In the tapered roller bearing, at least any one of an outer ring, an inner ring, and a plurality of tapered rollers includes a nitrogen enriched layer. An oil retaining hole is provided in a larger annular portion of a cage. A value of a ratio R/R.sub.BASE is not smaller than 0.75 and not greater than 0.87 where R represents a set radius of curvature of a larger end face of the tapered roller and R.sub.BASE represents a distance from a point which is an apex of a cone angle of the tapered roller to a larger flange surface of the inner ring. A ratio R.sub.process/R is than not lower 0.5 where R.sub.process represents an actual radius of curvature after grinding of the larger end face of the tapered roller and R represents a set radius of curvature.

A rolling element for a roller bearing. The rolling element may include a metal substrate having a surface layer. A portion of the surface layer may include a hardened nitrided layer. A diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating may be bonded directly on at least a portion of the hardened nitrided layer.

A sliding mechanism 1 includes a first sliding member 10 and a partner second sliding member 20 configured to slide relative to the first sliding member 10. The first sliding member 10 includes a matrix phase 11 and a hard phase 13 that is harder than the matrix phase 11, in which the hard phase 13 is embedded in the matrix phase 11 in a dispersed state. The second sliding member 20 includes a base 21 and a surface-treatment layer 23 that is formed on the sliding surface 20 of the base 21 and is harder than the matrix phase 11.

A steel alloy providing from 0.05 to 0.25 wt. % carbon, from 10 to 14 wt. % chromium, from 1.5 to 4 wt. % molybdenum, from 0.3 to 1.2 wt. % vanadium, from 0.3 to 3 wt. % nickel, from 6 to 11 wt. % cobalt from 0.05 to 0.4 wt. % silicon, from 0.1 to 1 wt. % manganese, from 0.02 to 0.06 wt. % niobium, optionally one or more of the following elements from 0 to 2.5 wt. % copper from 0 to 0.1 wt. % aluminum, from 0 to 250 ppm nitrogen, from 0 to 30 ppm boron, and the balance iron, together with any unavoidable impurities, wherein the alloy has a Ni.sub.eq of greater than 11.5, the Ni.sub.eq being defined by the formula Ni.sub.eq=Ni+Co+(0.5Mn)+(30C), in wt. %.

A method of forming a bearing ring having improved hardness is disclosed herein. The method generally includes a duplex hardening process in which the bearing ring is first subjected to a heat treatment. After the heat treatment process, the bearing ring undergoes a nitriding treatment in predetermined portions, including at least a raceway and a cage pilot surface.

A cooling system includes a refrigerant compressor and a first operating medium, which includes a mixture of refrigerant and lubrication oil. An oil separator reduces the percentage of the refrigerant in the operating medium so that a second lubrication oil enriched operating medium is provided by the oil separator, the provided second operating medium having at least in a second operating state a viscosity ratio of >1.

A cooling system includes a refrigerant compressor and a first operating medium, which provides a mixture of refrigerant and lubrication oil. An oil separator reduces the percentage of the refrigerant in the operating medium to a value between 25% by weight and 80% by weight.

A crankshaft with improved seizure resistance is provided. A crankshaft having journals 11 and pins 12 includes a compound layer containing iron and nitrogen on its surface, wherein, in the compound layer, for both the journals 11 and pins 12, the porosity area ratio of the thinner one of a region from the surface to a depth of 3.0 ?m and a region across the total thickness of the compound layer is not higher than 10.0%, and both the journals 11 and pins 12 have such a surface geometry that the arithmetical mean deviation of the primary profile, Pa, is not larger than 0.090 ?m.

A method of manufacturing a component of a rolling-element bearing includes: providing a steel body having a carbon content of less than 0.3 weight-%, a chromium content of greater than 8.0 weight-%, and a nitrogen content of less than 0.1 weight-%; high-temperature solution nitriding the steel body; after the high-temperature solution nitriding, performing an intermediate tempering process to reduce a size of austenite grains in the steel body; and after the intermediate tempering process, performing a reaustenitizing annealing. Also the component made by the method.

A guiding member, having a body provided with a bore for mounting a mobile element is presented. The body consists of a metallic material. The bore has a surface layer treated against jamming over a diffusion depth of less than or equal to 0.6 mm. The surface layer has a hardness of greater than or equal to 500 Hv1 over a depth of between 5 and 50 ?m.