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Martensite decay in micropitted gears

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DOI: 10.1243/135065005X9790

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Martensite decay in micropitted gears

A Oila, B. A. Shaw, C. J. Aylott and S. J. Bull
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology 2005 219: 77
DOI: 10.1243/135065005X9790

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 77

Martensite decay in micropitted gears

A Oila1 , B A Shaw1, C J Aylott1, and S J Bull2
1
Design Unit, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
2
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

The manuscript was received on 30 July 2004 and was accepted after revision for publication on 17 January 2005.

DOI: 10.1243/135065005X9790

Abstract: Metallographic examination performed on a number of micropitted gears has

revealed microstructural features similar to those reported in the literature in fatigued bearings,
namely, dark etching regions and white etching bands. In addition, a new type of fatigue-
induced microstructural constituent was observed close to the surface below asperities referred
to as the plastic deformation region. Finally, it is shown that the initiation and propagation of
cracks leading to the formation of micropits are related to the phase transformations mentioned
previously.

Keywords: gears, micropitting, martensite decay, nanoindentation

1 INTRODUCTION in steel known as martensite decay [20– 40]. The new

Micropitting is increasingly being observed by the
industry in many applications of carburized steel
gears, but the detailed mechanisms of crack
initiation and propagation are not well understood.
Although mainly seen on carburized gears, all types
of steel gears are susceptible regardless of the heat
treatment applied [1] and, although the nature of
the lubricant influences micropitting, the problem
appears with both synthetic and mineral lubricants
[2]. It can occur after a relatively short period of
operation and may result in gears being replaced
because of increased noise and vibration caused by
the deviation of the tooth profile. It has also been
reported that micropitting can initiate other types
of gear tooth failure [2, 3].
Micropitting in gears has been extensively studied
over recent years [4 –18], but not all aspects of the
problem have been covered. The micropitting mech-
anisms suggested previously are explained in terms
of lubricant pressure effects inside the crack [4] or
slip line field theory [5, 19], but with no reference
to the steel microstructure.
It is well known that surface contact fatigue
phenomena in rolling element bearings are asso-
ciated with a specific microstructural transformation

Corresponding author: Design Unit, Stephenson Building,
University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
phases are recognizable owing to different etching
characteristics when polished and etched specimens
are observed in reflected light microscopy (RLM).
They are known as dark etching regions (DER) and
white etching bands (WEB). DER represents a
mixture of residual martensite with a ferritic phase
that contains carbon in excess (corresponding to
that in martensite), which is inhomogeneously
distributed [29, 35]. WEB have the appearance of
thin elongated stringers that are lightly etched by
nital [22, 26]. Two distinct sets of WEB have been
reported in the literature. The first set consists of
disc-shaped regions of ferrite inclined at 308 to the
surface in the direction opposite to that of rolling,
bordered by carbide discs that are constituted by
very small carbide particles [29, 33]. The carbide
discs bordering the 308-WEB contain 15 –30 at.%
carbon [33]. The second set of WEB are disc-
shaped regions of plastically deformed ferrite
inclined at 808 to the surface [29]. The structure of
the 808-WEB resembles a heavily cold rolled ferrite
[31] and exhibits a cell-type structure free of carbides
[22, 23, 28].
As micropitting is a contact fatigue problem
common to bearings and gears, the question that
arises is whether martensite decay also occurs in
gears. Little has been published in this direction.
Hoeprich [41] reported that the dark etching effect
in gears is due to plastic deformation and dislocation
accumulation rather than phase transformation.

