Role of spheroidized carbides on the fatigue life of bearing steel

The fatigue characteristics of bearing steel in ultrasonic fatigue tests are investigated with regard to the role of spheroidized carbides. The results show that, despite a similar hardness level, the bearing steel with spheroidized carbide has a much longer fatigue life than steel without, and that the failure mechanism differs in each case. All the samples of SAQT-processed steel examined using ultrasonic fatigue tests were characterized by a conventional fish-eye structure, which implies they went through subsurface-originated or interior inclusion-induced failure. On the contrary, it was shown that surface-induced failure prevailed in the QT-processed steel without spheroidized carbide. The results suggest spheroidized carbide may strengthen the tempered martensitic matrix of the bearing steel and concentrate the stress around an inclusion rather than at the surface, allowing for prolonged fatigue life over the steel without spheroidized carbide.