Effect of superimposed compressive stresses on rolling contact fatigue initiation at hard and soft inclusions

A semi-analytical framework is introduced for the evaluation of favorable residual stresses for delaying rolling contact fatigue initiation. Subsurface stress histories are applied to a micro-scale model accounting for isolated inclusions of different types and geometries. Micro-scale von Mises stresses are calculated based on Eshelby’s method and considered as an estimator of crack initiation due to plastic deformation. The most critical cases in terms of micro-scale plasticity are identified, and the effect of macro-scale compressive residual stresses is considered. Finally, optimized residual stresses are determined that minimize the maximum attained micro-scale von Mises stress at different depths.