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78 A Oila, B A Shaw, C J Aylott, and S J Bull

He also suggests that the tribological processes in Table 1 Helical gears used
asperity contacts could result in hydrogen diffusion for DU micropitting test
from the lubricant to the steel and that the DER are
Parameter Value
an evidence of the presence of hydrogen. However,
it is not clear whether and how this contributes to A (mm) 160
the damage of the gear tooth flank. White etching B (mm) 38
dw (mm) 80
areas (WEA) (but not bands) have been described da (mm) 171.95
by Winter et al. [42], but they assume these do not mn 6
cause fatigue damage on tooth flanks. Some of Z 23
X 0.05
these WEA form around inclusions and would pro- an (8) 20
bably be better described as butterflies. A second aw (8) 23.34
type of WEA reported in reference [42] are formed b (8) 30
Ra (mm) 0.4
extensively (about 20 mm deep) below the tooth
surface. They resemble more the WEA reported and
identified in reference [43] as cementite rather than
the WEB reported in bearings. It was shown recently University [47]. The test gears used in this test rig
[44] that the decay of martensite develops similarly are 6 mm module helical gears in a ratio of 1 : 1.
in specimens subjected to rolling/sliding loading, The test procedure involves two pairs of gears
both in discs and in gears. being run in 5  106 cycle stages up to 10  106
In the present work, extensive metallurgical inves- pinion cycles and then in 10  106 cycle stages up
tigations have been carried out on gears affected by to 50  106 pinion cycles. The operating conditions
micropitting and they revealed the occurrence of are given in Table 2. The lubricant used in all tests
the aforementioned phases. In addition, a distinct was OEP-80, which is a standard military spec
phase was observed in the regions below asperities. mineral gear oil [48].
The mechanical properties of these phases have
been determined by the nanoindentation technique.
The results show that the observed micropitting and 2.3 Metallographic examination
martensite decay phenomena are related to each
other. The metallographic examination was performed on
The correlation between operating conditions cross-sections taken from the gear tooth in the trans-
and microstructural changes has been treated else- verse direction, perpendicular to the pitch line. The
where [45]. detail at the edge of the specimen is of the greatest
importance in this study. To ensure the edge reten-
tion during grinding and polishing, gear tooth
2 EXPERIMENTAL samples were nickel plated in a Watts nickel bath.
The samples were then mounted in carbon-filled
2.1 Samples epoxy resin in order to avoid the occurrence of
charging during subsequent scanning electron
Test gears were manufactured from 16MnCr5 steel microscopy (SEM) examination and ground succes-
produced using secondary steelmaking techniques sively on 240 and 600 SiC papers lubricated with
[46] resulting in an oxygen content of ,10 ppm. water and then polished on cloths with 9, 3, and
The gears were then commercially gas-carburized 1 mm size diamond suspensions. The microstructure
to give a case depth (measured at 550 HV) of
1.2 mm, a surface hardness level of 750 HV and
a prior austenite ASTM grain size of 7. The gears Table 2 Operating conditions in the DU gear
were then cleaned using a standard blasting process test
and finish ground using a typical alumina wheel in a
Niles gear grinder. The surface finish achieved was Gear code T (8C) p0 (MPa) v (r.p.m.)
about Ra ¼ 0.4 mm, which is a common value for B12 90 1547 3000
gears. The details of the helical gears are given in B25 50 1547 3000
Table 1. B28 90 1547 3000
B29 50 1547 3000
B34 90 1547 3000
C15 50 1547 1125
2.2 Micropitting test C79 90 1547 1125
C34 50 1300 3000
The micropitting tests were carried out using a C44 50 1700 1125
double-ended back-to-back gear rig designed and C62 50 1700 1125
C76 50 1300 3000
manufactured at the Design Unit (DU), Newcastle

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 Martensite decay in micropitted gears 79

was observed by RLM and SEM after etching with

2 per cent nital.

2.4 Nanoindentation test

The mechanical properties (i.e. hardness, H, and
elastic modulus, E) of different phases present in
the gear steel [martensite, DER, WEB, and plastic
deformation region (PDR)] were determined by the
nanoindentation technique using a peak load of
10 mN. Hardness and elastic modulus were deter-
mined by the Oliver and Pharr method [49] and
corrected for the effect of pile-up by a calibration
factor determined from atomic force microscopic
(AFM) analysis of the residual impression using an
approach developed previously [50]. Fig. 2 RLM micrograph showing DER as a semi-
circular zone beneath the tooth surface. Gear
C62, dedendum, nital etch
3 RESULTS

