Analysis of warm prestressing effect on fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel steels

We have performed finite element calculation of precracked Charpy-like three-point bending specimen, in order to analyze the effect of warm prestressing on fracture toughness value of reactor pressure vessel steels. Two different hardening laws were applied in the calculation. J-integral was determined in both cases and comparative analysis was made.     

Ultra-fine grained bulk CP-Ti processed by multi-pass ECAP at warm deformation region

In order to refine the grain size of commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) to a submicrometer scale, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was attempted at a temperature range of 200–300 °C. The experiments revealed that, 250 °C was the minimum temperature at which ten passes of ECAP could be performed in a 105° die without the cracking of billets. An ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure with a mean grain size of 183 nm was achieved after 10 passes. The processed CP-Ti displayed high tensile strength of 892 MPa and high elongation to failure of 20.5%. The enhancement in mechanical properties is explained in terms of grain refinement and dislocation density increasing. The high ductility of UFG pure Ti with the absence of strain hardening behavior is attributed to its enhanced strain rate sensitivity.     

HAZ fracture toughness of titanium containing steels

Abstract

Steels containing various combinations of microalloying elements (Nb, V, and Ti) were welded at heat inputs from 3 to 6 kJ mm^?1. It was shown by detailed crack tip opening displacement fracture toughness testing of coarse grained heat affected zone (HAZ) regions in single pass weld deposits that the poorest toughness properties were exhibited by steel containing a combination of Nb, V, and Ti. Steel microalloyed with only titanium had the best HAZ fracture toughness at all heat input levels. Detailed microstructural analysis, grain size measurement, hardness, and precipitation in HAZ regions were evaluated to explain the fracture toughness properties observed.

MST/887     

Assessment of the fracture toughness of cast steels

Estimates of the fracture toughness in terms of the critical stress intensity factorsK _C andK _IC are made for a 1Cr steel, a 1/2Cr-1/2Mo-1/4V steel, a 1 1/2Mn-Ni-Cr-Mo steel and a 1 1/2 Ni-Cr-Mo steel all in cast form. The methods used are linear elastic fracture mechanics,J-integral and crack opening displacement methods. The last two methods are applied in combination with an electrical potential method to detect the initiation of fracture.     

Plane strain fracture toughness of modern ferritic structural steels

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the plane strain fracture toughness of a low carbon, fine grain, ferritic steel for structural applications is investigated. The ductile–brittle transition is found to occur in the interval between 160 and 184 K. The experimental results are interpreted by an analytical model which permits calculation of the plane strain fracture toughness K _1c in the brittle domain as a function of the tensile properties and the cleavage fracture stress, making use of a piecewise approximation for the distribution of tensile stress on the crack axis and applying a deterministic fracture criterion at the stress peak. A similar criterion, which consists of equating the severest strain on the crack axis to a critical strain for cavity nucleation, provides the upper shelf fracture toughness. A relatively simple figure for predicting the transition temperature of steels in this family as a function of material properties can be obtained in this way.     

Microstructural features affecting fracture toughness of high strength steels

The fracture toughness of quenched and tempered steels, such as AISI 4340, AISI 4130 and 300M, can be increased by 50–100% by minor changes in heat treating procedures. Certain microstructural features, particularly blocky ferrite, upper bahnte and twinned martensite plates, are deleterious to fracture toughness. Similarly, the presence of undissolved carbides and sulfide inclusions, which act as crack nuclei, can lower fracture toughness by 25–50%. Other microstructural constituents, such as lower bainte, autotempered martensite, and retained austenite can enhance fracture toughness. By controlling the amounts and distributions of the microstructural constituents, the fracture toughness values of AISI 4340, AISI 4130 and 300M can be raised to the fracture toughness level of 18Ni maraging steel at equivalent values of yield strength.     

Process zone in fracture toughness testing of HSLA steels

Materials Science - The method of statistic fractography used after the fracture toughness tests provided the following information:     

Mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained zirconia ceramics

The mechanical properties of tetragonal zirconia (TZP) materials doped with Y, Ce or Ti were studied as a function of temperature and grain size. Fine grained Y-TZP (grain size < 0.3 m) shows values for fracture toughness and strength at room temperature, which are comparable with the coarse grained transformation toughened materials, despite lacking transformation toughening. The morphology of the fracture surface points to crack deflection as the most important toughening mechanism. At 800 °C fracture toughness and strength are higher than in coarse grained Y-TZP materials. Doping Y-TZP with Ce or Ti results in a similar trend in mechanical properties, for fine grained material, as for the Y-TZP materials.     

