Analysis and design of dual-phase steel microstructure for enhanced ductile fracture resistance

The goal of this paper is to predict how the properties of the constituent phases and microstructure of dual phase steels (consisting of ferrite and martensite) influence their fracture resistance. We focus on two commercial low-carbon dual-phase (DP) steels with different ferrite/martensite phase volume fractions and properties. These steels exhibit similar flow behavior and tensile strength but different ductility. Our experimental observations show that the mechanism of ductile fracture in these two DP steels involves nucleation, growth and coalescence of micron scale voids. We thus employ microstructure-based finite element simulations to analyze the ductile fracture of these dual-phase steels. In the microstructure-based simulations, the individual phases of the DP steels are discretely modeled using elastic-viscoplastic constitutive relations for progressively cavitating solids. The flow behavior of the individual phases in both the steels are determined by homogenizing the microscale calibrated crystal plasticity constitutive relations from a previous study (Chen et al. in Acta Mater 65:133–149, 2014) while the damage parameters are determined by void cell model calculations. We then determine microstructural effects on ductile fracture of these steels by analyzing a series of representative volume elements with varying volume fractions, flow and damage behaviors of the constituent phases. Our simulations predict qualitative features of the ductile fracture process in good agreement with experimental observations for both DP steels. A ‘virtual’ DP microstructure, constructed by varying the microstructural parameters in the commercial steels, is predicted to have strength and ductile fracture resistance that is superior to the two commercial DP steels. Our simulations provide guidelines for improving the ductile fracture resistance of DP steels.     

Development of an ultra-high-strength low-alloy NiSiCrCoMo steel

An ultra-high-strength low-alloy NiSiCrCoMo steel has been developed. The development work is part of a major programme at the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory in the field of ultra-high-strength, high-fracture-toughness steels. In this context we undertook investigations to understand the effect of solute additions on the fracture behaviour of Armco iron and Fe-C alloys. We investigated Fe-Ni, Fe-Co, Fe-Si, Fe-Mo, Fe-C-Ni and Fe-C-Co alloys for mechanical behaviour. The report by Garrison (1986) on a Fe-C-Ni-Si-Cr alloy was an important pointer to a low-alloy, ultra-high-strength steel with high fracture toughness. The material we have now arrived at is a Fe-C-Ni-Si-Cr-Co-Mo steel with tensile, impact and fracture toughness properties matching those of maraging steel 250 grade in tonnage scale melts.     

Prediction of the Brittle Fracture Toughness of Neutron-Irradiated Reactor Pressure-Vessel Steels. Part 1

The irradiation effect on the temperature dependence of the brittle fracture toughness of reactor pressure-vessel steels is simulated using the probabilistic model for the fracture-toughness prediction, which was proposed by the authors earlier. The paper analyzes the irradiation effect on the parameters controlling the plastic deformation and brittle fracture of reactor pressure-vessel steels. We consider the mechanisms of microcrack nucleation in nonirradiated, irradiated, and post-irradiation-annealed reactor pressure-vessel steels.     

Computational modeling of crack propagation in real microstructures of steels and virtual testing of artificially designed materials

A computational approach to the optimization of service properties of two-phase materials (in this case, fracture resistance of tool steels) by varying their microstructure is developed. The main points of the optimization of steels are as follows: (1) numerical simulation of crack initiation and growth in real microstructures of materials with the use of the multiphase finite elements (MPFE) and the element elimination technique (EET), (2) simulation of crack growth in idealized quasi-real microstructures (net-like, band-like and random distributions of the primary carbides in the steels) and (3) the comparison of fracture resistances of different microstructures and (4) the development of recommendations to the improvement of the fracture toughness of steels. The fracture toughness and the fractal dimension of a fracture surface are determined numerically for each microstructure. It is shown that the fracture resistance of the steels with finer microstructures is sufficiently higher than that for coarse microstructures. Three main mechanisms of increasing fracture toughness of steels by varying the carbide distribution are identified: crack deflection by carbide layers perpendicular to the initial crack direction, crack growth along the network of carbides and crack branching caused by damage initiation at random sites.     

Micromechanics of fracture in notched samples of heavily drawn steel

This paper analyzes the consequences on fracture of the combined effects of triaxial stress states generated by notches of very different geometries and microstructural evolution produced by a heavy cold drawing when eutectoid high-strength prestressing steels are manufactured. The anisotropic fracture behaviour of these materials with high level of strain hardening is rationalized on the basis of the markedly oriented pearlitic microstructure of the drawn steels which influences the operative micromechanism of fracture in this case.     

