analysis of failure data. Operating temperatures of 300 F, 450 F, and 600 F were investigated. Bearing materials investigated included AISI 52100 steel, M-2 tool steel and 440-C stainless steel. Grease lubrication was used. The bearing load range included 250,000 psi to 500,000 psi maximum Hertz stress. AISI 52100 steel proved satisfactory for temperatures to 450 F. Tool steel (M-2) and 440 C stainless steel proved satisfactory for temperatures to 600 F. Although failure modes were predominantly by plastic deformation, wear and oxidation, failure distribution frequencies fit the Weibull distribution commonly used in bearing fatigue studies. Data scatter was less than that expected for continuously rotating ball bearings.     

New Stress-Based Fatigue Life Models for Ball and Roller Bearings

New stress-based life models are introduced to define “dynamic stress capacity” in rolling bearings for the first time. The generalized stress capacity equations are formulated, for both point and line contacts, in terms of distinct geometrical and materials parameters while the empirical constants are now material independent. Life equations are first developed for individual rolling element to race contacts and then statistically combined to estimate lives of both races, rolling elements, and, finally, the whole bearings for both ball and roller bearings. An estimate of the empirical constant for the ball bearing equation is derived by regression analysis of available experimental data. The applicable constant for roller bearings is then derived by relating the ball and roller bearing constants to the fundamental subsurface fatigue hypothesis applicable to both point and line contacts. For AISI 52100 bearing steel at room temperature, life predictions with the new stress-based equations are in complete agreement with those currently provided by widely used load-based formulations, where the empirical constant contains the elastic properties of AISI 52100 bearing steel. In addition to these life equations based on the magnitude and depth of maximum orthogonal subsurface shear stress and the volume of material stressed, a new model that eliminates life dependence on the depth of maximum orthogonal shear stress and relates life to only the subsurface maximum shear stress and the stressed volume is presented. Though the predicted life estimates with the currently used and newly introduced life models are comparable in the contact stress range of 2 to 3 GPa, the new model provides significantly higher lives at low contact stresses.     

Bearing Fatigue Life Tests of Two Advanced Base Oils for Space Applications Under Vacuum and Atmospheric Environments

Four series of rolling-element bearing fatigue tests were conducted with 51104 size thrust ball bearings with three balls made from SUJ2 (AISI 52100) steel lubricated with two advanced synthetic base oils used for space applications. The test lubricants were perfluoropolyether (PFPE) and multiply alkyated cyclopentane (MAC). Each oil was tested with bearings under vacuum and atmospheric environments. The bearings were tested at a maximum Hertzian stress of 4 GPa on the inner and outer races. The outer race was rotated at a speed of 250 rpm. A pool lubrication system was used. Fresh lubricant was used for each test bearing. Testing in vacuum conditions was at 5 × 10^?2 Pa. The test oils were analyzed to determine whether changes occurred as a result of operating in air and in a vacuum. In a vacuum environment, the PFPE 815Z oil exhibited a longer fatigue life than the MAC 2001A oil. However, in an air environment, the MAC 2001A oil had a longer L₁₀ fatigue life than the PFPE 815Z oil. The fatigue life tests of PFPE 815Z oil in vacuum resulted in a longer L₁₀ life than when tested in an air environment. In an air environment, hydrogen fluoride was generated in the bearing tests with the PFPE 815Z oils. Under vacuum conditions, hydrogen fluoride was not generated with the PFPE 815Z oil, resulting in longer bearing fatigue lives. The fatigue life tests of MAC 2001A oil in a vacuum resulted in shorter L₁₀ fatigue life than in an air environment. The shorter life was attributed to the lower elastohydrodynamic oil film formation with the MAC 2001A oil because of a higher operating temperature and decomposition of the oil in vacuum.     

Fretting damage in thin sheets: Analysis of an experimental configuration

A method for evaluating fretting damage in thin sheets was developed for AISI 301 stainless steel in full hard condition in contact with AISI 52100 steel and cast ANSI A356 aluminum. Samples were subjected to fretting and then were subsequently fatigue tested to determine the impact of the fretting damage on fatigue life. A finite element model of the experimental configuration was used to determine the response for the experimental conditions imposed. The values of Fatemi-Socie critical-plane fatigue damage parameter are shown to correspond to the trends in the observed residual fatigue life for contact with AISI 52100 steel.     

