Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on Grinding Metamorphic Layer and Service Performance of GCr15 Bearing Steel

WANG Lihu; FENG Shuo; CAI Shengyang; LI Na; QIAO Yang; LIU Guoliang; WANG Xiangyu

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.018

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (23) : 238-252. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.018

Surface Strengthening Technology

Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on Grinding Metamorphic Layer and Service Performance of GCr15 Bearing Steel

WANG Lihu¹, FENG Shuo¹, CAI Shengyang², LI Na³, QIAO Yang¹, LIU Guoliang^4,*, WANG Xiangyu^1,*

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Abstract

The work aims to reveal the influence law of grinding processing after cryogenic treatment on the characteristics and service performance of the metamorphic layer. Taking GCr15 bearing steel as the research object, three different process treatments were carried out respectively, namely quenching + tempering (QT), quenching + tempering + cryogenic (QTC), and quenching + cryogenic + tempering (QCT). Different grinding depths and workpiece feed rates were adopted to grind the three specimens. The surface roughness and hardness of the grinding process were measured, and the surface cracks and burn defects were observed. The thickness of the white layer of the grinding metamorphic layer were measured to detect the phase transformation from residual austenite to martensite, and observe the distribution of carbon elements within the metamorphic layer. The wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the grinding surface were evaluated through friction and wear tests and electrochemical corrosion tests. The surface roughness of the cryogenic treated specimens was significantly lower than that of the QT treated specimens at a lower grinding depth. A larger grinding depth was prone to cause surface cracks and burn defects. The thickness of the white layer of the three different treated specimens all increased with the increase of grinding depth, among which the thickness of the white layer of the QCT treated specimens was the largest. During the grinding process of the QTC and QCT treated specimens, a phase transformation from residual austenite to martensite occurred, and the carbon element in the deteriorated layer was locally enriched. Grinding parameters (grinding depth, feed rate) affected the microhardness distribution of the subsurface layer through the thermomechanical coupling effect. The hardness gradient change of the cryogenic treated specimens was more uniform than that of the QT treated specimens, and the surface hardness of the QTC and QCT treated specimens was significantly higher than that of the QT treated specimens. The results of the friction and wear test show that the average friction coefficient of the cryogenic treated specimens is lower than that of the QT treated specimens, the degree of adhesive wear is significantly reduced, and the wear volume and wear depth of the QTC and QCT treated specimens are 30% to 50% lower than those of the QT treated specimens. Electrochemical tests show that the self-corrosion current density of the grinding processing specimens treated by deep cryogenic therapy is significantly reduced, and the corrosion resistance is significantly improved. Deep cryogenic treatment reduces surface roughness and inhibits crack and burn defects by regulating the thermo-force coupling effect during the grinding process. The QCT treated specimens have the maximum thickness of the white layer due to the microstructure adjustment after tempering after deep cryogenic treatment. The residual austenite transformation and carbon element enrichment in the QTC and QCT treated specimens can significantly improve the microhardness of the processed surface. After deep cryogenic treatment and grinding processing, the white layer structure within the deteriorated layer effectively enhances the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the ground surface by inhibiting the embedding of abrasive grains and crack propagation.

Key words

cryogenic treatment / grinding processing / metamorphic layer / service performance / white layer

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WANG Lihu, FENG Shuo, CAI Shengyang, LI Na, QIAO Yang, LIU Guoliang, WANG Xiangyu. Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on Grinding Metamorphic Layer and Service Performance of GCr15 Bearing Steel[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(23): 238-252 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.018

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (52375446); The Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (2024JMRH0307); Project of Shandong Province Higher Educational Youth Innovation Science and Technology Program (2023KJ110)