Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Slip ratio on the Fatigue Crack Initiation Life in Rolling Contact

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the effect of slip ratio on the fatigue crack initiation life, considering the tangential traction on the rolling contact surface. The distribution of tangential traction and contact stresses on the contact surface, when rolling contact occurs between two cylindrical test specimens, are obtained using three-dimensional finite element analysis. The effect of slip ratio on the fatigue crack initiation life was evaluated by applying multiaxial fatigue criteria based on critical plane approaches. As a result, the 3D-FE model developed well represent the distribution of tangential traction and contact stresses on the contact surface at stick-slip condition, which is differ from the static or full sliding contact condition. As the slip ratio increases, the maximum tangential traction also increases in slip zone and the location of maximum stress closer to the contact surface in stick zone. The fatigue strength decreased with the increase in the slip ratio. Therefore, it is clear that the slip ratio has an important role in prediction of fatigue crack initiation life on the rolling contact surface.