Shock Tolerant and Corrosion Proof Rolling Element Bearings Made From Superelastic Materials

摘要

Nickel rich, binary nickel-titanium alloys such as Nitinol 60 (60Ni-40Ti by wt.%) are emerging as viable materials for use in mechanical components like rolling element bearings and gears [1]. Originally discovered in the 1950's, these intermetallic compounds were abandoned due to manufacturing challenges and their unpredictable fracture behavior [2]. Recent advancements in powder metallurgy and thermal processing have largely overcome these obstacles resulting in high-quality, fine-grained material suitable for precision components like rolling element bearings [3,4]. Figure 1 shows high bearing quality balls made from these advanced processes.