Contact fatigue limits of gears, railway wheels and rails determined by means of multiaxial fatigue criteria

Abstract In the present paper, the Dang-Van and the Liu-Zenner multiaxial fatigue criteria are applied to gear and wheel/rail contacts in order to determine contact fatigue limits. In the case of gear contacts, a comparison with experimental contact fatigue limits is discussed for various gear steels. In the case of wheel/rail contacts, the influence of thermal stresses on the contact fatigue limits is analyzed. The results of this analysis are summarized in maps, here called contact fatigue maps, similar to the well-known shakedown maps, but drawn to provide fatigue limits