The Influence of Peripheral Components in Test Rig Creation of White Etching Cracks

Abstract

White Etching Cracks (WEC) have become a subject of extensive research in material science, chemistry and lubrication, and even operational mathematics by AI learning. Initially reported in the 1960s and considered an exotic anomaly, the failures gained importance with the global rise of wind energy power and the automotive industry. Unexpectedly high failure rates in various bearing applications have led to the need for a deeper understanding and prevention of WEC. It has come a long way from materials inspection, to parametrically studying WECs on test rigs, to the understanding that WEC is a stand-alone phenomenon and sparingly related to common failures in bearing technology. It has been commonly accepted that WEC drivers have multiple dimensions, e.g., material, contact mechanics, chemistry, and electricity. The impact of these factors on WEC failures is frequently studied using test rigs at the component level, such as the FE8 test rig. The FE8 has been utilized in numerous investigations due to its ability to replicate WEC failures without requiring artificial electricity or hydrogen charging by using specific lubricant chemistry and operating conditions. However, through intensive testing, it was observed in this study that a standard material in an FE8 rig component demonstrated a profound influence on WEC formation. This paper presents the details of the testing and analysis, aiming to investigate the mechanisms of interactions between the hose material and the low reference lubricant. The results demonstrate that the chemistry of the component material plays an important role in WEC formation. This finding may have significant impact in WEC studies, especially when the FE8 rig is used.

Keywords

• white etching cracks
• rolling bearing failure
• lubricant chemistry
• surface analysis