Rolling contact fatigue dataset for AISI 52100 bearing steel balls under calcium grease lubrication

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is a dominant failure mechanism in bearings; however, open-access datasets analyzing RCF under varying lubrication conditions remain scarce. This study aims to address this problem, in which AISI 52100 bearing steel balls were tested using a four-ball tribometer according to IP 300 standard. Three calcium-soap-thickened greases of National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) grades 0, 00, and 000 were used and each was formulated with extreme-pressure additives. A total of 63 trials (21 per grade) were conducted at 1470 rpm, under a peak axial load of 5739 N. The dataset includes time-to-failure data detailing Weibull statistical lifetime values (L₁₀, L₅₀, and L₉₀ fatigue life quantiles), probability density functions, survival, and hazard functions. The dataset also comprises 1,140 post-test optical microscopy images for documenting pitting, crack propagation, and plastic deformation, along with Weibull distribution plots. These data support tribological research on grease-lubricated contacts, lubricant benchmarking, fatigue life modelling, and validation of condition monitoring algorithms for rolling-element bearings.