Abstract Microstructural alterations such as dark etching regions (DERs) and white etching bands (WEBs) have been known to manifest in the subsurface of steel bearings due to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) under medium-high stress cycles. Even though such manifestations have been reported substantially in literature for decades, their formation and their evolution mechanisms are not fully understood. As part of the re-investigation of DERs and WEBs, this paper presents the results from characterization of DER and WEBs, including both low angle bands (LABs) and high angle bands (HABs), formed in SAE 52100 bearings at different stages of bearing life. Angular contact ball bearings (ACBBs), subjected to RCF testing under different contact pressure, stress cycles and steel cleanliness, have been examined to reveal new information related to the microstructural alteration processes, e.g. the 3-D structure of the WEBs and their growth pattern. Contrary to some of the literature results, the experimental results have shown that the mean depths and density of WEBs (LABs and HABs), as opposed to DER, are correlated with the position and distribution of the principle shear stress. The results also show that HABs form as a consequence of LABs especially in densed LAB areas in the ACBBs studied here.

中文翻译：

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重新研究 SAE 52100 轴承钢中由于滚动接触疲劳引起的暗蚀刻区域和白色蚀刻带

摘要 众所周知，由于中高应力循环下的滚动接触疲劳 (RCF)，钢轴承的亚表面会出现暗蚀刻区域 (DER) 和白色蚀刻带 (WEB) 等微观结构变化。尽管几十年来文献中已经大量报道了这种现象，但它们的形成和进化机制尚未完全了解。作为 DER 和 WEB 重新研究的一部分，本文介绍了 SAE 52100 轴承在轴承不同阶段形成的 DER 和 WEB 表征结果，包括低角度带 (LAB) 和高角度带 (HAB)。生活。角接触球轴承 (ACBB)，在不同接触压力、应力循环和钢材清洁度下进行 RCF 测试，已被检查以揭示与微观结构改变过程相关的新信息，例如 WEB 的 3-D 结构及其生长模式。与一些文献结果相反，实验结果表明，与 DER 相比，WEBs（LABs 和 HABs）的平均深度和密度与主剪应力的位置和分布相关。结果还表明，HAB 是 LAB 的结果，尤其是在此处研究的 ACBB 中密集的 LAB 区域。