Characterization of Bearing Components using Synchrotron Light Sources

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Claes Olsson

Summary

In recent years, large scale facilities such as synchrotrons and neutron sources have become increasingly accessible also for everyday use. In part, this is thanks to a drastic increase in the beam time and number of beamlines available, in part this is also facilitated by the development of dedicated software tools that make data evaluation faster and more accessible outside the community of established synchrotron users.

In this presentation, it is illustrated how it is possible to perform non-destructive analysis of large-size rolling elements, diameters around 150 mm. This type of characterization of phase- and residual stress as a function of depth is useful to understand performance in demanding applications.

It is also shown how it is possible to make a detailed evaluation of material degradation during a standard bearing subjected to a life test. It is shown how carbon gradients are changing even at room temperature. It is also possible to follow the evolution of nano- and microstructure as a function of depth and correlate it to the theoretical Hertzian contact stress distributions.