Abstract
In experimental examinations, the change in roundness deviations of bearing rings due to quench hardening was exclusively determined by the used clamping technique during turning, which led to a characteristic manufacturing residual stress state. In the present paper, the influence of manufacturing residuals stresses on distortion was studied by means of finite element analysis. Therefore, a typical residual stress distribution in a bearing ring after machining was generated in a first simulation procedure. The calculated residual stress profiles were in good agreement with XRDβmeasurements. In a second step, a homogeneous heating up to transformation temperature A~c1~ was simulated. Stress relief can be attributed to local plastic deformation if the local equivalent stress approached the temperature dependent yield strength. Rearrangement of stresses in the complete ring can be correlated to temperature dependent change in roundness deviation. From the comparison of the simulated roundness deviation with experimental results, it could be concluded that plastic deformation by stress relief during heating could be a significant distortion mechanism regarding the roundness deviation of bearing rings.