Instrumented oscillographic study on impact toughness of an axle steel DZ2 with different tempering temperatures

Compared with the conventional Charpy impact test method,the oscillographic impact test can help in the behavioral analysis of materials during the fracture process.In this study,the trade-off relationship between the strength and toughness of a DZ2 axle steel at various tempering temperatures and the cause of the improvement in impact toughness was evaluated.The tempering process dramatically influenced carbide precipitation behavior,which resulted in different aspect ratios of carbides.Impact toughness improved along with the rise in tempering temperature mainly due to the increase in energy required in impact crack propagation.The characteristics of the impact crack propagation process were studied through a comprehensive analysis of stress distribution,oscilloscopic impact statistics,fracture morphology,and carbide morphology.The poor impact toughness of low-tempering-temperature specimens was attributed to the increased number of stress concentration points caused by carbide morphology in the small plastic zone during the propagation process,which resulted in a mixed distribution of brittle and ductile fractures on the fracture surface.

Experimental Research of Impact Toughness of the Kazakhstani Construction Steel— Assessment of Compliance with the Provisions of 1993 Eurocode

Since 2015, the Republic of Kazakhstan has a new regulatory framework for construction on the basis of Eurocode. Many new steel quality requirements have been introduced for steel structures. As a result, Kazakhstan’s steel production almost ceased to be used in construction. Therefore, a series of studies is being carried out to determine the quality of local steel for compliance with the requirements of Eurocode 1993. Impact toughness testing was carried out on 126 samples of 8, 10, 20 mm thick structural steel produced by the “Arcelor-Mittal” company. The experimental study of impact toughness of KCV and KCU at a temperature of +20˚, -20˚, -40˚ degrees were conducted for seven types of structural steel, the most common in the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the experimental experimentation facility of the KazRDICA JSC. The ST RK STB EN 10045-1-2012 techniques were used. In each series of tests, 3 specimens were used. It has been established that in all cases the temperature requirements of Eurocode 1993 (National Annex to SP RK EN1993-1-1: 2005/2011*, Table НП.2*) are met. A regression relationship between the values of impact toughness and temperature was constructed. It has been established that construction steel produced in the Republic of Kazakhstan fully complies with the requirements of 1993 Eurocode. The studies on the dependence of Brinell hardness of steel on the impact toughness of steel at specified temperatures are performed. The correlation dependencies between the values of impact toughness and BH Brinell hardness have been obtained.

Effect of microstructure on impact toughness of magnesium alloys

Microstructures of as-cast and extruded ZK60-xRE （RE=Dy, Ho and Gd, x=0-5, mass fraction） alloys were investigated. Meanwhile, the impact toughness was tested and then the relationship was discussed. The results show that as-cast microstructure is refined gradually with increasing the RE content. Mg-Zn-RE new phase increases gradually, while MgZn2 phase decreases gradually to disappear. Second phase tends to distribute along grain boundary in continuous network. Extruded microstructure is refined obviously to reach the micron level. Broken second phase tends to distribute along the extrusion direction in zonal shape. Impact toughness value -nK increases from 9-17 J/cm2 for as-cast state to 26-54 J/cm2 for extruded state. With increasing the value of -nK, fracture macro-morphology changes from a rough plane via multi-plane with step to V-type plane; and from single radiation zone to two zones of fiber and shear lip, respectively. Fracture micro-morphology changes from the brittle fracture to the ductile fracture. Fine grain and few fine dispersed second phase can enhance the impact toughness of magnesium alloys effectively.

Nonlinear Impact Damage Evolution of Charpy Type and Analysis of Its Key Influencing Factors

The current research of Charpy impact mainly focuses on obtaining the ductile brittle transition temperature of materials by experiments.Compared with experiments,numerical simulation can study many problems with harsh conditions.However,there are still few studies on the influence of geometric factors such as side grooves.In this paper,the geometry of standard Charpy impact test is designed.Specimens with different widths and side grooves are tested.The finite element model of Charpy impact was established by ABAQUS software.Use test results and simulation results to verify each other.The effects of sample width,side groove depth and side groove bottom fillet on the impact fracture resistance of the sample were studied.The results show that the specimen width is positively correlated with the impact toughness of the specimen.The side groove greatly reduces the impact toughness of the material;the toughness of side groove decreases with the increase of depth;the fracture toughness of side groove decreases with the increase of fillet at the bottom of side groove.The proportion of toughness energy to impact energy of samples was analyzed.The results show that the toughness energy accounts for about 70%of the impact energy of the sample,which has little to do with the geometric characteristics of the sample.This study presents a reliable method for studying Charpy impact tests.The influence of geometric parameters is obtained,which provides a reference method for the study of impact toughness of high toughness materials.

