PCS MPR Pitting / Micropitting Rig

MPR Pitting/ Micropitting Rig

Micropitting and macropitting are rolling contact fatigue failure mechanisms which occur in cyclically loaded machine components such as gears, cams and rolling element bearings.

Micropitting is a fatigue phenomenon resulting in microscopic pits forming on the surfaces in contact. These are produced by asperity scale plastic flow caused by repeated cyclic contact stresses. The pits are typically less than 100 microns wide.

Macropitting is a surface fatigue phenomenon which causes large pits to form on the surfaces in contact. These result from surface or subsurface initiated cracks propagating into large scale pits. Macropitting tends to occur in more heavily loaded contacts than micropitting.

The PCS Micro Pitting Rig (MPR) and test specimens have been designed to reproduce the lubricated contact conditions which can lead to either micro or macro pitting.