Material Behavior of Case Carburized Bearings Subjected to Standing Contact Loading Conditions

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of the material behavior of case-carburized components subjected to standing contact loads. Numerical simulation by means of finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to understand the material response in terms of plastic deformation and the induced damage in the subsurface region of case-hardened components with a hardness profile characterized by surface hardness, core hardness, and case depth. Based on a parametric study that considered different hardness profiles and contact loading conditions, a model was developed to evaluate the depth of surface plastic indentation and material damage resulting from standing contact loads. Standing contact fatigue tests were carried out on a carburized block specimen, as well as on the inner ring of a case-carburized cylindrical roller bearing. The model prediction agreed well with the experimental results. The work presented here provides a method to evaluate the performance of case-carburized bearings subjected to standing contact loads.