Prediction of KIc in a high strength bainitic steel

In this work the stress intensity factor (K_Ic) has been determined for a high strength bainitic steel, making reference to ASTM E 399 standard, which involves the use of complex geometry specimens. An experimental value of 1627 N mm^−3/2 has been obtained for K_Ic, which is equivalent to 51.4 MPa m^1/2. It has been verified that Lescovsek’s expression, which predicts K_Ic as a function of hardness (HRc) and the CVN Charpy impact test value, can be applied to steels with a bainitic microstructure, as the CVN value is more influential than HRc. The acceptable prediction of Lescovsek’s expression shows the way to improve the K_Ic value in bainitic steels.     

舰船结构钢的夏比冲击韧性与断口形貌

论述了从夏比冲击韧性分解出来的断裂扩展功与断口形貌的关系，指出冶金因素对夏比冲击韧性α＿ｋ值和扩展功的影响不完全是一致的，提出采用α＿ｋ，值和断口纤维率作为韧性指标的互补性，建议在我国的舰船结构钢韧性指标中增加断口纤维率的要求。     

Hot dip galvanising and galvannealing of P and Mn strengthened TiNb IF steels

Abstract

Phosphorus, Mn, or Si solid solution strengthened sheet steels stabilised with Ti and Nb are known to have poor galvanising and galvannealing properties. When these steels are continuously annealed in higher dewpoint atmospheres, selective oxidation processes can occur in the subsurface region of the sheet. A laboratory simulated continuous galvannealing process was therefore used to study this effect in P and P+Mn solid solution strengthened sheet steels stabilised with Ti and Nb, by making a detailed analysis of the fundamental surface and interface processes that control the wetting of the surface by the liquid Zn, the inhibition layer formation, and the Fe-Zn reaction.     

On the relation of microstructure and impact toughness characteristics of DSAW steel of grade API X70

In this research, mechanical characteristics of double submerged arc-welded line pipe steel of grade API X70 (70 ksi yield strength) were investigated. Different experimental examinations including chemical analysis, microstructural investigation, microhardness, tensile and Charpy tests and standard fractography were carried out on different zones of test material. Impact properties of the fusion zone, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the base metal were measured on an instrumented Charpy rig and correlated then to their microstructural features. The experimental results showed that the base metal was the toughest, and fusion zone was the least tough region with average Charpy energy of 222 and 128 J, respectively. The latter fulfilled service requirements set by API 5L, despite its relatively low impact energy. Interestingly, the cast microstructure and presence of grain boundary phases such as proeutectoid ferrite in fusion zone confirmed its low energy characteristics. Reduction in HAZ impact energy (compared to base metal) was observed too, together with grain coarsening and the associated HAZ softening adjacent to the weld.     

Impact toughness of high strength low alloy TMT reinforcement ribbed bar

Charpy V-notch impact toughness of 600 MPa yield stress TMT rebars alloyed with copper, phosphorus, chromium and molybdenum has been evaluated. Subsize Charpy specimens were machined from the rebar keeping the tempered martensite rim intact. The copper-phosphorus rebar showed toughness of 35 J at room temperature. The toughness of copper-molybdenum and copper-chromium rebars was 52 J. The lower toughness of phosphorus steel is attributed to solid solution strengthening and segregation of phosphorus to grain boundaries. Due to superior corrosion resistance, copper-phosphorus TMT rebar is a candidate material in the construction sector.     

Statistical scatter in the fracture toughness and Charpy impact energy of pearlitic steel

The effect of microstructure on the fracture characteristics of high carbon hypo eutectoid steel was studied under conditions of quasistatic and dynamic loading. Experimentally determined sets of fracture toughness and Charpy impact energy values were statistically treated. A relationship was found between fracture toughness and Charpy impact energy. In the very brittle domain, the fracture toughness increases slightly with increasing Charpy impact energy. In the domain where the fracture toughness is higher, the rise in fracture toughness with increasing Charpy impact energy is more pronounced. Detailed SEM examination of fractured compact tension (CT) and Charpy V-notch (CVN) specimens showed that the fracture at ambient temperature occurred almost exclusively by cleavage. There were no visible differences in the morphology of cleavage facets on the fracture surfaces of Charpy and CT specimens. Mechanisms of cleavage initiation were revealed by the fractographical investigation of fracture surfaces. Whereas the fracture surfaces of broken CT specimens exhibit a number of cleavage origins, the fracture surfaces of CVN specimens usually show only one.     