Effect of Microstructure Refinement on the Strength and Toughness of Low Alloy Martensitic Steel

Martensitic microstructure in quenched and tempered 17CrNiMo6 steel with the prior austenite grain size ranging from 6 μm to 199 μm has been characterized by optical metallography （OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The yield strength and the toughness of the steel with various prior austenite grain sizes were tested and correlated with microstructure characteristics. Results show that both the prior austenite grain size and the martensitic packet size in the 17CrNiMo6 steel follow a HalI-Petch relation with the yield strength. When the prior austenite grain size was refined from 199 μm to 6 μm , the yield strength increased by 235 MPa, while the Charpy U-notch impact energy at 77 K improved more than 8 times, indicating that microstructure refinement is more effective in improving the resistance to cleavage fracture than in increasing the strength. The fracture surfaces implied that the unit crack path for cleavage fracture is identified as being the packet.

Microstructures and impact toughness behavior of Al 5083 alloy processed by cryorolling and afterwards annealing

The influence of rolling at liquid nitrogen temperature and annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al 5083 alloy was studied in this paper. Cryorolled samples of Al 5083 show significant improvements in strength and hardness. The ultimate tensile strength increases up to 340 MPa and 390 MPa for the 30% and 50% cryorolled samples, respectively. The cryorolled samples, with 30% and 50% reduction, were subjected to Charpy impact testing at various temperatures from 190℃ to 100℃. It is observed that increasing the percentage of reduction of samples during cryorolling has significant effect on decreasing impact toughness at all temperatures by increasing yield strength and decreasing ductility. Annealing of samples after cryorolling shows remarkable increment in impact toughness through recovery and recrystallization. The average grain size of the 50% cryorolled sample （14 μm） after annealing at 350℃ for 1 h is found to be finer than that of the 30% cryorolled sample （25 μm）. The scanning electron microscopy （SEM） analysis of fractured surfaces shows a large-size dimpled morphology, resembling the ductile fracture mechanism in the starting material and fibrous structure with very fine dimples in cryorolled samples corresponding to the brittle fracture mechanism.

Effect of various melt and heat treatment conditions on impact toughness of A356 aluminum alloy

The microstructure and impact behavior of A356 aluminum alloy were studied after melt treatment processes of grain refinement and modification under both non-heat treated and T6 heat treated conditions. The modification and grain refinement were done with the addition of Al-10%Sr and Al-5Ti-1B master alloys, respectively. All casting parameters were kept constant in order to focus on the influence of mentioned treatments. The results indicate that the eutectic silicon morphology is the main parameter to control the impact behavior of alloy. Consequently, the individual grain refinement of as-cast alloy does not improve the impact toughness as the modification does. While, simultaneous grain refinement and modification provide higher impact toughness in comparison with individual treatments. T6 heat treatment of the alloy improves the impact toughness under all melt-treated conditions. This is related to the further modification of eutectic silicon particles. To verify the results and clarify the mechanisms, three-point bending test and fractography were used to interpret the improvement of impact toughness of the alloy.

Effects of welding wire composition and welding process on the weld metal toughness of submerged arc welded pipeline steel

The effects of alloying elements in welding wires and submerged arc welding process on the microstructures and low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals have been investigated. The results indicate that the optimal contents of alloying elements in welding wires can improve the low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals because the proeutectoid ferrite and bainite formations can be suppressed, and the fraction of acicular ferrite increases. However, the contents of alloying elements need to vary along with the welding heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the contents of alloying elements in welding wires need to be increased accordingly. The microstructures mainly consisting of acicular ferrite can be obtained in weld metals after four-wire submerged arc welding using the wires with a low carbon content and appropriate contents of Mn, Mo, Ti-B, Cu, Ni, and RE, resulting in the high low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals.

