www.imperial.ac.uk/people/a.v.

olver/ © Imperial College London 2007

The Effect of Lubricants on

Rolling Contact Fatigue

Andy Olver
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Imperial College, London
 Contents of Talk
• Rolling Contact Fatigue
– What is it?
– Classification
• Lubrication
– How thick is the film?
Image Search:
– How are the stresses affected? “Rolling Contact Fatigue”
• Effect on Initiation
• Effect on Failure Development (Propagation)
• Summary: Role of lubricant
 Appearance

RCF of taper roller cone [from Neale] Spall in SiN ball

RCF damage in rail section [from Kalousek]

Appearance: through fractures in bearings

Fatigue and fracture in large bearing inner

raceway

Large (75mm dia) roller

RCF in a (25 mm dia) spherical roller, leading to

fracture under the influence of residual hoop stresses
Appearance: gear tooth “pitting”

RCF in carburized helical gear

[from Erichello]
RCF in bronze wormwheel
[Neale]
crest

RCF in carburized steel spiral

root bevel pinion
RCF due to roughness: “Micropitting”

100 µm

Micropitting of helicopter sungear

Micropitting

Flaking of railhead

damaged surface
inclined cracks micropits direction of friction force

100 μm steel roller inclined cracks

100
µm
 Two Classifications
Littmann’s (Timken,
1968) classification
Sub-surface originated “spalling”
Sub-case fatigue (in surface
hardened components) “case
crushing”
Surface originated “pitting”
Origin at local concentrations of
pressure (roller ends etc.)
“Peeling” (now usually called
“micropitting”)
Section fracture
Railway speak
Sub-surface initiated “shells”
-
Surface-initiated “squats, head
checks”
Origins at rail corner “gauge corner
cracking”
“Flaking”, near surface deformation
and wear
Complete fracture of rail
 Comparison with classical fatigue
RCF in Rolling Bearings
Stress Always multiaxial, non-
Regime proportional, random history,
compressive, “elastic” low
friction
Origins Surface asperities, subsurface
inclusions
Stages Local plasticity, inclined crack
formation, inclined (short)
crack growth, pit formation,
fracture
Factors Slide-roll ratio, hoop stress,
roughness, environment
(lubricant, hydrogen, debris)
RCF in Rails Structural Fatigue
Always multiaxial, non- May be uniaxial,
proportional, random proportional, usually
history, compressive, tensile
“plastic” High friction
Surface, subsurface Surface associated
cementite-ferrite with PSB’s, notches,
boundaries subsurface inclusions
and pores
Local plasticity, inclined Cyclic strain
crack formation, inclined localisation, crack
crack growth, long crack formation, short crack
growth, fracture growth, long crack
growth, fracture
Ratchetting, wear, axial Stress-strain history,
stress, environment, ratchetting,
(corrosion, debris water) environment,
(corrosion, hydrogen,
water)
 Lubrication

Why do we need to lubricate

rolling contacts?

How thick is the lubricant film?

How does lubrication affect the

stresses?

Rolling contacts can

operate well with no
lubrication!
 Gear Lubrication
• 1920s
– Martin’s (hydrodynamic) gear film thickness prediction
(equivalent discs)
• 1940s
– Ertel (“Grubin”) (uncoupled) solution
• 1960s N2
– Coupled solutions (Dowson…)
– Optical film thickness measurements αω (db2/2)

N2
• 1990s
N1
– Rough surface simulations R2 Wn

– Thin film measurement techniques

s O
• 2000s
– Rough surface measurements (db2/2)

R1
– Perturbation methods Wn

– Fatigue analysis N1
 “Grubin” Solution
• Carried out by Ertel in 1945
• Uncoupled: slider bearing with the (fixed)
geometry of the “statically” deformed teeth
This approximate
Reynolds Eq. in 1D with piezoviscous lube geometry due to
Greenwood allows
⎛ − ⎞ 2
⎛ − ⎞
3/ 2

e−αp
dp h h a 2( a x )
=12Uηo ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ h( x) = h + ⎜ ⎟ analytical solution
dx ⎝ h ⎠
3 3 R ′ ⎝ a ⎠

Boundary condition: p = 0 at x = -∞

Integrate to find expression in h for pressure p0 at x = 0 and then let p0 → ∞

to yield unknown (central film) thickness h
Result gives film thickness equation in familiar power law form:
 Smooth film thickness
• Main difficulty is to find the tooth
temperature and hence the inlet viscosity
150
140
130
Film thickness
120
in typical spur 110
gears: 100 T deg C
T deg C