A model for predicting the influence of warm pre-stressing and strain ageing on the cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels

A micromechanistic model of warm pre-stressing is extended to predict the combined effects of warm pre-stressing and strain ageing on the cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels. The crack tip stress distribution after a cycle of pre-straining and strain ageing is estimated by superposition of the appropriate monotonic loading stress distributions. The Ritchie, Knott and Rice model of cleavage fracture and its associated fracture criterion are employed in conjunction with the crack tip stress distribution to predict the critical stress intensity factor after warm pre-stressing and strain ageing. Illustrative calculations are presented, based upon the published material's properties of a high nitrogen mild steel. Available experimental data for pressure vessel steels bear out the form of the predictions. At low temperatures, and after heavy pre-loads, the benefits of warm pre-stressing dominate strain ageing induced embrittlement and the toughness is apparently enhanced. At higher temperatures, or after small pre-loads, however, strain ageing dominates and the apparent toughness is reduced. Various assumptions and approximations inherent in the model are discussed. These generally tend to render the predictions conservative. Finally it is noted that the model should be equally applicable to the prediction of the combined effect of warm pre-stressing and neutron irradiation on the cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels.     

Effect of fracture toughness on abrasive wear resistance of steels

Various abrasive wear mechanisms were reviewed and an abrasive wear modeling experiment is assessed. Abrasive wear resistance of non-heat treated and heat treated steels has been determined by using a pin-abrasion machine with five abrasive papers, which grinds on a small pin of test materials. The mass loss of test material during abrasive wear was determined gravimetrically. A correlation between abrasive wear resistance and Mode II fracture toughness of materials was established. The effect of fracture toughness on abrasive wear resistance of steels was outlined.     

Influence of material properties on dynamic fracture toughness of steels

Recent studies of plastic enclave formation at running brittle cracks were extended to account for the influence of crack tip boundary conditions on the temperature at which the enclaves start to develop. The En 2A and three other steels were used in the analysis. It was found that this temperature depends very strongly both on the magnitude and on the distribution of the stresses in the discrete crack tip zone. This suggests that the onset of enclave formation and the rate of their growth are governed by the balance of two sets of material characteristics. The first set consists of at least two parameters describing the microscopic fracture resistance which promotes enclave formation. The second set includes the macroscopic yield and flow properties which may make enclave formation more difficult in higher strength steels.These findings are related to the dynamic or crack arrest fracture toughness which is found to be derived from two different sources. One is connected with the microscopic plastic deformation of the fracturing metal in the crack tip zone and is present at all temperatures. The other is the result of enclave formation, it is present only at higher temperatures and is responsible for the energy transition. In contrast to the case of crack initiation, the dynamic fracture toughness depends not only on the microscopic fracture strength or strain but on the complete stress-displacement relationship of the weakened material which is governed by the microscopic fracture mechanism at the tip of a running crack. It is noted that the present results can be expected to be valid for all steels which fracture in the cleavage or quasi-cleavage modes.     

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。     

Weibull master curves and fracture toughness testing Part IV Dynamic fracture toughness of ferritic-martensitic steels in the DBTT-range

Ferritic-martensitic steels are considered to be promising candidates for structural materials in fusion technology. However, they are sensitive to irradiation embrittlement, being characterized by a shift of the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) to higher values. It has already been shown in an earlier publication, that dynamic Weibull master curves are useful in estimating the capacity of materials to undergo stable (micro)cracking prior to brittle failure, if Charpy impact tests are performed in the DBTT-range. Thus, experimental dynamic Weibull master curves of three ferritic-martensitic steels, having been obtained by performing series of instrumented Charpy impact tests at a defined temperature in the DBTT-range, have been evaluated for subsize and, in the case of the reference ferritic-martensitic steel of the European Fusion Technology Program MANET II, for normal-size specimens. It has been observed, that the capacities of stable (micro)cracking of MANET II are nearly optimal and clearly superior to those of the other two considered steels. On the other side, the capacity of stable (micro)cracking prior to failure has been found to be highly specimen-size-dependent, nevertheless it is thought to be an important factor in predicting DBTT-shifts due to irradiation embrittlement.