Effect of surface integrity of hard turned AISI 52100 steel on fatigue performance

Abstract This paper addresses the relationship between surface integrity and fatigue life of hard turned AISI 52100 steel (60–62 HRC), with grinding as a benchmark. The impact of superfinishing on the fatigue performance of hard turned and ground surfaces is also discussed. Specifically, the surface integrity and fatigue life of the following five distinct surface conditions are examined: hard turned with continuous white layer, hard turned with no white layer, ground, and superfinished hard turned and ground specimens. Surface integrity of the specimens is characterized via surface topography measurement, metallography, residual stress measurements, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nano-indentation tests. High cycle tension–tension fatigue tests show that the presence of white layer does not adversely affect fatigue life and that, on average, the hard turned surface performs as well or better than the ground surface. The effect of superfinishing is to exaggerate these differences in performance. The results obtained from this study suggest that the effect of residual stress on fatigue life is more significant than the effect of white layer. For the hard turned surfaces, the fatigue life is found to be directly proportional to both the surface compressive residual stress and the maximum compressive residual stress. Possible explanations for the observed effects are discussed.

[1]  D. W. Hoeppner,et al.  Effect of Machining Processes on the Fatigue Strength of Hardened AISI 4340 Steel , 1991 .

[2]  M. Barash,et al.  Effect of Hardness on the Surface Integrity of AISI 4340 Steel , 1986 .

[3]  Christopher J. Evans,et al.  White Layers and Thermal Modeling of Hard Turned Surfaces , 1997, Manufacturing Science and Engineering: Volume 2.

[4]  Hans Kurt Tönshoff,et al.  Cutting of Hardened Steel , 2000 .

[5]  M. C. Shaw,et al.  THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WHITE LAYER IN A HARD TURNED STEEL CHIP , 2000 .

[6]  Shreyes N. Melkote,et al.  Effect of Cutting-Edge Geometry and Workpiece Hardness on Surface Residual Stresses in Finish Hard Turning of AISI 52100 Steel , 1999, Manufacturing Science and Engineering.

[7]  B. J. Griffiths,et al.  Mechanisms of White Layer Generation With Reference to Machining and Deformation Processes , 1987 .

[8]  Shreyes N. Melkote,et al.  Effect of Tool Edge Geometry on Workpiece Subsurface Deformation and Through-Thickness Residual Stresses for Hard Turning of AISI 52100 Steel , 2000 .

[9]  S. Jeelani,et al.  Surface Integrity in Machining AISI 4340 Steel , 1976 .

[10]  Shreyes N. Melkote,et al.  Analysis of white layers formed in hard turning of AISI 52100 steel , 2005 .

[11]  Structural alterations in the surface layer during hard machining , 1997 .

[12]  W. König,et al.  Turning versus grinding: a comparison of surface integrity aspects and attainable accuracies , 1993 .

[13]  Yuebin Guo,et al.  A comparative study of hard turned and cylindrically ground white layers , 2004 .

[14]  C. Richard Liu,et al.  Experimental study on the performance of superfinish hard turned surfaces in rolling contact , 2000 .

[15]  G. Pharr,et al.  An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments , 1992 .

[16]  P. Dahlman,et al.  The influence of rake angle, cutting feed and cutting depth on residual stresses in hard turning , 2004 .

[17]  Yuebin Guo,et al.  An experimental investigation of white layer on rolling contact fatigue using acoustic emission technique , 2005 .

[18]  J. Cohen,et al.  Residual Stress: Measurement by Diffraction and Interpretation , 1987 .

[19]  David K. Aspinwall,et al.  The surface integrity of turned and ground hardened bearing steel , 1996 .

[20]  Fukuo Hashimoto,et al.  Surface Integrity Generated by Precision Hard Turning , 1999 .

[21]  Srinivasan Chandrasekar,et al.  Formation of white layers in steels by machining and their characteristics , 2002 .

[22]  Gerry Byrne,et al.  TEM study on the surface white layer in two turned hardened steels , 2002 .

[23]  B. J. Griffiths,et al.  Tribological Advantages of White Layers Produced by Machining , 1987 .