Rolling bearing and method of making same

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a steel alloy bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements comprising: at least one of said elements being made of alloy steel which constitutes from 10.0 to 18.0 wt% chromium and 0.05 to 0.30 wt% carbon, 0.10% to 2.0 wt% molybdenum, 0.15 to 1.0 wt% silicon, 0.20 to 1.5 wt% manganese, 0.8 to 1.2 wt% tungsten, 0.20 to 0.30 wt% vanadium, 0.2 to 1.0 wt% of nickel, and the remainder of said steel alloy being iron; and said at least one element having been carburized in a carbon atmosphere containing from 0.25 to about 0.40 % carbon potential.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to rolling bearings, and more particularly to rolling bearings which have corrosion resistance and fracture toughness and to methods for making the bearings. Anti-friction track rolling bearings are commonly used in a variety of machines and, in particular, in aircraft where the bearings are subject to high loads, and are exposed to corrosive environments. The high loads increase the surface pressure applied to the bearing elements causing metal fatigue leading to failure of the bearing. A unique feature of rolling bearings is that their useful life is not determined by wear but by metal fatigue of one of the elements, e.g., the inner race, the outer race or the rolling elements, under the repeated stresses of normal use. Fatigue failure, which occurs as a progressive flaking or pitting of the surfaces of the races and rolling elements, is accepted as the basic reason for the end of the useful life of such a bearing. In particular, the outer race experiences cyclic flexing which causes tensile stressing leading to fracture. The bearing elements need fracture toughness, specifically internal compressive stresses to counter applied tensile stress. Because the load on a bearing determines the severity of the stress in the surfaces of the races and the rolling elements, if the load is increased the life of the bearing is shortened. This is usually expressed by the relationship in that the life of the bearing is inversely proportional to the load cubed. Thus, doubling the load will reduce the life of the bearing by a factor of 8. The life of a bearing under a given load will therefore be a certain number of revolutions. When a bearing is intended for use under heavy loads, such as in aircraft, it is desirable that the bearing have hardened surfaces to accommodate the added stresses. To increase the strength of bearing elements, it is common to heat the steel alloy to carburize the alloy surface. Carburizing increases the hardness of the bearing surfaces to extend the life of the bearing, however, carburizing increases the carbon content of the steel which lowers corrosion resistance. AISI 52100 steel is widely used in these bearings because of excellent fatigue properties but does not have corrosion resistance. The material which has traditionally been used to improve corrosion resistance, AISI 440C stainless steel, does not have the fatigue properties comparable to AISI 52100 steel for fracture toughness. Thus, it is desirable to provide rolling bearings having increased fatigue life and corrosion resistance. US-A-5 292 200 discloses at least one of the inner race, outer race and rolling elements of a bearing being carburized. This document discloses in example 3 a steel composition No. 5 containing (in weight%) 0.21% C, 0.25% Si, 0.74% Mn and 10.03% Cr which was carburized by either gas carburization or plasma assisted carburization having a C-concentration in the surface of about 1.0% C and having a hardness of 62.5 and 62.8. Carburization was carried out at 930°C with the used C-potential being adjusted so that the C-concentration would vary at about 1.0 to 1.6%. US-A-3 885 995 discloses a process for carburizing high alloy steel parts (e. g. gears) having a C-content of 0.05 to 0.3% and 2 to 25% Cr or greater using a C-potential of about 0.6 to 1.5% at 843 to 1149°C. Examples were also made with AISI 416 stainless steel comprising up to 0.15% C, 1.15 to 1.25% Mn, 0.80 to 1.00% Si and 12 to 14% Cr. The use for bearing applications results in longer part life and the carburized parts have a hardness of e.g. 63.0 H R C. The steel alloys described in these documents do not result in the desired increased fatigue life and corrosion resistance. The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect of the invention, this is accomplished by providing a low carbon steel alloy rolling bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements having increased