A numerical study of fatigue life in non-Newtonian thermal EHL rolling–sliding contacts with spinning

•The fatigue life in non-Newtonian TEHL point contacts with spinning is studied.•Influence of entraining velocity on RCF life is closely related to ellipticity.•The RCF life decreases steeply with an initial increase in slide-roll ratio.•Even for smooth surface contact, the RCF life can be slightly reduced by spinning.

This paper presents a study on fatigue life in non-Newtonian thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) point contacts with spinning. A numerical procedure is developed and extended to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life. The results show that the effect of entraining velocity on the RCF life is closely related to ellipticity. The RCF life first decreases steeply and then gradually with increase in slide–roll ratio. However, the RCF life may increase slightly at a large slide–roll ratio. Spinning is beneficial for reduction of longitudinal friction coefficient; however, even for smooth surface contact, the RCF life can be slightly reduced by spinning.