Dear Colleagues,

Rolling bearings are key elements in most engineering applications. The transitional changes in industrial and automotive sectors with respect to sustainability and resource conservation result in new demands for material loading knowledge and innovative technologies. In the fields of globally promoted electric, fuel cell and hybrid mobility, for instance, bearings are exposed to a novel generation of energy-efficient lubricants and experience combined influences such as transient or persisting currents and frictional effects. Under rough operating conditions, however, rolling contact fatigue mechanisms are significantly modified or superimposed by the additional loadings. Sliding sensitivity of larger bearings at different positions of wind turbines is a prominent example. Earlier failures, with respect to life theory prediction, may occur, amongst others, by white etching crack phenomena. This challenge makes reconsideration of bearing performance and materials essential, which requires in-depth understanding of the nature and impacts of the damaging processes. Great efforts are presently being made to study hydrogen release from lubricants into the steel, and many other important topics are of the same high importance. Our Special Issue provides a unique forum for reporting the latest research and interdisciplinary developments in the field of rolling contact fatigue and white etching cracks of bearings. Equal emphasis will be laid on scientific and engineering aspects, e.g., experiments and rig testing, microstructural characterization, fractography, root cause analyses, sensing and monitoring, practical case studies, modeling and simulation.

Prof. Dr. Walter Martin Holweger
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gegner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• rolling bearings
• rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and tribology
• new findings in classical (subsurface) RCF
• mixed friction and surface RCF
• RCF modified by additional loadings, material response
• white etching cracks (WECs) in component/bearing tests and real applications
• failure analysis of field returns and rig test bearings, preparation methods
• WEC root cause hypotheses and life models
• influence of lubricants/additives on RCF and WEC
• tailored lubricants, protective coatings, and surface reinforcement
• preventive design rules
• condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence systems

• Rolling Contact Fatigue and White Etching Cracks of Bearings in Lubricants (9 articles)