Effect of Layers Position on Fracture Toughness of Functionally Graded Steels in Crack Divider Configuration

In the present study, fracture toughness of functionally graded steels in crack divider configuration has been modeled. By utilizing plain carbon and austenitic stainless steels slices with various thicknesses and arrange- ments as electroslag remelting electrodes, functionally graded steels were produced. The fracture toughness of the functionally graded steels in crack divider configuration has been found to depend on the composites’ type together with the volume fraction and the position of the containing phases. According to the area under stress-strain curve of each layer in the functionally graded steels, a mathematical model has been presented for predicting fracture toughness of composites by using the rule of mixtures. The fracture toughness of each layer has been modified according to the position of that layer where for the edge layers, net plane stress condition was supposed and for the central layers, net plane strain condition was presumed. There is a good agreement between experimental results and those acquired from the analytical model.     

A new method for determining the fracture toughness of main pipeline steels

One of the fundamental aims of fracture mechanics is to define fracture toughness K_IC of a material. Hence, the ASTM E399 standard was developed. However according to the standard, large‐sized specimens are required to determine the fracture toughness of low alloy carbon steels. ASTM E1921 standard was developed on the fracture toughness of ferritic steels. In this study, a new method was proposed to determine the fracture toughness of ferritic steels. The purpose of the present paper is to compare the results of the method with the experimental results. Two steels that are used in gas and oil main pipelines were investigated in this study.     

THE INFLUENCE OF PLASTIC PRESTRAINING ON BRITTLE FRACTURE RESISTANCE OF METALLIC MATERIALS WITH CRACKS

Abstract The purpose of the present work was to study the influence of different regimes of overloading of pressure vessel steels in different states which correspond to the steel properties at the beginning of a reactor operation and at different degrees of embrittlement (simulated by heat treatment). The experiments were performed on 25, 50 and 150 mm thick specimens with short and long cracks of various shape in the temperature range from 293 to 623 K corresponding to the service temperature range of those steels. The following factors were investigated contribution of different effects (residual stresses, strain hardening, crack tip blunting) into the enhancement of the brittle fracture resistance of steels after warm prestressing, stability of the positive warm prestressing effect during subsequent exposure of the steels to different service loading conditions; size effect on optimal regimes of thermo-mechanical prestressing and on the brittle fracture resistance characteristics of the steels studied after warm-prestressing. An approach is proposed to predict the increase in the brittle fracture resistance of steels with cracks after warm prestressing.     

A study on the ASTM E1921 standard in determining the fracture toughness of ferritic steels

One of the most important aims of the fracture mechanics is to determine the fracture toughness of a material. Various methods were developed for this purpose and have been still used nowadays. In the J‐integral method that is one of them, providing of a dominant linear elastic condition on the specimen is not required. However, in ferritic steels, the fracture toughness values (K_JC) obtained by the J‐integral method show some inconsistencies. Therefore, the ASTM E1921 standard was developed on ferritic steels, which are instabilities in the values of elastic or elastoplastic fracture toughness. In this study, a new method was used to determine the fracture toughness (K_IC) of ferritic steels, and it was compared with the standard. Three steels with different mechanical properties and average grain size were investigated in this study.     

带状组织对合金渗碳钢机件断裂的影响

采用化学成分分析、断口分析、金相检验和硬度测定等方法,对断裂的合金渗碳钢机件进行了分析。结果表明该心部与渗层交界处是应力集中的部位,导致裂纹源的产生,因此心部组织中的带状铁素体是引起断裂的主要原因,属于疲劳断裂。     

Characterization of grain-boundary configuration and fracture surface roughness by fractal geometry and creep-rupture properties of metallic materials

