ABSTRACT Material failure by white-etching-cracks (WECs) can cause enormous economic costs. The formation of WECs emerges from the decomposition of the original, usually cementite-containing, microstructure. As small amounts of electric current can trigger this failure mechanism, we investigate the contribution of electric current to cementite decomposition. We applied ∼700 A/cm2 for two weeks at 60°C to a pearlitic Fe-0.74C (wt%) specimen. The comparison of the microstructure before and after showed no differences. Theoretical considerations support the conclusion that at this low temperature such electric current densities cannot directly cause cementite decomposition. Electric current could play an indirect role in the formation of WECs, however, by generating hydrogen from the lubricant which is known to accelerate WECs formation.

中文翻译：

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电流在白色蚀刻裂纹形成中的作用

摘要 由白色蚀刻裂纹 (WEC) 引起的材料失效会导致巨大的经济成本。WEC 的形成源于原始的、通常含有渗碳体的微观结构的分解。由于少量电流可以触发这种失效机制，我们研究了电流对渗碳体分解的贡献。我们在 60°C 下对珠光体 Fe-0.74C (wt%) 试样施加了约 700 A/cm2 的电流两周。前后微观结构的比较显示没有差异。理论考虑支持这样的结论，即在这种低温下，这种电流密度不能直接引起渗碳体分解。然而，电流可以通过从已知加速 WEC 形成的润滑剂中产生氢来在 WEC 的形成中发挥间接作用。