An Electron Microscope Study of Rolling Contact Fatigue

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Abstract
Progressive changes in the surface topography of the running track in a rolling contact fatigue tester were studied by using replica techniques and the electron microscope. Early in the life of a specimen, micron she cracks appeared on the stressed surface. With further running more cracks appeared, but those existing did not grow to any extent except for isolated cases. When the lubricant was changed, the time to form the first few cracks and the rate of formation of additional cracks correlated well with the fatigue performance. Etching of the ball tracks showed that the surface cracks observed were almost always located at the chrome carbide to martensite interface. It is postulated that corrosion fatigue may contribute to the differences between the fatigue performance of lubricants as much or more so than elastohydrodynamic effects.

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