Proc IMechE 90

216 Part J 80 h μm
h / nm
70
p255-267
60
50
Isothermal

Eq. 7 & 11,

AGMA 925

Terekhov
Eq. 7 & 9(b)
Eq. 6
Isothermal

Macpherson

3l/min
Lubrication of wavy surfaces
Smooth
Film thickness, pressure
h
a << h
Wavy: squashing of roughness

Complementary wave

Combination of (b) and (c)

Resultant pressure wave

 Increasing slide/roll ratio

Roughness on slower surface Roughness on faster surface

EHL with harmonic roughness. [Pure rolling result shown in pink]
Measurements using optical interferometry
 Transverse ridges
film thickness, nm
1000
measurements, [Choo]
a l l e ys
V

100 elastostatic
compression

static ts Hooke & Venner

e s
smooth Cr 'amplitude recovery'
10 (Ultra)
(SLIM)
Chittenden measurements, [Choo]
& al.
independent asperities
1
1 10 100 1000
Theoretical (smooth) film thickness, nm (Chittenden formula)

Comparison of film thickness predictions and measurements

Periodic surface with wavelength, 60 μm, amplitude 140 nm.
 1
0 .0 0 0 6
0 .1
0 .0 0 0 4
0 .0 1

Transform amplitude/mm
0 .0 0 0 2
0 .0 0 1
0
0 .0 0 0 1
Profile - 0 .0 0 0 2
0 .0 0 0 0 1
- 0 .0 0 0 4
0 .0 0 0 0 0 1
- 0 .0 0 0 6
0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 1
- 0 .0 0 0 8
0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
- 0 .0 0 1
0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
- 0 .0 0 1 2
0 .0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 0 .1 1 1 0
0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 1 .2
W a v e le n g t h /m m
P o s it io n /m m

Roughness FFT

0.6

Pure rolling
0.4

Rolling sliding
0.2

0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1

-0.2

Complementary Wave
-0.4

Filter (C J Hooke ) Pressure spectrum

Hooke, C J,
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part J:
J. Engineering Tribology, 259-271

Subsurface stresses
Pressure / GPa Pressures increase
as wavelength
0.6
diminishes

0.4

Hooke’s filter:
0.2
Pressures reduced by
lube film

0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 Wavelength

Near-surface stresses Deeper stresses

-0.2

-0.4

Result is a restricted range of wavelengths which cause damage

Lubrication reduces near surface shear stresses as well as tension
 Shear stress range Δτ xz / GPa
6

Rough, dry

Rough, lubricated, λ ~ 0.4

Hertz (Smooth, dry or lubricated)
0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025
Depth below surface of roller (mm)
 At very low lambda values the FFT
method overestimates the shear
stress because it (wrongly)
Shear stress range Δτ xz / GPa presumes all roughness is flattened
20
6

Dry
λ ~ 0.15
0
0 300
4

-20

λ ~ 0.4
Hertz
0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025
Depth below surface of roller (mm)
Elastohydrodynamic lubrication
• Predicts how stress is affected by lubricant
• Function of lubricant is to mitigate the
effect of roughness
• Lubricant properties
– Direct (film forming) properties η, α, β
– Non-Newtonian rheological properties, τ0 , μ
– Thermal properties, k, cp, ρ

…Chemistry?
 Initiation: non-proportionality
Subsurface: shear stress reverses,
normal stress pulsates

elastic contact

GPa

4.50
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00

Near surface: complex stress 1.50

1.00
history from roughness 0.50
0.00
 Initiation: plasticity
Phosphor bronze CuNiSi (σy = 420 MPa)
(σy = 200 MPa) after 2500 cycles of
after 2000 cycles RCFshowing
RCF accumulation of plastic
strain

σ σ 85 20
Cyclic stress-
Cyclic stress- 87 50 18 2 2

strain curve for strain curve

phosphor Cycle 1 Cycle 1
for CuNiSi
bronze, ε ε
alloy, showing
showing ratchetting
1

isotropic
hardening
2 18 50 87 85 20
 Initiation: mechanical property and
microstructural changes

125 μm
“Butterfly” formation in bearing steel

200 nm 100 nm

CuNiSi After RCF:

Before RCF: precipitate
precipitate disappears,
raises strength slip band forms
Microstructure change
Texture
Strain localisation
Crack formation
 Disc machine tests

Test roller
Disc
HV > 750 kgf/mm2

Measured wear
“Counterface” discs profile

Micropitting test rig

Ra = 0.1 μm

Roller before and

Carburised 16MnCr5 DIN 17210
after test
Case depth 1.0 mm
HV > 710 kgf/mm2
Crack initiation due to roughness: Micropitting

