Understanding the fatigue crack growth phenomenon in railheads requires a study of driving forces such as the crack tip opening and sliding displacements, under repeated rolling contact. Finite element simulations, allowing elastic-plastic deformation, and mixed-mode crack growth laws were utilized to demonstrate that the fatigue crack growth rates display a minimum after a finite amount of cra...

The residual stress field of HIPed Si3N4 rolling elements were studied. Two kinds of HIPed Si3N4 ball blanks self-finished at different nominal lapping loads ranging from 1.3kgf/ball to 10.87kgf/ball and four kinds of commercially finished 1⁄2′′ (12.7mm) HIPed Si3N4 balls before, during and after RCF tests were investigated. The experimental results showed that in the finishing process of HIPed...

The characteristics of residual stress (RS) profiles and their effects on rolling contact fatigue life for precision turned and ground surfaces with a white layer (WL) are very controversial. The key findings of this study are: (a) The basic RS profiles by a sharp tool can be fundamentally changed by a turned WL but not a ground WL; (b) The hook shaped RS profile of a turned surface may have ab...