{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T04:44:00Z","timestamp":1786164240774,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Special Project for Science and Technology Innovation of China Coal Technology and Engineering Group","award":["2024-TD-ZD004-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-TD-ZD004-01"]}]},{"name":"Special Project for Science and Technology Innovation of China Coal Technology and Engineering Group","award":["2025-TD-QZ002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025-TD-QZ002"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025QN1056"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025QN1056"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["51805533"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["51805533"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["51641109"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["51641109"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["51805533"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["51805533"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["51641109"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["51641109"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>High-carbon martensitic steels for bearing components are conventionally low-temperature tempered for stress relief, yet the influence of tempering temperature on compressive and fatigue wear resistance remains unclear, directly affecting the service life of bearing races and rollers. In this study, a high-carbon martensitic steel was tempered at 170 \u00b0C, 200 \u00b0C, and 230 \u00b0C. The microstructural evolution, compressive properties, and contact fatigue wear resistance were systematically investigated, along with the corresponding strengthening and wear mechanisms. After spheroidizing annealing and quenching, the microstructure consists of high-carbon martensite and retained austenite, with a high density of dislocations and fine twins. Tempering decomposes retained austenite into tempered martensite and promotes fine carbide precipitation, processes that become more pronounced at higher temperatures. Consequently, hardness decreases from 810 HV in the as-quenched state to 690 HV after 230 \u00b0C tempering, while compressive failure strain increases from 10.5% to 24.1%. More importantly, under cyclic contact stress, the 230 \u00b0C-tempered specimen exhibits approximately 33% lower wear mass loss than the 170 \u00b0C-tempered counterpart, despite its lower hardness. This unexpected improvement is attributed to the formation of a distinct plastic deformation zone in the near-surface region, which absorbs greater strain energy and delays fatigue spallation. The well-tempered martensitic matrix accommodates more long-range dislocation slip, enabling a transition from fatigue spallation to a more ductile failure mode. These findings provide new insights into the role of low-temperature tempering in balancing strength, ductility, and wear resistance, and offer practical guidance for optimizing heat treatment protocols to enhance the contact fatigue performance of bearing steels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19153343","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T09:46:38Z","timestamp":1786009598000},"page":"3343","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Tailoring Low-Temperature Tempering to Dramatically Enhance Compressive Ductility and Fatigue Contact Wear Resistance in High-Carbon Bearing Steel"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Hui","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangkun","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qing","family":"Tao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Mining Equipment Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenqian","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiulai","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"},{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weipeng","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingliang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai, TianDi Mining Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200030, China"},{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmatsci.2011.06.002","article-title":"Steels for bearings","volume":"57","author":"Bhadeshia","year":"2012","journal-title":"Prog. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3123","DOI":"10.1007\/s00170-024-13479-x","article-title":"Development and application of high strength gears","volume":"132","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2805","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actamat.2012.01.046","article-title":"The \u03f5\u2192\u03b7\u2192\u03b8 transition in 100Cr6 and its effect on mechanical properties","volume":"60","author":"Barrow","year":"2012","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114241","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matchar.2024.114241","article-title":"Achieving 2.7 GPa tensile strength in ultrastrong high-carbon steel through prolonged low-temperature tempering","volume":"215","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Mater. Charact."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/S1006-706X(07)60013-2","article-title":"Fatigue Damage Mechanism of Oil Film Bearing Sleeve","volume":"14","author":"Huang","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Iron Steel Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Beswick, J.M. (2007). Micro-Plastic Material Model and Residual Fields in Rolling Contacts. Bearing Steel Technology-Advances and State of the Art in Bearing Steel Quality Assurance: 7th Volume, ASTM International.","DOI":"10.1520\/STP1465-EB"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/0043-1648(91)90003-D","article-title":"Plastic flow and shakedown of the rail surface in repeated wheel-rail contact","volume":"144","author":"Bower","year":"1991","journal-title":"Wear"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1080\/10402004.2012.754073","article-title":"Microstructural Alterations in Bearing Steels under Rolling Contact Fatigue Part 1\u2014Historical Overview","volume":"56","author":"Warhadpande","year":"2013","journal-title":"Tribol. Trans."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"555","DOI":"10.1115\/1.3645902","article-title":"Microstructural Alterations of Rolling\u2014Bearing Steel Undergoing Cyclic Stressing","volume":"88","author":"Martin","year":"1966","journal-title":"J. Basic Eng."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yin, H., Wu, Y., Liu, D., Zhang, P., Zhang, G., and Fu, H. (2022). Rolling Contact Fatigue-Related Microstructural Alterations in Bearing Steels: A Brief Review. Metals, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/met12060910"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107807","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfatigue.2023.107807","article-title":"The origin of microstructural alterations in M50 bearing steel undergoing rolling contact fatigue","volume":"175","author":"Fu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Fatigue"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1179","DOI":"10.1080\/02670836.2016.1148108","article-title":"Martensitic transformation cracking in high carbon steels for bearings","volume":"32","author":"Bai","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100948","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mtla.2020.100948","article-title":"Comparative micromechanics assessment of high-carbon martensite\/bainite bearing steel microstructures using in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction","volume":"14","author":"Foster","year":"2020","journal-title":"Materialia"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eng.2018.11.024","article-title":"Development of and Perspective on High-Performance Nanostructured Bainitic Bearing Steel","volume":"5","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Engineering"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmst.2013.01.016","article-title":"A Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Plate Martensite Formation in High-carbon Low Alloy Steels","volume":"29","author":"Stormvinter","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1481","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02665480","article-title":"Influence of microstructure on tensile properties of spheroidized ultrahigh-carbon (1.8 Pct C) steel","volume":"25","author":"Syn","year":"1994","journal-title":"Metall. Mater. Trans. A"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2300781","DOI":"10.1002\/srin.202300781","article-title":"Effect of Spheroidizing Annealing Process on Microstructure and Properties of Quenching and Tempering 60Cr16MoMA Martensitic Stainless Steel","volume":"95","author":"Teng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Steel Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1800470","DOI":"10.1002\/srin.201800470","article-title":"Microstructure and Properties of 1.0C\u20131.5Cr Bearing Steel in Processes of Hot Rolling, Spheroidization, Quenching, and Tempering","volume":"90","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Steel Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mtcomm.2022.103152","article-title":"Effect of initial spheroidizing microstructure after quenching and tempering on wear and contact fatigue properties of GCr15 bearing steel","volume":"30","author":"Wu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mater. Today Commun."