Initiation of sub-surface micro-cracks and white etching areas from debonding at non-metallic inclusions in wind turbine gearbox bearing

In this study, a failed planetary bearing from a wind turbine gearbox was destructively examined to investigate the initiation of micro-cracks and butterflies at non-metallic inclusions, and the effect of debonding between these inclusions and the steel matrix. The butterflies were scanned using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to show the topography that could not be assessed by using other microscopy techniques. Nano-indentation was conducted across a butterfly wing and a non-metallic inclusion to measure the hardness at the interface with the steel matrix. It was found that the White Etching Areas (WEA) in the region of the butterfly wing was a damaged material that showed tearing at the debonding gap between the inclusion and steel matrix. This study highlighted the effect of debonding on the initiation of micro-cracks, WEA and inclusion cracking. A direct relationship was found between the size of inclusions and the total length of inclusions and micro-cracks or butterfly wings. The depth of the observed sub-surface damage was correlated with the sub-surface stress distribution and these results suggested that surface traction could be an important contributing factor to the subsurface damage initiation.