Effects of compressive stresses on torsional fatigue

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is the dominant failure mode in properly installed and maintained ball and roller element bearings. Lundberg and Palmgren in their seminal publication indicated that this failure is due to the alternating component of shear stress. Thus, torsional fatigue experiments have been used to predict the RCF behavior of bearing materials. In non-conformal contacts, due to Hertzian pressure the contact experiences large compressive stresses. Hence, it is critical to take into account the effect of these large compressive stresses in torsional fatigue to better simulate RCF conditions. This paper presents an investigation of torsional fatigue of bearing steels, while the effects of combined compressive stress and its relevance to material behavior in rolling contact fatigue is examined. An MTS test rig was used to investigate the fatigue life of several bearing steels and their failure mechanisms were evaluated through fractography. Then the effects of compressive stresses on torsional fatigue were investigated. A set of custom designed clamp fixtures were designed, developed and used to apply Hertzian pressures of up to 2.5 GPa on the torsion specimens. The experimental results indicate that at high cycle fatigue, a combination of shear and biaxial compression, by application of Hertzian contact, is more detrimental to fatigue life than shear alone; however, as expected it has little to negligible effects in the low cycle fatigue regime. Also the failure mode changes such that fracture planes form a cup and cone pair with multiple internal cracks as opposed to helical planes observed in pure torsion which are formed by a single crack. A 3D finite element model (using ABAQUS) was developed to investigate the fatigue damage accumulation, crack initiation, and propagation in the material. The topology of steel microstructure is modeled employing a randomly generated Voronoi tessellation wherein each Voronoi cell represents a material grain and the boundaries between the cells are assumed to represent the weak plane in the steel matrix. Continuum damage mechanics (CDM) was used to model material degradation during the fatigue process. A comprehensive damage evolution equation is developed to account for the effect of mean stress on fatigue. The model predicts the fatigue lives and crack patterns successfully both in presence and absence of compressive stresses.     

Study on the Life Distribution and Reliability of Roller-Based Linear Bearing

A study on the life distribution and reliability for a roller guide with cage was carried out with a total number of 90 test samples in two lots (N _s = 38 and 52), and different fatigue life distribution functions, such as the two and three parameter Weibull distributions, and the log-normal distribution were used for analyzing the test data. The basic dynamic load rating formula standardized by ISO in 2004 was also compared with the life test data in relation to the effect of crowning on both ends of the carriage raceway. This study revealed the following: (1) the best fit for the life test data was achieved by the three-parameter Weibull distribution with the third parameter being the minimum life γ, using a Weibull slope of m = 27/20, and a load life exponent of 10/3. The log-normal distribution came second, and the two-parameter Weibull distribution third. (2) The test data did not fit with the two-parameter Weibull distribution using a Weibull slope of 9/8, which had been used in the ISO linear bearing standard. (3) Fatigue failure on the roller guide was initiated near the starting points of the crowning on both ends of the carriage raceway. Almost 70% of the test specimens were found to have uneven and inclined contact situations with the rollers. (4) The basic dynamic load ratings evaluated theoretically fit well to the life test results, while the λ b _m factors were also observed to fall within a suitable value range.     

滚动轴承疲劳定寿中应力-寿命系数的研究及应用

基于Ioannides-Harris理论,考虑滚动轴承的可靠度-寿命系数和应力-寿命系数,对滚动轴承寿命进行预测。重点讨论应力-寿命系数在完全弹性流体动力润滑条件下,赫兹应力、摩擦切应力、颗粒污染引起的应力、残余应力及材料疲劳极限应力对轴承寿命的影响,并介绍应力-寿命系数的计算方法。     

The effect of hydrogen on the rolling contact fatigue life of AISI 52100 and 440C steel balls

Rolling four ball tests conducted on hydrogen impregnated AISI 52100 and 440C balls lubricated with mineral oil showed that fatigue life is inversely proportional to the hydrogen content in the steel. Longer fatigue lives were found for the treated 440C specimens as compared to the AISI 52100 test balls, and this was consistent with the lower hydrogen permeability that was observed within the 440C steel. Aging of the treated samples was found to have no appreciable effect on their fatigue lives. The same detrimental effect on fatigue life was also observed when tests were conducted using H₂S as a chemical source of hydrogen in the lubricant.In normal bearing operation, hydrogen is considered to come mainly from the reaction of water at the bearing surface and from the decomposition of the lubricant. In the former case, controlled atmosphere experiments showed that both oxygen and water were required to reduce the life of the test bearings. Oxidation studies showed that large quantities of hydrogen were generated during the oxidative decomposition of the lubricant.     

