Effect of quenching temperature on microstructure and rolling contact fatigue behavior of 17Cr2Ni2MoVNb steel

Abstract

17Cr2Ni2MoVNb steel is a new type of gear steel in the automotive industry; the rolling contact fatigue behavior is not well documented. In this study, some microscopic analysis methods (optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS)) were used to characterize material microstructure and damage surface. In addition, rolling contact fatigue behavior was evaluated by Weibull curve. The results show that the size of austenite grain increased while the quenching temperature increased. Moreover, the samples with a quenching temperature of 1000° C exhibited the maximum mean life of 7.33 × 105 cycles. In addition, the failure mode of quenched at 900° C and 1100° C were delamination, and pitting was the main failure mode of 1000° C.