Effects of Prior Heat Treatment and Induction Hardening on the Properties of JIS SUJ3 Bearing Steel

Bearing steels are frequently used in highly loaded components, such as roller bearings, due to their excellent hardenability and wear resistance. Microstructure, hardness, and residual stress distribution of the bearings significantly affect the wear resistance of the parts. In the present study, experiments investigated the effects of austenitizing temperature (850, 900, and 950 °C), with or without cryogenic treatment, and induction hardening treatment (9 and 12 kW) on the microstructure, microhardness, the amount of retained austenite, surface residual stress, and wear behavior of JIS SUJ3 steel. The experimental results revealed that the austenitized specimens' microstructure consisted of martensite, retained austenite, and dispersed granular alloy carbide exhibiting high hardness. After cryogenic or induction hardening treatment, the surface residual stress of austenitized specimens exhibited compressive stress rather than its original tensile stress state. The induction hardening treatment can significantly increase the microhardness of austenitized specimens, followed by quenching. Furthermore, the induction-hardened surface possessed less retained austenite. For practical industrial applications, a prior austenitizing heat treatment at 950 °C followed by hardening with an induction power of 12 kW was the optimal parameter for JIS SUJ3 bearing steel. The maximum microhardness and surface residual stress were 920 HV_0.3 and -1083 MPa, respectively, while the lowest weight loss was 0.5 mg after the 10,000-revolution wear test.