Grain-boundary configuration in heat-treated specimens and fracture surface roughness in creep-ruptured specimens of several kinds of metallic material were quantitatively evaluated on the basis of fractal geometry. Correlations between the fractal dimension of grain boundary, that of fracture surface profile, the creep-rupture properties and the fracture mechanisms of the alloys are discussed. In heat-resistant alloys, the fractal dimension of a nominally serrated grain boundary was always larger than that of a straight grain boundary in the same alloy. The relative importance of the ruggedness of grain boundaries was estimated by the fractal dimension difference between these two grain boundaries. There was a quantitative relationship between the increase of the fractal dimension of the grain boundary and the improvement of rupture ductility and rupture strength owing to grain-boundary serration in the alloy. A similar correlation was also found between the increase in the fractal dimension of the fracture surface profile and the improvement of the creep-rupture properties, since in some cases the fractal dimension of the fracture surface profile was correlated with that of the grain boundary. Both grain boundary and fracture surface profile were assumed to exhibit a fractal nature between one grain boundary length (upper bound) and an interatomic spacing (lower bound). In carbon steels with ferrite-pearlite structure, according to the increase in pearlite volume fraction, the rupture ductility decreased and the fracture mechanism changed from transgranular fracture in pure iron and low-carbon steels to intergranular fracture at ferrite-pearlite grain boundaries in medium-carbon steels, and further to intergranular fracture at pearlite grain boundaries in high-carbon steels. The correspondence between the fractal dimension of the grain boundary and that of the fracture surface was confirmed in ruptured specimens of ferrite-pearlite steels when the grain boundary was the fracture path.     

Small punch testing for determining the cryogenic fracture properties of 304 and 316 austenitic stainless steels in a high magnetic field

This paper examines the effect of magnetic field on the fracture properties of austenitic stainless steels at liquid helium temperature (4 K). Small punch tests were performed on cold-rolled 304 and 316 austenitic stainless steels. Previously proposed correlation for small punch and elastic-plastic fracture toughness test methods was applied to predict a small punch test-based fracture toughness from equivalent fracture strain.     

Rißfortschritt an Baustählen in Meerwasser

Crack Growth Behaviour of Structural Steels in Seawater The influence of a synthetic seawater environment upon the crack growth behaviour of two structural steels was investigated. The results were presented in terms of the stress intensity fracture toughness parameter. Data were generated in air and in seawater with or without a cathodic protection. Results show that seawater environment and a cathodic protection influence the crack propagation at the applied frequencies of 0,04 and 0,25 Hz. The use of cathodic protection raises questions concerning the resistance to hydrogen embrittlement of the two steels. Some fractographic examinations of selected specimens show the microstructure of the two steels at various test conditions.     

Changes in the Electrochemical Characteristics of Corrosion-Resistant Steels at the Beginning of the Process of Corrosion-Fatigue Damage

We establish the relationship between the electrochemical characteristics of the stage of crack initiation and the susceptibility of various types of stainless steels to corrosion fatigue and show that the proposed parameter of relative strain fracture can be used as a criterion of corrosion-fatigue fracture of steels caused by the accelerated dissolution of microstrained regions on their surface. We also deduce analytic relations for the evaluation of the corrosion-fatigue limit of passivated steels. The accuracy of the proposed formulas is never worse than 12%.     

Static fracture toughness of ultra-fine grained steels processed by thermo-mechanical warm rolling

Ultra-fine grained steels were recently developed by thermo-mechanical warm rolling. Their low-temperature fracture toughness was evaluated in terms of crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) in this paper. Effect of temperature on CTOD and the correlation between CTOD and grain size were investigated, and the experimental results showed that refining ferrite grains can increase the fracture toughness of steel and lower the sensitivity of fracture toughness to temperature. The fracture toughness of the developed ultra-fine grained steels was superior to that of hot-rolled steel SM490B with similar chemical composition.     

Quantification and microstructural origin of the anisotropic nature of the sensitivity to brittle cleavage fracture propagation for hot-rolled pipeline steels

This work proposes a quantitative relationship between the resistance of hot-rolled steels to brittle cleavage fracture and typical microstructural features, such as microtexture. More specifically, two hot-rolled ferritic pipeline steels were studied using impact toughness and specific quasistatic tensile tests. In drop weight tear tests, both steels exhibited brittle out-of-plane fracture by delamination and by so-called “abnormal” slant fracture, here denoted as “brittle tilted fracture” (BTF). Their sensitivity to cleavage cracking was thoroughly determined in the fully brittle temperature range using round notched bars, according to the local approach to fracture, taking anisotropic plastic flow into account. Despite limited anisotropy in global texture and grain morphology, a strong anisotropy in critical cleavage fracture stress was evidenced for the two steels, and related through a Griffith-inspired approach to the size distribution of clusters of unfavorably oriented ferrite grains (so-called “potential cleavage facets”). It was quantitatively demonstrated that the occurrence of BTF, as well as the sensitivity to delamination by cleavage fracture, is primarily related to an intrinsically high sensitivity of the corresponding planes to cleavage crack propagation across potential cleavage facets.     

