scope:

Micropitting has been studied using a disc machine in which a central carburized steel test roller contacts three, harder, counter-rollers with closely controlled surface roughness. Roughness was varied using different finishing techniques, and the effects of different oil base-stocks and additives were investigated. Damage on the test rollers included dense micropitting and "micropitting erosion" in which tens of microns of the test surface were completely removed. This phenomenon is particularly damaging in gear teeth where it has the potential to destroy profile accuracy. It was found that anti-wear additives led to a high rate of micropitting