3.1 Dark etching regions
The metallographic examination has revealed similar
etching characteristics to those reported in the litera-
ture in fatigued rolling bearings. The DER are
observed either as a continuous band underneath
the gear tooth surface (see Fig. 1) or most often as
isolated zones beneath the surface, as shown in
Fig. 2. Note that the DER band in Fig.1 does not
reach the surface. Unlike in bearings, where the
depth of the DER zone (in the order of hundreds of
microns [29]) coincides with the depth of maximum
shear stress in gears it is much closer to the surface
(in the order of microns or tens of microns).
The DER shown in Fig. 2 follows a semi-circular pat-
tern and cracks are present at the intersection points
between DER and the free surface. The location of
the DER zone (10 mm below the surface) and the
length of the zone (60 mm) which is in the range of
the grinding marks width suggest that DER develop
beneath the highest points of the surface profile.
3.2 White etching bands
Although a texture as well developed as that reported
in rolling element bearings has not been observed in
gears, a certain directionality of the microstructure
has been noted in several specimens. However, this
was rather a rare observation. An example is shown
in Fig. 3. The bands observed here are inclined at
an angle a ¼ 338 to the gear tooth surface. This
angle corresponds well to that of the 308-WEB
reported in bearings. Similar to DER, the WEB are
much closer to the surface (20 mm) than those
reported in bearings (hundreds of microns [29]).

Fig. 1 RLM micrograph showing DER as a continuous Fig. 3 RLM micrograph showing WEB in the near-
band beneath the tooth surface. Gear C44, surface region in gear B29. The angle of
dedendum, nital etch inclination to the surface a ¼ 338, nital etch

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80 A Oila, B A Shaw, C J Aylott, and S J Bull

3.3 Plastic deformation region

The common feature observed in all micropitted
gears is the presence of small, near-surface semi-
circular regions with a diameter in the order of
microns or tens of microns, which exhibit a very
fine, apparently non-martensitic microstructure (no
needles are observable; see Figs 4 and 5). The
cross-section shown in Fig. 4 was taken from a
heavily micropitted area which is shown in Fig. 6.
It can be seen that DER gives the contour of the
PDR. A surface initiated crack propagates along
the boundary of PDR. The conclusion that can be
drawn is that the boundary of these severely
deformed regions represents a critical zone. The
DER phase along with cracking is seen to initiate in
this zone. On the basis of these observations, it can
Fig. 5 SEM micrograph showing crack propagation at
be concluded that a micropit forms by crack
the PDR border. Gear B34, addendum, nital etch
initiation at the surface, at the point of intersection
between the surface and the boundary of the PDR
and that this then propagates along the boundary
in the direction opposite to that of the friction
force, until it reaches the surface again.
In reference [43], the formation of a white etching
layer at the bearing surface was reported and
this constituent was identified as cementite with
6.65 wt.% C and 0.5 wt.% Cr. The source of carbon
for cementite formation would be the lubricant
which decomposes as a result of rolling and frictional
heating. WEA with a hardness Hv ¼ 1200 (12 GPa)
have been also described in reference [42]. The
hardness of the PDR shown in Fig. 4 was determined
to have an average value of H ¼ 13.9 + 0.7 GPa by
nanoindentation.

Fig. 6 RLM micrograph showing micropitting in

3.4 Mechanical properties
addendum region of Gear B12
The hardness and Young’s modulus of different
phases are listed in Table 3. All the products of
martensite decay observed are harder than the
original martensite. Owing to the very small size of
the WEB and limitations of the optical system
of the nanoindenter it was difficult to make a distinc-
tion between the actual bands and the space
between them. Therefore, the hardness value given
here represents an average of these two distinct
regions. Hardness levels were determined in pre-
vious work [44] by a nanoindentation test performed

Table 3 Mechanical properties of different phases

present in steel

Phase Hardness H (GPa) Elastic modulus E (GPa)