Hydrogen-assisted fracture features of a high strength ferrite-pearlite steel

Up to now, the exact reason of hydrogen-induced fracture for ferrite-pearlite (FP) steel is still not fully understood. This study presents detail observations of the feature beneath the fracture surface with the aim to reveal the hydrogen-induced cracking initiation and propagation processes. Slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) testing shows that the FP steel is sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). Focused ion beam (FIB) was used to prepare samples for TEM observations after HE fracture. The corresponding fractographic morphologies of hydrogen charged specimen exhibit intergranular (IG) and quasi-cleavage (QC) fracture feature. Pearlite colony, ferrite/pearlite (F/P) boundary and the adjacent ferrite matrix are found to be responsible for the initial HE fracture and the subsequent propagation. With increasing of the stress intensity factor, fracture mode is found to change from mixed IG and QC to entire QC feature which only occurs at the ferrite matrix. No crack is observed at the ferrite/cementite (F/C) interface. This may be mainly due to the limited pearlite lamella size and relatively low interface energy.     

高强度热冲压钢板强韧性工艺优化研究

为改善强韧性,本文基于热冲压高强度钢板强度、塑性和韧性指标,选取加热温度、保温时间和开始淬火温度为设计因子,引入Kahn试验获得高强度热冲压硼钢撕裂强度和单位面积裂纹形核功来表征材料断裂韧性,进行多指标综合评分的L9(34)正交试验设计,以研究不同淬火工艺参数对热冲压高强钢强韧性的影响规律.结果表明:在加热温度为920~950℃、保温时间1 min、开始淬火温度为650~700℃条件下,热冲压硼钢SPFH具有优良的成形性能和强韧化指标.采用优化后工艺进行典型车身结构件热冲压试验,其撕裂强度、单位面积裂纹形核功和强韧比分别提升10.91%、20.32%和22.17%,在保证强度的基础上韧性得到了大幅度提高.     

Comparison of tensile and impact behavior of carbon steel in H2S environments

The present research reports the effect of hydrogen sulfide pressure on the tensile and impact behavior of carbon steel. Hydrogen content measurement was conducted due to the relationship between hydrogen and mechanical behavior. A remarkable increase in the relative tensile strength and plasticity loss was observed as hydrogen sulfide pressure increased. However, the Charpy absorbed energy showed no obvious change with increase of H₂S pressure from 0.1 MPa to 1.6 MPa, even though a significant decrease compared to that of as-received steel. Combined with the results of hydrogen content measurement, it was found that hydrogen has a profound effect on the tensile and impact behavior of steel. Fractography of the corroded tensile and impact specimens exhibited mixed ductile–brittle rupture. In addition, the brittle zone on the fracture surface increased for corroded tensile specimens and showed nearly similar area fraction for corroded impact specimens as H₂S pressure increased. A probable mechanism is proposed to interpret the difference in the tensile and impact results.     

Mechanical properties and fracture behavior of high-strength steels

Typical thicknesses of high-strength steels (HSS) sheets used in the car industry are inapplicable for standardized testing procedures. The aim of this study is to propose an appropriate methodology for testing and comparing of thin HSS sheets. Microstructures were observed by means of light and scanning electron microscopy. The modified Charpy impact tests and fracture toughness tests were used in order to compare the fracture properties of three different HSS sheets (Docol 1200 M, Multiphase 1200 and BTR 165). Ductile-to-brittle transition curves and tearing resistance (J − Δa) curves were measured. From the fracture toughness linked to the specimen thicknesses the value of fracture toughness K_Ic was estimated. Fractographic analysis of broken specimens has revealed that due to the fine microstructure of mixed ferrite-martensite fracture mechanism remains ductile even at low temperatures (down to −100°C). __________ Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 1, pp. 155–158, January–February, 2008.     

Prediction of prestraining effect on fracture toughness of high strength structural steel by local approach

In the present study, the tension and fracture toughness tests on high strength structural steel of Q420 were carried out in different conditions of non-prestraining and prestraining. The results indicated that the prestrain increased the yield stress and tensile strength, but decreased the fracture toughness. Meanwhile, the local parameters m and σ_u controlling the brittle fracture were obtained using finite element method (FEM) analysis. Based on the Weibull stress fracture criterion, the prestraining effect on the fracture toughness was predicted from fracture toughness results of the virgin material by the local approach. The prediction was in good agreement with the experimental results. It certified that the critical Weibull stress obeys the two-parameter Weibull distribution in the local approach, and the fracture behaviour of the material with prestrain can be characterised well by the local approach.     

