Fracture surface and crack propagation in low temperature brittle fracture (LTBF) of an
18Cr-18Mn-0.7N high nitrogen austenitic steel (HNAS) were examined by means of scanning
electronic microscopy, and compared with behaviours of LTBF of low carbon steel. Similar to BCC
low carbon steel, the HNAS experienced a typical ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT) with decreasing
temperature, and the appearance of the fracture surface transited from fibrous to granular.
Dual-surface observation revealed that there were three types of fracture modes in LTBF of the
HNAS: annealing twin boundary fracture, intergranular fracture, and transgranular fracture. The
annealing twin boundary fracture facets were parallel to {111} planes, and were fairly flat and
smooth, with a pattern of three sets of parallel straight-lines intersecting at 60. There were also bent
steps that originated and terminated at grain boundaries. The transgranular fracture facets were coarse
and uneven, with uniformly distributed small pits and partially river pattern on them. The
intergranular fracture facets were smoothly curved ones on which more than three sets of parallel
deformation structure trace lines were observed. Careful observation on crack propagation
demonstrated that during LTBF of the HNAS, microcracks formed firstly at grain boundary and
annealing twin boundary, and then these microcracks came together and coalesced to induce crack
propagation through grains, resulting in a fracture appearance with shiny facets distributing in dull
facets.