Microstructural evolution and performance change of a carburized nanostructured bainitic bearing steel during rolling contact fatigue process

The nanostructured bainitic (NB) bearing steel exhibits excellent rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance, which is critical to the service of bearing. However, the detailed microstructural evolution of the steel during the RCF process is still unclear. In this paper, a carburized NB bearing steel was studied and a detailed process investigation on microstructural evolution of the steel during the RCF progress was carried out. Results show that the nano-sized bainitic ferrite is gradually refined, and the undissolved carbide