Micropitting Modelling in Rolling–Sliding Contacts: Application to Rolling Bearings

In this article an engineering approach is described to model micropitting in rolling–sliding, heavily loaded lubricated contacts. The competitive mechanism between surface fatigue and mild wear is captured in the present approach as well as the effects of deterministic surface microgeometry (e.g., roughness). The fatigue model is based on the Dang Van fatigue criterion and the mild wear model uses a modified Archard approach. The complete modeling scheme is validated experimentally first using laboratory-controlled conditions, where the surface topography is varied as well as the operating conditions in the contact. Then the model is applied to describe the behavior of full-bearing tests. The behavior of the model agrees well with the experimental observations, qualitatively.