INFLUENCE OF SURFACE HARDENING ON CONTACT FATIGUE LIFE OF NODULAR CAST IRON

The influence of laser surface melting and induction hardening on the surface structure,con- tact fatigue life and failure behaviour of the nodular cast iron has been investigated.The con- tact fatigue life can be improved by both laser treatment and induction hardening,but the fail- ure process and type are different from each other.The former is due to lumpy and deep spal- ling caused by crack propagation between the quenching zone and the substrate,and the latter is due to nubby and surface flaking caused by the oil wedged action into surface cracks.