Numerical simulation of rolling contact fatigue damage in pitch bearings using a damage-coupled constitutive model

Kun Yang, Liang Sun, School of Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications

Published online on May 12, 2026

Abstract

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications, Ahead of Print.
Fatigue failure of pitch bearings critically affects wind turbine reliability. This study develops a Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) based elasto-plastic coupled framework to investigate rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in megawatt (MW)-level pitch ...