fatigue life and corrosion resistance. This bearing is disclosed in claim 1. The invention also provides a process for increasing the fatigue life and corrosion resistance of a steel allow rolling bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements by treating the surface of the bearing elements. This process is disclosed in claim 6. As a result of the present invention, the carbon content in the surface layer is from 0.35 to 1.2 wt% providing a rolling bearing that is improved in rolling fatigue and corrosion resistance. The foregoing and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE Fig. 1 is a graphical representation indicating relationships between the contents of carbon in the surface layer of an alloy steel which has been carburized and the depths of carbon concentration from the surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION It has been found that a rolling bearing having inner race, outer race and rolling elements having increased fatigue life and corrosion resistance is provided when at least one of the bearing elements is made of a low carbon steel alloy which constitutes 10.0 to 18.0 wt% of chromium and from 0.05 to 0.30 wt% of carbon, preferably about 0.25 % carbon, with the balance being iron and to achieve the surface hardness, the bearing element is carburized in an atmosphere containing from 0.25 to 0.40 wt% carbon potential to create a differential between the carbon in the surface region and the core region of the steel alloy. The content of chromium in the alloy should be from 10.0 to 18.0 wt%. The chromium provides corrosion resistance in the carburized alloy and aids in precipitating the carbide in the surface layer. The carbon content is in the range of 0.05 to 0.30 wt% which is the range of low carbon steels commonly used to make bearing steel. It has been found preferable to add other alloy ingredients, such as tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, vanadium, and nickel in amounts from 0.10 to 2.0 wt% molybdenum, 0.15 to 1.0 wt% silicon, 0.20 to 1.5 wt% manganese, 0.2 to 1.0 wt% nickel, 1 wt% tungsten, and 0.20 to 0.30 wt% vanadium. Molybdenum and manganese add to the hardenability and material toughness. Nickel serves to improve the shock resistance. An especially preferred alloy is AISI 422 stainless steel whose composition is as follows: Element wt% Chromium 12.0 Carbon 0.25 Molybdenum 0.80 Tungsten 1.0 Manganese 0.7 Nickel 0.65 Vanadium 0.25 Iron Remainder In carrying out the process for increasing the fatigue life and corrosion resistance of a steel alloy rolling bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements, the alloy is heated at a temperature between 760°C (1400°F) and 982°C (1800°F) for about 2 to 70 hours in a carbon atmosphere containing from 0.25 to about 0.40 % carbon potential, preferably 0.30 %, to create a differential between the carbon in the surface region and the core region of said element. The alloy is then quenched to retain said carbon differential. The term "surface layer" as used herein is intended to mean a surface layer of which the depth is up to 2,54 mm (0.1 inches). The aforementioned steel alloy may contain, in addition to the above-described components, impurities such as oxygen and sulphur with content percentages allowable with the bearing steel. The Rockwell hardness (H R C) of the surface layer is preferably between 60-64. The following example is provided to further illustrate the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention in any manner. All parts are parts by weight unless otherwise stated. Example Samples of a steel alloy having a composition as shown in the following Table 1 were formed into bearing elements and test cylinders and were subjected to the heat treatment described below: C Cr Mo Si Mn Ni V W 0.25 12.0 0.8 0.35 0.7 0.65 0.25 1.0 *all by wt% The alloy steel was carburized at 954°C (1750°F) for 63 hours in a carbon atmosphere containing 0.3 % carbon potential. The carburizing gas was a mixture of methanol, nitrogen and air in a ratio set to provide the desired amount of carbon. The steel alloy was then quenched with oil. The oil quenching step was carried out in room temperature oil and the elements were cooled in just a couple of minutes. The steel alloy had a Rockwell C surface hardness after heat treating of H R C 62. Cylinders of the steel alloy of Table 1 were lathed to successive depths of 0,254 mm (0.010 inches) and the carbon content determined at each depth. The results are shown in the graphical representation in Figure 1. The results show that the carbon concentration was greatly increased at the