研磨加工层对高碳铬轴承钢超长寿命疲劳行为的影响

为了阐明磨石研磨加工层对高碳铬轴承钢JIS SUJ2超长寿命疲劳行为的影响,分别使用经砂纸研磨和电解研磨的砂漏形试样,在室温空气环境下进行旋转弯曲疲劳试验.砂纸研磨试样被除去部分磨石研磨层,电解研磨试样被除去了全部的磨石研磨层.结果表明,两种试样的S-N曲线由位于短寿命区的表面破坏模式和位于长寿命区的内部破坏模式的两条组成,表面破坏模式的S-N曲线受表面粗糙度和表面压缩残余应力的影响.内部破坏模式的S-N曲线不受表面条件的影响,是材料固有的特性.砂纸研磨试样表面破坏模式的疲劳极限最高,是电解研磨试样1.11倍和磨石研磨的1.20倍.表面压缩残余应力对表面破坏模式疲劳极限的影响可以用修正Goodman图表示.还讨论裂纹的萌生和扩展条件,推定超长寿命的疲劳极限.     

A Critique of Rolling Contact Fatigue Criteria for Bearing Rings with Hoop Stresses

Tensile residual and interference fit stresses not treated in classical bearing formulations are known to reduce bearing rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life. Recent modifications of such theory to account for these stresses have simply included them in the computation of a single yield stress type criterion—either maximum shear or equivalent stress. An alternative modification is proposed and demonstrated for fatigue crack initiation that recognizes the primary influence of the maximum range of shear stress but includes the effect of normal stress on the critical planes, as in other successful bulk fatigue criteria for multiaxial nonproportional stress cycle fatigue.     

滚动轴承疲劳寿命的影响因素

对影响滚动轴承疲劳寿命的各种因素进行了综述，包括各种疲劳诱导应力(最大切应力、最大动态切应力、Von Mises应力和八面切应力)，切向力、残余应力和环向应力疲劳极限应力、表面粗糙度、弹流润滑、表面处理、润滑油中污染颗粒、温度、速度、不失效寿命和钢材纯净度(氧含量)的影响，为轴承寿命的准确预测提供参考。     

Influence of load and lubricants on EHD film thickness and rolling-contact fatigue lives of AISI 52100 steel balls

This work has evaluated the influence of load and type of lubricant on the thickness of the elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film and the rolling-contact fatigue lives of AISI 52100 steel balls. The lubricants studied have various viscosities and included two mineral oils and five synthetic oils from three families. Firstly, the central film thickness was determined in order to predict the lubrication regime. The stress—number of cycles fatigue curves were then calculated by means of Weibull plots, and the fatigue mechanism was evaluated. The test machine used for the analysis was a Seta-Shell 1980 four-ball EP lubricant tester. The 12.7 mm diameter test balls were made from a single batch of carbon-vacuum-deoxidised AISI 52100 steel with hardness RC65. Elastohydrodynamic film thickness estimation was carried out using pressure—viscosity coefficients (a). In this study, to calculate (X), a new interferometric technique, ultrathin film interferometry, was employed to measure the film thickness. A practical method was developed for evaluating EHD, mixed film, and solid lubrication processes. Micrographic mapping and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to analyse the rolling track of the test balls.     

Rolling contact fatigue life of AISI 52100 steel balls with mineral and synthetic polyester lubricants with PTFE nanoparticle powder as an additive

This work evaluates the rolling contact fatigue life of AISI 52100 steel bearing balls with mineral and synthetic oil, with and without additive, using a four-ball tester. IP 300/87 was applied with a total load of 600 kg (corresponding to a maximum Hertz stress of 8.709 MPa). SN-350 (a neutral mineral solvent) and TMP-05 (an environment friendly synthetic polyester) of the same viscosity were additivated with PTFE nanoparticle powder in different percentages. The total test time for each specimen was recorded and processed on Weibull probability plots. L₁₀ and L₅₀ are given for pure base oils and oils additivated with 1, 3 and 5 wt.% of PTFE powder. The results point to an increase in the fatigue life when additive-containing oils were used. In order to provide some understanding of the protection mechanism of the additive, the contact angle and the influence of the surface wettability on the lubricant unctuosity were analysed. Scanning electron microscopy and LINK techniques were used to study pitting, crack propagation, the chemical influence of additive and fluorine content.     