200 µm
50
PAO
Loss of diameter (μm)

40 PAO + ZnDTP

30

20

10

0
0.01
0 0.1 1 10
Number of contact cycles (million)
Counterface roughness, Ra

0.5 μm 0.5 μm
0.5 μm
0.2 mm
0.2 mm 0.2 mm PAO
PAO + ZDDP

0.6
Counterface roughness ( μm)

PAO Base stock only

PAO + ZnDTP
PAO +ZnDTP introduced after run-in with
0.5 ZnDTP removed after initial period

0.4

0.3
Additive introduced
Additive removed
0.2 0.5 μm
0.2 mm
0
0.01 0.1 1 10
Number of contact cycles (million)
 TEM sample Rubbing surface
extracted by
FIBS: Boundary film

Crack

Tractive force 200 nm

Section perpendicular to track

20 μm
 Initiation
• Mechanism
– Plasticity (may be local)
– Shakedown?
– Microstructural change, texture
– Strain localisation
– Running-in, surface wear
• Role of lubricant
– Cushioning of roughness
– Protection from corrosion
– Cooling
– Running-in
 Propagation: surface crack evolution

Initiation at debris dent Secondary cracking

Stable crack growth Pit formation
Propagation: crack angles and directions

moti

moti
tip circle tip circle

tract

tract
on o

on o
micr
micr

i
ve fo

ve fo
f con

f con
pitch circle pitch circle

oc
oc

rack

r
rack

tact

tact
ce

ce
s
s
driven driver

motion of contact motion of contact

inlet sweep

initial crack crack open

closure lubricant solidifies to
entrapped fluid form low-stiffness
Bower’s (1990) model packing → Mode II
New model propagation
Propagation: fluid entrapment
and expulsion
reduced expelled
oil film fluid

Effect of a surface fatigue crack on lubrication

of a crowned roller.
Massless, inviscid P (N/m) K* = ΔKI /(P/c1/2) = f { c/a, β, E* / (P/a) }
incompressible
fluid
E*

2a β
c

11
K* = ΔK I /(P/c 1/2)
0.8
0.8 Short crack: K*~c/a
0.6
0.6 i.e. ΔKI ~ c 1/2 β = 25° Long crack: K*= Constant
0.4 i.e. ΔKI ~ c −1/2
0.4
0.2
0.2
00 from Kim, Olver
00 22 44 66 88 and Pearson
Trib Trans
c/a
c/a 44(2001)583-590
 Kitagawa-Takahashi diagram
(Self-arrest condition) for rolling fatigue cracks
(log) Hertz pressure fatigue limit, MPa

10000
(log) Hertz pressure fatigue limit, MPa

10000 Long crack limit (upper bound)

SKF’s Long crack limit (upper bound)

fatigue limit 1000 BS 11 Rail steel
for small Possible short
bearings 1000 crack effect BS 11 Rail steel
SAE 52100
Possible short
Bearing steel
crack effect
SAE 52100
100
Bearing steel
0.1 1 10 100
100 (log) Hertz semi-width, mm
0.1 1 10 100
(log) Hertz semi-width, mm

from Olver AV, Proc IMechE Part J, 219, (2005) 313 - 330
Hoop stress and radial cracks

1 mm

1/2
1/2

20 20
Stress Intensity, MPa m

Stress Intensity, MPa m

3
15 15

10
10
1
2
2 3 15
5

0 0
0 5 10 0 10 20 30

Depth, mm
Depth, mm
Depth, mm
Depth, mm

p0 = 1.5GPa, D = 25 mm, ( σθ ) res = + 100 MPa. p0 = 1.3 GPa, D = 75 mm, (σθ )res = + 100 MPa.
1. Surface damage (rolling fatigue) 1. No surface damage
2. Hoop tension fatigue 2. Hoop tension fatigue
3. Crack arrest at depth of 3 mm. 3. Fracture
 Propagation
• Mechanism
– Mixed-mode fatigue
– Closure, squeeze
– Cracking seems dependent on fluid
– Angle and direction inexplicable for dry
contact
• Role of lubricant
– Lubricates the crack!
 Summary
Shear stress range Δτ xz / GPa
6

Lubricants affect fatigue initiation:

4
Dry
By cushioning and reducing roughness stresses
By controlling friction and tensile stress 2

By reducing the temperature Lubricated Hertz

By allowing/preventing running-in 0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025
Depth below surface of roller (mm)

Lubricants affect fatigue propagation:

By separating the crack surfaces
By reducing friction in the contact
By generating squeeze pressures