Fatigue Testing to Evaluate Micro-Cleanliness of VIMVAR Steel

Shot peened axial fatigue test specimens were used to evaluate inclusion type, size, and prevalence for various steel mills of a particular VIMVAR steel alloy. This was in response to finding large clusters of exogenous inclusions at fatigue origins of gears. A total of 106 data points were obtained. Various types of oxides were analyzed using EDS.