Rolling Contact Fatigue Properties of SAE 8620 Steel after Case Carburizing

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) properties of SAE 8620 steel after case carburizing have been investigated under two contact stresses of 4.0 and 5.5 GPa. Results show that the RCF life ranges from 2.5 × 106 to 3 × 107 cycles under the contact stress of 5.5 GPa, while it can be more than 1 × 108 cycles under the contact stress of 4.0 GPa. The rated fatigue life L10 (lives with the 10% failure) is also drastically shortened from 9.8 × 106 to 5.4 × 105 cycles when the contact stress is increased from 4.0 to 5.5 GPa. Theoretical calculations and fractographs show that the maximum shear stress and the contact area increase with increasing the contact stress, making RCF tend to occur earlier.