Investigations into the occurrence of pitting in lubricated rolling four-ball tests

Pitting, a form of rolling contact fatigue, is a complex phenomenon and several factors influence its occurrence, particularly under lubricated conditions. In this work, studies have been conducted to observe the events that occur during lubricated rolling four-ball tests that may affect or eventually lead to the formation of pits. This is performed to form an understanding of the pit formation process. Included is tribofilm formation, surface degradation, wear mode, material changes and crack initiation sites. These investigations have been performed on the ball samples from rolling four-ball tests, conducted using two API GL-5 gear oils. The analyses revealed the formation of a low hardness region beneath the surface of the running track due to martensite decay. The formation rate and expansion of this region was found to differ for the two lubricating oils. The pitted balls also indicated that the initial fatigue cracks were initiated at or close to the surface. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.