Effect of material defects on crack initiation under rolling contact fatigue in a bearing ring

•Established a real model of bearing ring to study the mixed SIF modes of the pore.•A real bearing contact replaced a line or elliptical contact to study RCF.•SIF, crack growth rate and growth angle were used to evaluate RCF.

The effects of material defects such as pores on the crack initiation under rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in a bearing ring are investigated here. First, the main contact position between the ball and the raceway surface is investigated, and the effect of the depth of the pore on the crack initiation is analyzed. Second, several parameters, such as radial load, surface traction and raceway groove curvature radius (RGCR), are varied to evaluate stress intensity factors (SIFs), crack growth rates and crack growth angles. The results provide valuable guidelines for enhanced understanding of RCF in bearings.