基于循环孔洞扩张模型的Q355钢超低周疲劳断裂数值模拟

基于微观断裂力学的循环孔洞扩张模型是进行钢材超低周疲劳断裂分析的有效手段。通过光滑圆棒循环加载试验,确定了Q355钢混合强化模型材料参数;进行了不同加载方式下Q355钢单边缺口试件的超低周疲劳试验,确定了试件的超低周疲劳寿命及其断裂发展过程;建立了单边缺口试件有限元模型,基于有限元分析结果,采用循环孔洞扩张模型对试件的超低周疲劳寿命进行了预测,并通过编写用户子程序,删除断裂单元以模拟试件的断裂扩展过程,对试件的超低周疲劳断裂全过程进行了数值模拟。数值模拟结果与试验结果基本吻合,验证了循环孔洞扩张模型对钢材超低周疲劳断裂全过程数值模拟的适用性。     

渗碳钢扭转变形时断裂行为和渗层厚度对接触疲劳的影响

本文以20CrMnMo 钢为对象比较全面地研究了不同渗碳层厚度、渗碳层碳含量以及不同心部组织对扭转流变硬化行为和断裂特征的影响。结果表明,渗碳件的屈服强度和流变硬化行为主要取决于心部组织。在心部组织相同的条件下,渗碳层的成分、组织和渗层厚度主要影响渗碳件的断裂应变,从而影响其断裂韧度。此外,在材质相同、强度水平相近的条件下,渗碳件的接触疲劳寿命随渗层厚度增加而增大的现象,从力学性能角度看是由于断裂应变随渗层厚度增加而增大,使断裂韧度增大所致,其原因与残余压力大小分布随渗层厚度变化有关。     

Modeling ductile to brittle fracture transition in steels—micromechanical and physical challenges

Both scientists and engineers are very much concerned with the study of ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT) in ferritic steels. For historical reasons the Charpy impact test remains widely used in the industry as a quality control tool to determine the DBT temperature. The transition between the two failure modes, i.e. brittle cleavage at low temperature and ductile fracture at the upper shelf occurs also at low loading rate in fracture toughness tests. Recent developments have been made in the understanding of the micromechanisms controlling either cleavage fracture in BCC metals or ductile rupture by cavity nucleation, growth and coalescence. Other developments have also been made in numerical tools such as the finite element (FE) method incorporating sophisticated constitutive equations and damage laws to simulate ductile crack growth (DCG) and cleavage fracture. Both types of development have thus largely contributed to modeling DBT occurring either in impact tests or in fracture toughness tests. This constitutes the basis of a modern methodology to investigate fracture, which is the so-called local approach to fracture. In this study the micromechanisms of brittle cleavage fracture and ductile rupture are firstly shortly reviewed. Then the transition between both modes of failure is investigated. It is shown that the DBT behavior observed in impact tests or in fracture toughness specimens can be reasonably well predicted using modern theories on brittle and ductile fracture in conjunction with FE numerical simulations. The review includes a detailed study of a number of metallurgical parameters contributing to the variation of the DBT temperature. Two main types of steels are considered : (i) quenched and tempered bainitic and martensitic steels used in the fabrication of pressurized water reactors, and (ii) modern high-toughness line-pipe steels obtained by chemical variations and optimized hot-rolling conditions. An attempt is also made to underline the research areas which remain to be explored for improving the strength-toughness compromise in the development of steels.     

Influence of sulphur additions on impact properties of bainitic or martensitic steels

Abstract

Effects of sulphur addition on the Charpy impact properties of various continuously cooled bainitic steels with different prior austenite grain size, hardness, and content of retained austenite were investigated and compared with martensitic steels. The impact properties of 1473 K austenitised bainitic steels were improved with increasing sulphur content up to 0·1 wt-%, while the impact properties of martensitic steels were deteriorated with increasing sulphur content. The crack initiation energy of bainitic steels increased with the increase of sulphur content because the structure units surrounded by the high angle boundaries were refined with the increase of manganese sulphide inclusions which caused the expansion of ductile fracture area. On the other hand, the impact energy, particularly the crack propagation energy, of martensitic steels decreased with increasing sulphur content because the nucleation sites of voids increased with the increase of manganese sulphide inclusions in the ductile fracture region.