Description
The influence of electrolytic polishing and rod-to-wire processing parameters on the fatigue of steel wire were investigated. An important conclusion was that the fatigue limit of polished wire can be increased by decreasing the size of the largest inclusions, and not by polishing the wire beyond a specific time. The combined effect of surface hardening and compressive residual stresses were studied by subjecting cold-rolled polished and unpolished cold-rolled wires to fatigue testing. Rolling of unpolished steel wire increased only slightly the fatigue limit, but proved more effective on polished wire.
