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The automotive industry is continuously striving to reduce vehicle mass by reducing the mass of components including wheel bearings. A typical wheel bearing assembly is mostly steel, including both the wheel and knuckle mounting flanges. Mass optimization of the wheel hub has traditionally been accomplished by reducing the cross-sectional thickness of these components. Recently bearing suppliers have also investigated the use of alternative materials. While bearing component performance is verified through analysis and testing by the supplier, additional effects from system integration and performance over time also need to be comprehended. In a recent new vehicle architecture, the wheel bearing hub flange was reduced to optimize it for low mass. In addition, holes were added for further mass reduction. The design met all the supplier and OEM component level specifications.

Limited fossil fuel resources, air pollution, and global warming all drive strengthening of fuel economy and vehicle emission standards globally. Much R&D continues to be dedicated to improve fuel efficiency of automobiles and to reduce exhaust gasses. These include improvement of engine/driveline performance for higher efficiency, development of alternative energy, and minimization of air resistance through aerodynamic design optimization. OEM weight reduction-focused research has extended into chassis components (steering knuckle, brakes, control arms, etc.) in sequence from body-in-white(BIW). Wheel bearings, one of the core components of a driveline and part of a vehicle’s unsprung mass, are also being required to reduce weight. Conventionally, wheel bearings have achieved “lightweighting” primarily through design optimization methods. They have been highly optimized today using steel based materials.

The substitution of aluminum for steel is an effective weight reduction solution where the application permits it; aluminum knuckles have been widely used for this reason. However, when an aluminum knuckle is assembled with the steel outer-ring of a wheel bearing without any means for galvanic corrosion prevention, the aluminum knuckle may severely corrode. Galvanic corrosion products can make it difficult to remove a wheel bearing from the aluminum knuckle during vehicle maintenance. Prevention of this problem is the focus of this paper. In this study, several concepts were examined to prevent or mitigate galvanic corrosion between a wheel bearing and its mating aluminum knuckle. One set of concepts involves using surface treated metal sleeves (using ferritic nitro-carburizing or a special coating). The sleeves were then inserted onto the outer-ring diameters of the wheel bearings prior to assembly into the steering knuckle.

A trend in automotive parts development is the pursuit of long life, high quality and reliability. The increase in service life of automotive wheel bearings, by improving the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life of bearing steels, was investigated. Conventional studies of bearing steels and heat treatments have dealt with quenching and tempering (Q/T) in 52100 steel. This study is a new trial to increase the strength of bearing steels by special austempering in phases after general Q/T heat treatments.