Material composition and heat treatment related influences in resisting rolling contact fatigue under WEC damage conditions

Abstract In this study, different microstructures were generated in steels by varying the heat treat parameters and were tested under rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and under specific test conditions known to cause white etching cracks (WECs). Case carburized AISI 3310 steel showed significantly longer fatigue life than martensitically through-hardened 52100 steel. In addition, this study examined carburized steel that had been heat treated differently and RCF tested. The 3310 steel was carburized at a lower carbon potential and subsequently, the carburized steel was austenitized at a lower temperature so that lesser solute quantities had dissolved into the austenite phase prior to the quench step. The carburized steel samples with less solute dissolution showed higher hardness and more compressive stresses than the original carburized steel; however, they showed 75% shorter RCF life than the original carburized steel. These results suggest that solid solution strengthening is a significant contributor to fatigue resistance under WEC damage conditions.