Dynamic fracture initiation behavior of an HY-100 steel

An investigation was conducted into the effects of test temperature and loading rate on the initiation of plane strain fracture of an HY-100 steel. Fracture toughness tests were conducted using fatigue precracked round bars loaded in tension to produce a quasi-static stress intensity rate of ·K₁ = 1 MPa√m/s and a dynamic rate of ·K₁ = 2 × 10⁶ MPa√m/s. Testing temperatures covered the range from -150 °C to 200 °C, which encompasses fracture initiation modes involving quasi-cleavage to fully ductile fracture. The results of toughness tests show that the lower-shelf values of fracture toughness were substantially independent of loading rate, while the dynamic values exceeded the quasi-static values by about 50 pct on the upper shelf. In analyzing these results, phenomenological fracture initiation models were adopted based on the requirement that, for fracture to occur, a critical strain or stress must be achieved over a critical distance. In separate tests, the observation of microfracture processes was investigated using fractography and anin situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) fracture technique. The layered ppearance of the fracture surfaces was found to be associated with a banded structure which generally contains many MnS inclusions, probably resulting in a reduction of the fracture toughness values.