Rolling contact fatigue life of finish hard machined surfaces : Part 1. Model development

This research presents a methodology for modeling the rolling contact fatigue life of finish hard machined surfaces. Part 1 of two companion papers presents the development of a life model; Part 2 presents an experimental verification of the life model. A crack initiation life model and a crack propagation life model have been developed to put forward a rolling contact fatigue life model. The crack initiation life model was developed by using a local stress–life curve. The crack propagation life model was developed by the stress intensity factor range at the leading tip and the modified Paris’ formula. The effect of residual stresses and micro-hardness on the rolling contact fatigue life has been investigated by the developed life model. Both residual stresses and micro-hardness are shown to affect the rolling contact fatigue life, while the effect of residual stresses is shown to be more significant than that of micro-hardness in the proposed conditions.