Mechanics and behaviour of hollow cylindrical members in rolling contact

The mechanics of contact of hollow cylindrical elements were studied. The maximum contact stress is less for a hollow cylinder than for a solid cylinder. A simple numerical method is proposed to estimate the reduced contact stress by finding an equivalent modulus of elasticity for the hollow cylinder for use in the contact stress equation. Rolling contact fatigue experiments conducted on hollow and solid cylindrical specimens of the same material and same external dimensions revealed that the hollow specimens performed much better than the solid specimens, a result which can be attributed to the lower contact stress in hollow specimens. Pitting was the mode of failure for all the tested and failed specimens. Microscopic studies revealed that in many of the pitted hollow specimens flexural fatigue cracks had initiated at the inner surface. © 1983.