RESUMEN
Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is known as the dominant factor determining the service life of bearing materials. In this work, the fatigue life of the typical bearing alloy was significantly improved by introducing a nanoskin layer on the surfaces of the test specimens. The nanoskin layer structure was obtained by means of the ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) technology. The microstructure of the nanoskin was analyzed via scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). SUJ2 and SUJ3 bearings at different states of fatigue were subjected to UNSM treatment. For SUJ2 a rotary-bending fatigue (RBF) life average for three untreated specimens was chosen as 100% life, and then several untreated specimens were fatigued to 25%, 50% and 75% of life with subsequent UNSM treatment. This way used bearing conditions were simulated. The rotary-bending fatigue (RBF) tests of fatigue+UNSM SUJ2 specimens have shown 377-430% improvement of fatigue life, comparing to untreated specimens. For SUJ3 a RCF life untreated specimen was chosen as 100% life, and then several specimens were fatigued to approximately 100% of surface damage with subsequent UNSM treatment. Thus damaged surface conditions were simulated. The RCF tests of fatigue+UNSM SUJ3 specimens have shown 218% improvement of fatigue life, comparing to untreated specimens. This indicates the possibility of the restoration of the RCF life of bearing alloys by means of nanoskin treatment via UNSM technology.
RESUMEN
Ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) technology is a novel surface modification technology that can improve the mechanical and tribological properties of interacting surfaces in relative motion. UNSM treatment was utilized to improve the wear resistance fatigue strength of slim bearing rings made of SAE52100 bearing steel without damaging the raceway surfaces. In this study, wear and fatigue results that were subjected to different impact loads of the UNSM treatment were investigated and compared with those of the untreated specimen. The microhardness of the UNSM-treated specimens increased by about 20%, higher than that of the untreated specimens. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that a compressive residual stress of more than 1,000 MPa was induced after the UNSM treatment. Also, electron backscatter diffraction analysis was used to study the surface structure and nanograin refinement. The results showed that the rolling contact fatigue life and the rotary bending fatigue strength of the UNSM-treated specimens increased by about 80% and 31%, respectively, compared to those of the untreated specimen. These results might be attributed to the increased microhardness, the induced compressive residual stress, and the nanocrystal structure modification after the UNSM treatment. In addition, the fracture surface analysis showed that the fish eye crack initiation phenomenon was observed after the UNSM treatment.