Incorporation of Obstacle Hardening into Local Approach to Cleavage Fracture to Predict Temperature Effects in the Ductile to Brittle Transition Regime

Ductile-to-brittle-transition refers to observable change in fracture mode with decreasing temperature—from slow ductile crack growth to rapid cleavage. It is exhibited by body-centred cubic metals and presents a challenge for integrity assessment of structural components made of such metals. Local approaches to cleavage fracture, based on Weibull stress as a cleavage crack-driving force, have been shown to predict fracture toughness at very low temperatures. However, they are ineffective in the transition regime without the recalibration of Weibull stress parameters, which requires further testing and thus diminishes their predictive capability. We propose new Weibull stress formulation with thinning function based on obstacle hardening model, which modifies the number of cleavage-initiating features with temperature. Our model is implemented as a post-processor of finite element analysis results. It is applied to analyses of standard compact tension specimens of typical reactor pressure vessel steel, for which deformation and fracture toughness properties in the transition regime are available. It is shown that the new Weibull stress is independent of temperature, and of Weibull shape parameter, within the experimental error. It accurately predicts the fracture toughness at any temperature in the transition regime without relying upon empirical fits for the first time.

Hydrogen-Induced Cracking of 500 HBW Steels Studied Using a Novel Tuning-Fork Test with Integrated Loadcell System

Hydrogen embrittlement is a well-known problem with high-strength steels. An important aspect of hydrogen embrittlement research is the effect of the prior austenite grain (PAG) structure on hydrogen-induced fracture. The microstructural anisotropy of PAG structure depends on the steel manufacturing process. In this study, 500 HBW martensitic steels with different PAG structures are investigated with a novel tuning-fork test that utilizes an integrated loadcell system. The loadcell clamping system is used during hydrogen charging, allowing tracking of the applied force throughout the tests, which enables detection of separate phases of cracking and time-to-fracture. The elongated PAG morphology produces different results depending on the crack path direction in relation to the rolling direction, whereas the equiaxed PAG morphology does not manifest an orientation dependence. Depending on the PAG shape, also the fracture morphology differs. Time-to-fracture results show that elongated grain morphologies with transgranular quasi-cleavage crack propagation are more beneficial against hydrogen-induced fracture than equiaxed grain structure with intergranular crack propagation. These results demonstrate that the shape of the PAG structure plays an important role in the crack propagation mechanism and that it is important to consider the possible direction of hydrogen-induced cracks in the final structural applications.

Influence of Effective Grain Size on Low Temperature Toughness of High-Strength Pipeline Steel

In this study, the series temperature Charpy impact and drop-weight tear test (DWTT) were investigated, the misorientation angles among structural boundaries where the cleavage crack propagated were identified, and angles of {100} cleavage planes between adjacent grains along the cleavage crack propagated path were calculated in five directions (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° to the rolling direction) of high-grade pipeline steel. Furthermore, the effective grain size (grain with misorientation angles greater than 15°) was redefined, and the quantitative influences of the redefined effective grain size on Charpy impact and DWTT is also discussed synthetically. The results showed that the microstructure presented a typical acicular ferrite characteristic with some polygonal ferrite and M-A islands (composed of martensite and retained austenite), and the distribution of the high-angle grain boundaries were mainly distributed in the range of 45°–65° in different directions. The Charpy impact energy and percent shear area of DWTT in the five directions increased with refinement of the redefined effective grain size, composed of grains with {100} cleavage planes less than 35° between grain boundaries. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature also decreased with the refining of the redefined effective grain size. The redefined effective grain boundaries can strongly hinder fracture propagation through electron backscattered diffraction analysis of the cleavage crack path, and thus redefined effective grain can act as the effective microstructure unit for cleavage.

Influence of Nb Addition on Impact Toughness of As-Quenched Martensitic Stainless Steel for Automotive Applications

This study presents how Nb addition allowed improving the Charpy impact toughness of a martensitic stainless steel by comparing a conventional AISI410 (12%Cr-0.1%C) and a 12%Cr-0.1%C-0.1%Nb steel after the same austenitization and quenching heat treatment. Adding niobium decreased the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature by 100°C with respect to the Nb-free steel. To identify quantitative fracture criteria for the two materials, the values of critical cleavage fracture stress were determined by the local approach to fracture, combining low temperature tensile tests on notched specimens and mechanical analysis by the finite element method. The main effects of niobium were to refine the grain size and to promote retained austenite films, resulting in a similar resistance to cleavage crack initiation but in a strong improvement of the ductile-to-brittle transition behavior by increasing the resistance to cleavage crack propagation.