Residual stresses and retained austenite evolution in SAE 52100 steel under non-ideal rolling contact loading

Residual stresses are introduced and modified during manufacturing as well as by normal use under rolling contact loading. Operations such as heat treatments, shot peening, grinding, etc., are known to alter the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses. Our work revolves around the changes in magnitude and distribution of residual stresses, as they relate to deformation and the strain induced transformation of retained austenite. The residual stresses and retained austenite measurements were carried out using X-ray diffraction techniques. The rolling contact fatigue lives of different variants of SAE 52100 bearing steel were evaluated in a 5-ball-rod rolling contact fatigue machine under testing conditions leading to surface nucleated failure, i.e. non-ideal rolling contact. The tests were accelerated by applying well controlled micro-indentations on the wear track. The contribution of the residual stresses and amount of retained austenite to the rolling contact fatigue life were analyzed.     

等离子喷涂NiCrBSi涂层接触疲劳过程中残余应力变化规律研究

采用超声速等离子喷涂技术在45钢基体上制备NiCrBSi合金涂层,涂层整体结构致密,含有少量微缺陷。使用球盘式接触疲劳试验机在接触应力为1.86 GPa,转速为1 500 r/min的条件下对涂层试样进行接触疲劳试验,得到涂层的接触疲劳寿命为9.0×105周次;同时建立Weibull失效概率图,通过该图可以直观地得到在同一工作条件下,涂层任意循环次数的失效概率。测量涂层不同疲劳阶段的残余应力,结果表明:一旦进行接触疲劳试验,其残余应力形式由拉应力迅速转化为压应力,在整个疲劳过程的前半段,应力增强较为缓慢,在疲劳过程的后半段,应力值迅速增大,疲劳过程的中期成为了应力变化的转折点。根据这一规律,可以有效地判定涂层处于疲劳过程的哪个阶段,从而为预防涂层的突然失效提供了一种新的手段。     

Studies of Rolling-Element Lubrication and Fatigue Life in a Reduced Pressure Environment

Fatigue tests were conducted in a modified five-ball fatigue tester on SAE 52100 steel ball specimens, at atmospheric pressure and at the approximate lubricant vapor pressure with two different lubrication methods, using a super-refined naphthenic mineral oil as the lubricant. Additional tests were conducted with AISI M-50 ball specimens with polyphenyl ether lubricants. Differences in fatigue life, deformation and wear with the mineral oil lubricant were insignificant regardless of the ambient pressure environment or lubrication method employed. Polyphenyl ether lubricants exhibited large amounts of wear both at atmospheric and reduced pressures, indicating a lack of an elastohydrodynamic film with this lubricant under the stresses and sliding velocities present in the five-ball fatigue tester.     

Surface Deteriorations During Scuffing Process of Steel and Analysis of Their Contribution to Wear Using In Situ Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction and Optical Observations

In a previous study, we developed a novel in situ analysis and observation system that allows for simultaneous synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical observations of a frictional surface. This in situ system was used to investigate the scuffing phenomena of SUJ2 bearing steel (AISI 52100); characteristic surface deteriorations occurred during the scuffing process, including plastic flow, heat-spot formation, austenite transformation, and a decrease in the width of the XRD peaks (indicating a decrease of dislocations and strain). These surface deteriorations are not observed during normal wear, hence it is possible that they cause catastrophic wear during the scuffing of steel. In this study, to elucidate the scuffing mechanism of steel, we focused on the following two points: (1) whether the above surface deteriorations are unique to SUJ2 steel or whether they occur in general steels as well, and (2) the extent to which these surface deteriorations contribute to the wear amount. To achieve these objectives, we performed scuffing tests on four types of steel using the previously developed in situ system. In particular, we focused on the first stage of the scuffing process. The present test results suggest that these surface deteriorations also occur in general steels, and that plastic flow and heat-spot formation, which originate from the same phenomenon, are the dominant contributors to the wear amount during the scuffing of steel. Furthermore, the wear amount per unit plastic flow appears to be independent of steel composition.     

Influence of temperature on the fretting response between AISI 301 stainless steel and AISI 52100 steel

Fretting of AISI 301 stainless steel sheet in contact with AISI 52100 steel from 20 °C to 550 °C in air and argon has been studied. Transitions in the mechanical properties of 301SS and oxidative behavior of this pair have been identified as a function of temperature. Strength and ductility of 301SS is reduced from 20 °C to 250 °C, increasing susceptibility to fretting damage. Steady state friction decreases as temperature increases, reducing cyclic stresses. Wear resistance increases in this temperature range, increasing fatigue damage due to the increase in fatigue life associated with increased wear. This study aims to identify the causes of the transitions in behavior and determine the net outcome of the competing effects with regard to fatigue damage.