Effect of Roller Burnishing and Slide Roller Burnishing on Fatigue Strength of AISI 304 Steel: Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The new slide roller burnishing (SRB) method has been developed to produce mirror-like surfaces. Unlike conventional roller burnishing (RB), SRB is implemented through a unique device that allows the axes of the deforming roller and the rotary workpiece to cross, resulting in a relative sliding velocity that can be controlled (in magnitude and direction) by varying the crossing angle. In the present work, the effect of SRB on the fatigue behavior of AISI 316 steel fatigue specimens was investigated by comparing it with conventional RB using the following basic correlation in surface engineering: finishing–surface integrity (SI)–operating behavior. To obtain a more representative picture of the comparison, we implemented each method (RB and SRB) with two combinations of governing factors—(A) a radius of the roller toroidal surface of 3 mm, a burnishing force of 250 N, and a feed rate of 0.05 mm/rev (RB-A and SRB-A), and (B) a radius of the roller toroidal surface of 4 mm, a burnishing force of 550 N, and a feed rate of 0.11 mm/rev (RB-B and SRB- B). Both SRB-A (a crossing angle of –45°) and SRB-B (a crossing angle of –30°) achieved mirror-finish surfaces. SRB-B lead to the greatest fatigue strength and, thus, the longest fatigue life among all tested processes. SRB-B created the deepest zone (>0.5 mm) with residual compressive macro-stresses and a clearly defined modified surface layer, whose thickness of more than 20 μm is about twice that created by the other three processes.