Investigation of Crack Initiation and Propagation during Rolling Contact Fatigue of SUJ2 Steel Bearings Using a Newly Developed One-Point Testing Machine

An innovative type of one-point rolling contact fatigue (RCF) machine was developed in order to investigate crack initiation and propagation in metals. The microstructural changes and propagation of subsurface cracks during rolling contact in specimens tested by using the new device were studied by laser confocal microscope and X-ray diffraction. It was shown that this new method presents several important advantages compared to the conventional thrust type RCF machines.