Kinetics of borided AISI M2 high speed steel

The present study reports on kinetics of borided AISI M2 high speed steel. Boronizing thermochemical treatment was carried out in a solid medium consisting of EKabor powders at 850 °C, 900 °C and 950 °C for 2, 4, 6 and 8 h, respectively. The presence of borides FeB and Fe₂B of steel substrate was confirmed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of this study indicated that the morphology of the boride layer has a smooth and compact morphology, and its hardness was found to be in the range of 1600–1900 HV. Depending on process time and temperature the thickness of boride layer measured by a digital instrument attached to an optical microscope ranged from 3 to 141 μm. Layer-growth kinetics were analyzed by measuring the extent of penetration of the FeB and Fe₂B sublayers as a function of boronizing time and temperature. The fracture toughness of borides ranged from 4.80 to 5.21 MPa m^1/2. Moreover, an attempt was made to investigate the possibility of predicting the iso-thickness of boride layer variation and to establish an empirical relationship between process parameters and boride layer thickness.     

Developing higher strength microalloyed medium carbon steel capable of being fracture split after laser transformation notching

Abstract

High proof strength (>600 MPa) microalloyed medium carbon steels are being developed to replace high carbon steels in the production of internal combustion engine components which are manufactured by processes involving fracture splitting. The target steels are required to achieve a balance between the ability to fracture when initiated by a novel laser transformation notch (LTN) and the properties required by the application. In this study, the effect of phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S) and the depths of LTN on the fracture process of these forged steels were investigated by using an instrumented Charpy impact tester. The impact specimens were notched by a fibre laser with no removal of material. The depth of the notch showed a significant influence on the force–displacement curves, the Charpy impact energy and the associated fracture surfaces. The steel with combined high S and P contents showed the lowest Charpy impact energy of 2·9 J when the depth of LTN was >0·4 mm compared to 5·5 J with the steel containing only a higher S content and 11·2 J for the reference base steel with normal S and P contents. It was observed that MnS inclusions in the originally forged materials were redistributed to the resolidified grain boundaries in the melted region of the LTN. The distribution of P could not be identified in the LTN but presumably it also segregated to the interdendritic regions and the columnar grain boundaries during freezing. The steel containing enhanced contents of S and P was shown to be potentially suitable for fracture splitting and higher load applications.     

Evaluation of dynamic fracture toughness KId by Hopkinson pressure bar loaded instrumented Charpy impact test

A novel method for measuring the dynamic fracture toughness, K_Id, using a Hopkinson pressure bar loaded instrumented Charpy impact test is presented in this paper. The stress intensity factor dynamic response curve (K_I(t)−t) for a fatigue-precracked Charpy specimen is evaluated by means of an approximate formula. The onset time of crack initiation is experimentally detected using the strain gauge method. The value of K_Id is determined from the critical dynamic stress intensity factor at crack initiation. A K_Id value for a high-strength steel is obtained using this method at a stress-intensity-factor rate () greater than 10⁶ MPa .     

Mixed-mode I/II fracture behaviour of a high strength steel

Mixed mode fracture in a certain high strength steel has been investigated through physical experiments and numerical calculations. The main objective has been to investigate the implications of local crack tip processes on the macroscopic mixed mode fracture behaviour. A scrutiny of the fractured specimens revealed evidence of crack branching in all cases where β_{_eq} < 40° ( β_{_eq =} atan ( K_{_I} /K_{_II} ) ). The appearance of branching was found to be accompanied to a rather abrupt increase in the macroscopic mixed mode fracture toughness. In the numerical calculations the effective plastic strain criterion suggested by Hallbäck and Nilsson (1994) was applied to the present material. Crack tip branching was from the analysis predicted to occur at β_{_eq =} 60°. Besides the presence of branching, it was however questionable whether the analysis corroborated the experimentally observed behaviour.     

