Investigating Fatigue Strength of Vacuum Carburized 17CrNi6-6 Steel Using a Resonance High Frequency Method

The bending fatigue strength of 17CrNi6-6 steel subjected to vacuum carburizing with high pressure gas hardening has been measured using a novel high-frequency technique. The test records the changes in resonance and consists of observing resonance frequency changes in a vibrating system with a single degree of freedom as a result of the forming of a fatigue crack. Moreover, a mechanism of fatigue nucleation and propagation in steel hardened by vacuum carburizing is presented.