It can be noted that there is very minimal reduction in
the RA till ~400 K (~127˚C) above which reduction is
steep (Figure 9). It can be seen that saturation tread is
observed around 520 K (277˚C) at surface; however no
such saturation trend is seen at core. A distinct change in
the slope indicates strong temperature dependence of RA
(Figure 9). The value of slope indicate rate of RA to
martensite transformation. It is quite evident from the
values slope that RA at surface transforms faster compared to RA at core. It directly related to the poor thermal stability of RA at the surface compared to RA at core.
The goodness of the linear Recent investigation indicates
that the higher RA contents at the surface increase the
fatigue life of the bearing