Competitive Modes of Failure in Rolling Contact Fatigue

Careful examination of tapered roller bearings and simplified test specimens from the earliest perceptible rolling contact fatigue to final failure has disclosed a competition between distinguishably different modes of initiation and propagation. These various modes of rolling contact fatigue failure are characterized on the basis of their macroscopic appearance and the location of their origin with respect to nonmetallic inclusions and other stress concentrations. Examples of these modes of failure are illustrated and their relationship to the performance of tapered roller bearings is discussed.