Residual stresses determination by neutron diffraction in a 100Cr6 chromium steel bearing ring

100Cr6 chrome steel submitted to martensitic hardening and tempering is usually adopted for particular industrial applications such as bearings, rings and rollers. These parts are often subjected to dynamic stresses in different fields of engineering and, consequently, it is important to know the residual stresses involved, especially in correspondence of critical zones, particularly fatigue-stress and/or crack sensitive. In this paper, the residual stress investigation by neutron diffraction in a 100Cr6 chromium steel ring – before and after the introduction of a hub fixed by orbital rolling – is presented. The results supply information on the real residual stress status, showing its enhancement due to the installation of the hub and the successive rolling operation. The achieved data can support the manufacturing process in order to improve the life assessment of the considered component. K e y w o r d s: 100Cr6 steel, rings, martensitic hardening, tempering, residual stress, neutron diffraction