Mössbauer characterisation of bearing steels and dark etching regions

Journal Article (2025)
Author(s)

Sebastián Echeverri Restrepo (King’s College London, SKF Research & Technology Development)

H. Huang (SKF Research & Technology Development, TU Delft - Team Maria Santofimia Navarro)

Mohamed Y. Sherif (SKF Research & Technology Development)

A.I. Dugulan (TU Delft - RID/TS/Instrumenten groep, TU Delft - RST/Fundamental Aspects of Materials and Energy)

Research Group
Team Maria Santofimia Navarro
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-025-10930-6
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Research Group
Team Maria Santofimia Navarro
Bibliographical Note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.@en
Issue number
20
Volume number
60
Pages (from-to)
8536-8544
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Abstract

Dark etching regions (DERs) are a widely studied phenomenon in the context of sub-surface microstructure decay in rolling bearings. These regions result from dislocation motion (plasticity) and carbon migration due to rolling contact fatigue (RCF). We conducted a systematic study using Mössbauer spectroscopy to identify phase evolution during tempering and DER formation. Our findings resolve a long-standing debate in the literature by demonstrating that fine temper carbides dissolve during DER formation. A slight decrease in non-stoichiometric carbides was observed in the DERs, indicating the dissolution of fine carbides. The released carbon is believed to back-diffuse into ferrite and/or martensite.

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