In-situ investigation on the fatigue crack propagation behavior in ferrite-pearlite and dual-phase ferrite-bainite low carbon steels

The purpose of this study was to describe the roles of microstructure types and grain boundary characteristics in fatigue crack propagation behavior in ferrite-pearlite steel and ferrite-bainite steel.The ferrite-bainite dual-phase steel was obtained by intermediate heat treatment conducted on ferrite-pearlite low carbon steel.This paper presents the results from investigation using constant stress-controlled fatigue tests with in-situ scanning electron microscopy(SEM),electron backscattering diffraction(EBSD) and fatigue fractography analysis.Microscopic images arrested by in-situ SEM showed that the second hard bainite phase distributed in the soft ferrite matrix had a significant effect on preventing the cracks opening compared with pearlite,and that the cracks in ferrite-bainite steel were "locked" in the second hard bainite phase while the crack propagation path in ferrite-pearlite steel was more tortuous.Moreover,the fatigue fracture surface analysis and the coincidence site lattice(CSL) obtained by EBSD indicated that low-CSL grain boundaries in ferrite-bainite steel distributed more uniformly,which has a more significant effect on the resistance of crack propagation.It was revealed that ferrite-bainite dual-phase microstructures could inhibit the fatigue crack propagation more effectively than ferrite-pearlite microstructures.

高强度锻件用微合金化钢

过去35年,已经开发出两大类高强度棒材和锻件用微合金化(MA)钢。第一类是1974年开发的,为中碳钢中加入少量的铌或钒。这些早期的中碳钢为珠光体-铁素体组织,具有高的强度和良好的高周疲劳性能。大约15年之后,微合金化多相钢被开发出来,根据材料加工工艺不同,组织由铁素体、贝氏体、马氏体以及残余奥氏体等组成。这类钢可以达到非常高的强度,同时具有良好的疲劳性能和高的断裂性能。在20世纪70年代早期,高强度锻件仅能通过最终的热处理过程实现,热处理包括加热、淬火及回火(QT)。已经不断地被证实由MA珠光体-铁素体钢生产的空冷锻件可以实现与更昂贵的热处理锻件类似的强度和疲劳性能。介绍过去35年来微合金化珠光体-铁素体钢的发展。