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2611","DOI":"10.1016\/S1359-6454(03)00059-4","article-title":"Carbon partitioning into austenite after martensite transformation","volume":"51","author":"Speer","year":"2003","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4853","DOI":"10.1007\/s11661-016-3651-z","article-title":"Ultrahigh Ductility, High-Carbon Martensitic Steel","volume":"47","author":"Qin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Metall. Mater. Trans. A"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130877","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matlet.2021.130877","article-title":"Improving the ultimate tensile strength without loss of plasticity of quenching-partitioning steel by introducing hot deformation","volume":"306","author":"Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mater. Lett."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5845","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actamat.2011.05.061","article-title":"Microstructures and hardness of as-quenched martensites (0.1\u20130.5%C)","volume":"59","author":"Hutchinson","year":"2011","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actamat.2018.01.022","article-title":"Competition between formation of carbides and reversed austenite during tempering of a medium-manganese steel studied by thermodynamic-kinetic simulations and atom probe tomography","volume":"147","author":"Inden","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1007\/s12540-018-0171-y","article-title":"Influence of Initial Pearlite Morphology on the Microstructure Evolution During Heat Treatment of 1.0C\u20131.5Cr Steel","volume":"25","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Met. Mater. Int."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148214","DOI":"10.1016\/j.msea.2025.148214","article-title":"Heterogeneous microstructures of martensite and pearlite achieving excellent mechanical properties in high carbon chromium steel by multi-cycle flash heating treatment","volume":"931","author":"Shu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Eng. A"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2619","DOI":"10.1016\/S1359-6454(99)00142-1","article-title":"Pearlite to austenite transformation in an Fe\u20132.6Cr\u20131C alloy","volume":"47","author":"Shtansky","year":"1999","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"565","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmrt.2024.03.046","article-title":"The effect of network cementite dissolution on the nucleation and growth of prior austenite grains in high carbon low alloy steels","volume":"30","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Mater. Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144958","DOI":"10.1016\/j.msea.2023.144958","article-title":"Enhanced mechanical properties of a high-carbon martensite steel processed by heavy warm rolling and tempering","volume":"872","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Eng. A"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.2355\/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2023-144","article-title":"Room Temperature Aging of Autotempered Fe\u2013C Martensite","volume":"64","author":"Maruyama","year":"2024","journal-title":"ISIJ Int."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118919","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actamat.2023.118919","article-title":"Transition from carbon clusters to \u03b5, \u03b8-carbides in a quenched and aged low-carbon ferritic steel","volume":"252","author":"Kawahara","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.2355\/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2023-251","article-title":"Multi-aspect Characterization of Low-temperature Tempering Behaviors in High-carbon Martensite","volume":"64","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"ISIJ Int."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.2355\/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2023-228","article-title":"Thermodynamic Analysis of the Formation Mechanism of Metastable Carbides during Tempering of Fe\u2013C Martensite","volume":"64","author":"Enoki","year":"2024","journal-title":"ISIJ Int."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117176","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actamat.2021.117176","article-title":"Revealing carbide precipitation effects and their mechanisms during quenching-partitioning-tempering of a high carbon steel: Experiments and Modeling","volume":"217","author":"Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Acta Mater."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfatigue.2016.06.034","article-title":"Gigacycle rolling contact fatigue of bearing steels: A review","volume":"93","author":"Arakere","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Fatigue"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108777","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2024.108777","article-title":"Fatigue failure mechanism of high-speed train bearing steel after long-term service","volume":"165","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1007\/s11663-001-0044-4","article-title":"Deformation and fracture in martensitic carbon steels tempered at low temperatures","volume":"32","author":"Krauss","year":"2001","journal-title":"Metall. Mater. Trans. B"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1179\/026708399773002782","article-title":"Precipitation hardening in metals","volume":"15","author":"Gladman","year":"1999","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10213","DOI":"10.1007\/s11665-022-07029-3","article-title":"Effect of Mo-Related Precipitation Behavior on the Strengthening and Thermal Stability of 4Cr5Mo2V Die Steel","volume":"31","author":"Hu","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Mater. Eng. Perform."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1200","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00545136","article-title":"The Rockwell C hardness of quenched high-purity iron-carbon alloys containing 0.09 to 1.91% carbon","volume":"11","author":"Litwinchuk","year":"1976","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1016\/S0921-5093(99)00288-9","article-title":"Martensite in steel: Strength and structure","volume":"273\u2013275","author":"Krauss","year":"1999","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Eng. A"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1007\/s11663-009-9240-4","article-title":"Cyclic Slip Irreversibilities and the Evolution of Fatigue Damage","volume":"40","author":"Mughrabi","year":"2009","journal-title":"Metall. Mater. Trans. B"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203978","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wear.2021.203978","article-title":"Study on fatigue wear competition mechanism and microstructure evolution on the surface of a bainitic steel rail","volume":"482\u2013483","author":"Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Wear"}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/19\/15\/3343\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T04:20:31Z","timestamp":1786162831000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/19\/15\/3343"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["ma19153343"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma19153343","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]}}}