Martensite 8 + 0.7 209.9 + 3.4

PDR 13.9 + 0.4 205.9 + 7.4
Fig. 4 RLM micrograph showing PDR bordered by WEB 17.2 + 3.8 175.5 + 10.2
DER 12.4 + 0.5 199.3 + 6.2
DER. Gear B12, addendum, nital etch

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 Martensite decay in micropitted gears 81

on fatigued disc samples where WEB develop

more extensively. In this work, it was found that
the space between the bands is much harder
(H  20 GPa) than the bands (H  11 GPa) which
are consistent with the theory of WEB formation
[29, 51, 52], according to which carbon migrates
from the bands in their vicinity. Abundant carbide
precipitation was also confirmed in reference [44].

4 DISCUSSION

It was shown in previous work [44, 45], in which two

steels were compared with respect to their micro-
pitting performance, that micropitting propagation
was significantly higher for the steel in which
martensite decay was more pronounced.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) inves-
tigations [28] have revealed that the microstructure
of DER and butterflies (wing-like regions, asso-
ciated with non-metallic inclusions or carbides,
which are light etched compared with the martensite
matrix [53]) are essentially the same, hence both
transformations are different manifestations of the
same mechanism. Most authors have, however,
reported that the butterfly’s wing hardness is
higher [53, 54] than that of the martensite matrix,
whereas the DER hardness is lower [21, 28, 35]!
This contradiction is due to the method used to Fig. 7 Micropitting (a) initiation and (b) propagation
measure hardness. The microhardness testing
(Vickers, Knoop, etc.) gives an average value for
the hardness of the DER mixture (DER-ferrite, occur in service. This work demonstrates that micro-
martensite, and retained austenite). The use of the structural aspects cannot be neglected in such
nanoindentation technique [44] has revealed that models.
DER-ferrite and butterfly wings have similar hard-
ness (H ¼ 12.5 GPa). However, low nanoindentation
hardness values (H  3.5 GPa) are observed if regions 5 CONCLUSIONS
of retained austenite are indented. Previous reports
of softening in the DER [21, 28, 35] are probably The products of martensite decay observed in gears
related to this. are similar to those observed in bearings. DER
Numerical models and experimental results [55] initiate and grow at the PDR boundary. The WEB
indicate that tooth contact temperature can rise do not occur as uniformly as in bearings but
towards the tempering temperature (150 – 180 8C) of they are randomly distributed in the near-surface
a carburized steel gear and it has been reported regions.
that tempered areas can form on gear tooth surfaces The current observations suggest that the mecha-
through running [42]. The phase transformations nism of micropitting in gears is linked to the phase
reported here suggest that tempering might take transformations induced by the contact fatigue
place in the near-surface regions. Because of the process. As a result of severe plastic deformation of
high content of Mn and Cr found in the WEB it asperities, microcracks initiate at the surface, at the
has been suggested [37] that there is a possibility point of intersection between the surface and the
for dissolution of cementite and/or austenitizing boundary of the PDR [Fig. 7(a)]. These cracks then
followed by re-formation of martensite. propagate along the boundary until they reach
Several numerical models for predicting micropit- the surface again. When the crack reaches the
ting have been published in the literature [56 –60], surface, a micropit is formed [Fig. 7(b)]. The bound-
but these models are necessarily incomplete ary of the PDR consists of dark etching grains that
because they do not take into account the changes are softer than the PDR and hence provides a
in microstructure and mechanical properties that preferential path for fatigue crack propagation.

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82 A Oila, B A Shaw, C J Aylott, and S J Bull
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APPENDIX
Notation
A centre distance (mm)
B effective tooth width (mm)
dw working pitch diameter (mm)
da tip diameter (mm)
E Young’s modulus (GPa)
H hardness (GPa)
mn module
p0 contact pressure (MPa)
Ra arithmetic mean roughness (mm)
T temperature (8C)
v rolling speed (r.p.m.)
X addendum modification factor
Z number of teeth
an reference pressure angle (8)
aw working pressure angle (8)
b helix angle (8)
Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part J: J. Engineering Tribology