surface and gradually decreased through the surface layer. The depth of the surface layer will depend upon the length of carburizing time. The rolling fatigue life of the test pieces of all of the lots were tested at room temperature (25°C) in a bearing life tester. For each lot, ten test pieces were tested, and a Weibull plot was formed by detecting the number of times of application of stress (service life) until each test piece suffered from flaking, and the Weibull distribution was utilized to obtain the L 10 life of each. A summary of the test results is shown in Table 2 below: Dynamic Test Results Outer Ring Material L 10 Life (10 -6 ) 52100 Steel 0.0936 440 SS 0.0358 422 SS 0.1254 The tests show that the outer ring (race) constituting the steel alloy of this invention had longer fatigue life due to the carbon in the surface layer than either of two commonly used materials found in the prior art. Less corrosion in AISI 422 SS outer rings than in the rings from AISI 440 SS and AISI 52100 steel was visually observed. Outer rings from stainless steel alloy of the prior art and of the present invention were tested for static crush in a hydraulic press. A summary of the results appears in Table 3 below: Static Test Results Outer Ring Material Average Fracture Load (lb) 52100 Steel 9,337 440C SS 10,003 422 SS 12,375 422 SS 12,292 These results show that outer rings made from AISI 422 SS and treated according to the present invention had superior static crush. While this invention has been illustrated and described in accordance with preferred embodiments, it is recognized that other variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims: Steel alloy bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements, at least one of said elements being made of alloy steel comprising at least chromium (Cr) and carbon (C), and the remainder of the steel alloy being iron (Fe); said at least one element having been carburized in a carbon atmosphere containing a carbon potential to create a higher C concentration in the surface region, characterized in that the alloy steel consists of from 10.0 to 18.0 wt% chromium (Cr), 0.05 to 0.30 wt% carbon (C), 0.10% to 2.0 wt% molybdenum (Mo), 0.15 to 1.0 wt% silicon (Si), 0.20 to 1.5 wt% manganese (Mn), 0.8 to 1.2 wt%tungsten (W), 0.20 to 0.30 wt% vanadium (V) and 0.2 to 1.0 wt% nickel (Ni) and the remainder of said steel being iron (Fe); and the carbon atmosphere containing from 0.25 to about 0.40 % carbon potential. Bearing according to claim 1, in which the alloy comprises 10.0 wt% of chromium (Cr) and 0.25 wt% of carbon (C). Bearing according to claim 1, in which after carburization the carbon is from 0.35 to 1.2 wt% in the surface layer. Bearing according to claim 1, wherein the surface hardness H R C of the surface layer is 60 to 64. Bearing according to claim 1, wherein said alloy is AISI 422 stainless steel. Process for increasing the fatigue life and corrosion resistance of a steel alloy rolling bearing having an inner race, an outer race and rolling elements, wherein the steel alloy of at least one of said elements comprises at least chromium (Cr) and carbon (C) and the remainder of the alloy being iron (Fe), and wherein said at least one element is being carburized in a carbon atmosphere containing a carbon potential to create a higher C concentration in the surface region, characterized by (a) constituting at least one of said elements to contain 10.0 to 18.0 wt% chromium (Cr), 0.02 to 0.30 wt% carbon (C), 0.10% to 2.0 wt% molybdenum (Mo), 0.15 to 1.0 wt% silicon (Si), 0.20 to 1.5 wt% manganese (Mn), 0.8 to 1.2 wt% tungsten (W), 0.20 to 0.30 wt% vanadium (V) and 0.2 to 1.0 wt% nickel (Ni) and the remainder of said steel being iron; (b) heating said at least one element at a temperature between 760°C (1400°F) and 982°C (1800°F) for about 2 to 70 hours in an atmosphere containing from 0.25 to about 0.40 % carbon potential to create a differential between the carbon in the surface region and the core region of said element; and (c) quenching said element to retain said carbon differential. Process according to claim 6, in which said alloy comprises 10.0 wt% chromium (Cr) and 0.25 wt% carbon (C). Process according to claim 6, in which the carbon is from 0.35 to 1.2 wt% in the surface layer. Process according to claim 6, wherein the surface hardness H R C of said surface layer is 60 to 64.

Inventors: BEAUREGARD DAVID E, DEZZANI MICHAEL M, BEAUREGARD, DAVID E., DEZZANI, MICHAEL M.
Applicants: TORRINGTON CO, THE TORRINGTON COMPANY
Application year: 1995
Main classification: C23C8
IPC codes: C21D9, C21D6, C23C8, F16C33