Several factors influence the occurrence and severity of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in applications with rolling elements:

• Material Properties: The hardness and fatigue resistance of the materials involved play a significant role in determining their susceptibility to RCF. Metals with low hardness ratings tend to be more prone to this wear mechanism.
• Surface Roughness: The roughness of the contacting surfaces can affect the stress distribution, influencing the extent of rolling contact fatigue.
• Contact Pressure and Load: Higher contact pressures and loads can lead to increased fatigue rates due to elevated stress concentrations at the contacting surfaces.
• Operating Conditions: Parameters such as speed, temperature, and load cycles can impact the severity of RCF.

To minimize the occurrence and severity of RCF in mechanical systems with rolling elements, engineers can employ various strategies, including:

• Material Selection: Choose metals with high hardness ratings and excellent fatigue resistance, such as hardened steels with hardness values of at least 60 HRC. It’s also important to understand the load-carrying capacity limits of chosen materials in order to reduce contact stress. Bearing manufacturers often choose hardened steels with fewer nonmetallic inclusions to prevent subsurface-origin pitting, a known mechanism of RCF.
• Surface Finishing: Improve the surface of components with a functional coating that has excellent wear resistance such as thin dense chrome or diamond like carbon (DLC). Solid, hard chromium coatings can effectively improve performance to prolong service life of components under impact load.
• Geometric Design: Rolling element components must be manufactured with extreme detail and no surface imperfections in order to evenly distribute contact pressure and minimize localized rolling contact fatigue.