Effect of prestrain on cyclic creep behaviour of a high strength spring steel

Cyclic creep and fracture behaviour of SAE spring steel 5160 under two prestrain conditions were studied. The cyclic creep rate, cyclic plastic strain range, total plastic strain range and cyclic creep life of the material were all found to depend strongly on the prestrain condition. It was also found that, after a certain number of cycles, cyclic hardening would reach a saturation state, followed by cyclic softening which would last until the final failure. However, a higher prestrain delayed the appearance of cyclic softening. Prestraining was also found to extend considerably the third stage of cyclic creep and thus increase the elongation to fracture of the material to the extent observed in a uniaxial tension test. Fracture surface study exhibited a mixed mode failure process and also a transition from quasi-brittle fracture at the lower prestrain, consisting of both intergranular and transgranular features, to ductile fracture at the higher prestrain, which is mainly made of dimples and is similar to that found in a uniaxial tension test. However, in the ductile fracture area, some transgranular facets and fatigue striation regions could still be observed. Finally, when the prestrain reached a certain value, compressive cyclic creep was detected and this is attributed to a strong Bauschinger effect.     

Long-term service effect on the toughness of pipeline steel 17GS

A transit oil pipeline, 720 mm in diameter, 334 km in length, and made of steel 17GS, after 30 years of service was twice non-destructively tested with intelligent Pipeline Inspection Gauges (PIGs). Two segments of this pipeline were cut in order to investigate the steel structure, composition, and mechanical properties and to compare these properties with those of `archive' material. Metallographic and microprobe analyses revealed no significant difference between the `archive' and `aged' materials. Specimens for testing tensile mechanical properties, for fatigue-crack growth rate measurements, and for a Charpy test were used. All those specimens were fabricated from both the base and weld metal in longitudinal and circumferential directions. At room temperature, the ultimate strength of the aged steel was found to be 5% higher than that of the `archive' material, whereas the yield point was 18% higher for the aged material. Charpy energy changed more significantly; decreasing by approximately 40% at room temperature. In addition to conventional mechanical properties, new characteristics such as `microcleavage stress' R _MC (minimum brittle fracture stress) and the toughness index K _T were determined. It has been found that a long period of operation does not affect the values of the steel microcleavage stress R _MC and does not influence the hardening exponent significantly. The use of the local approach to fracture has shown that an increase in yield stress is the main cause of the decrease in its toughness after long-term service. It is shown that a minor (15%) increase in the yield stress results in a rise (by 40°) in the Charpy transition temperature and may cause a twofold reduction in the fracture toughness K _IC.     

硫化物形态对超高强度钢冲击韧性的影响

本文对比分析了"真空感应+真空自耗重熔"和"电弧炉+VOD+真空自耗重熔"两种工艺冶炼的超高强度G50钢力学性能.利用扫描电镜和能谱分析等检测手段研究了不同冶炼工艺生产的G50钢中夹杂物类型和尺寸分布.研究结果表明:电弧炉+VOD+真空自耗重熔工艺冶炼的G50钢横向和纵向冲击韧性分别相对"VIM+VAR"工艺得到很大的改善,各向均匀性得到改善.电弧炉+VOD+真空自耗重熔工艺冶炼的G50钢中夹杂物颗粒状和椭圆形弥散均匀分布,阻碍空洞合并,导致冲击性能尤其是横向冲击性能得到极大的改善.     

Impact fracture of a ferritic steel in the lower shelf regime

This paper reports the results of a systematic investigation on the fracture of Charpy-V notch A508 steel specimens, tested in the lower shelf regime. The fracture energy has been determined for quasi-static, standard Charpy and one-point-bend impact. The results show a general trend for the fracture energy to increase with the loading rate, at the lower temperature (–160 °C). At this temperature, the roughness of the fracture surface increases markedly with the loading rate. The fractographic analysis shows the presence of 3–4 cleavage initiation sites situated at 100–800 m from the crack front, irrespective of the loading rate. Numerous cleavage microcracks are observed underneath the main fracture plane. The statistical analysis shows that the length distribution of the microcracks is adequately described by Weibull statistics. It is also found that the number of microcracks increases with the loading rate. It is suggested that the larger number of microcracks is responsible for the observed increased roughness and energy dissipation.     

应用炉卷轧机开发700MPa级高强韧性钢板

700MPa级高强韧性钢板具有强度高、低温韧性好以及焊接性能优良的特点.然而,传统的铁素体/珠光体钢的屈服强度一般低于500MPa,不能满足强度要求.本研究采用现代炉卷轧机并结合控轧控冷工艺在安阳钢铁公司研制开发出700MPa级高强韧性钢板,其屈服强度大于560MPa、抗拉强度大于670MPa、延伸率大于16%、-40℃冲击功大于47J.