Determining role of heterogeneous microstructure in lowering yield ratio and enhancing impact toughness in high-strength low-alloy steel

Here we present a novel approach of intercritical heat treatment for microstructure tailoring,in which intercritical annealing is introduced between conventional quenching and tempering.This induced a heterogeneous microstructure consisting of soft intercritical ferrite and hard tempered martensite,resulting in a low yield ratio(YR)and high impact toughness in a high-strength low-alloy steel.The initial yielding and subsequent work hardening behavior of the steel during tensile deformation were modified by the presence of soft intercritical ferrite after intercritical annealing,in comparison to the steel with full martensitic microstructure.The increase in YR was related to the reduction in hardness difference between the soft and hard phases due to the precipitation of nano-carbides and the recovery of dislocations during tempering.The excellent low-temperature toughness was ascribed not only to the decrease in probability of microcrack initiation for the reduction of hardness difference between two phases,but also to the increase in resistance of microcrack propagation caused by the high density of high angle grain boundaries.

INFLUENCE OF THE SECOND THERMAL CYCLE ON COARSE- GRAINED ZONE TOUGHNESS OF X70 STEEL

The influence of the second thermal cycle on coarse grained zone (CGHAZ) toughness of X70 steel is studied by weld thermal simulation test, scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe. The results show that the CGHAZ toughness is improved after the second thermal cycle but being heated during the intercritical HAZ (ICHAZ). The CGHAZ toughness decreases evidently after being heated during partially transformed zone, which chiefly results from the carbon segregation to the grain boundaries of primal austenite, thus forming high carbon martensite austenite (M A) constituent and bringing serious intercritically reheated coarse grain HAZ (IRCGHAZ) embrittlement.

Effect of microstructure on the impact toughness of a bainitic steel bloom for large plastic molds

The correlation between the impact toughness and microstructural characteristics of a large bainitic steel bloom has been investigated. The study focuses on microcrack nucleation and propagation in the basic cleavage plane. To analyze the phase transformation during the wind-cooling process, the temperature field of the bloom was acquired by computer simulation, and a continuous cooling transformation experiment was conducted. The results show that compared with the surface of the bloom, the toughness of the bloom’s core is decreased by the increase in proeutectoid ferrite and the coarsening of tempered martensite–austenite constituents. The proeutectoid ferrite decreases the toughness via its effects on carbide precipitation, the formation of martensite–austenite constituents, and the bainite transformation. The relatively large tempered martensite–austenite constituents are conducive to microcrack nucleation and propagation.

Investigation of the impact toughness of self- shielded flux- cored wire girth welds for X80 pipelines

Self-shielded flux-cored wire is a convenient and efficient consumable for pipeline field girth welding because of its self-protection characteristic and high deposition rate, especially for remote construction sites in rugged terrain. From the perspective of pipeline safety, the impact toughness of the girth welds is an important factor in pipeline integrity ,which determines the crack arrest behavior in the girth welds. Therefore, improving the girth weld impact toughness is of primary importance in the field of pipeline girth welding. Three self-shielded flux-cored wires comprising different chemical composition systems have been applied to large diameter X80 UOE （U-ing-O- ing-Expanding） pipeline semi-automatic girth welding,and the impact toughness of the welds has been evaluated by girth weld chemical composition analysis and microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS） to investigate pipeline girth weld impact toughness and find ways to improve it. This helps in determining the main factors that influence girth weld impact toughness. Pipeline girth weld impact toughness is mainly determined by the final microstructure produced in the solid-state phase transition. In the as-weld state,acicular ferrite （AF） and fine bainite （FB） are a benefit to the impact toughness. For multilayer semiautomatic self-shielded flux-cored wire welding, the normalizing and tempering function of the latter beads to the initial beads plays an important role in the transition of girth weld microstructure, which affects the impact toughness. The original AF and FB and the corresponding heat treatment microstructure of the fine and uniform block ferrite and pearlite result in very good impact toughness. The following two mechanisms are found to promote the production of AF and FB in the girth weld. First, elements promoting the broadening of the austenitic region, such as Ni, C, Cu, and Mn, induce low temperature phase transitions and restrain the opposing function of Al, which is a benefit to the production of AF and FB. Second, dispersed high-melting-point inclusions, especially Al2O3 ,induce the nucleated production of AF. The advantageous function of inclusions is determined by their shape, distribution, and dimension. Dispersed spherical inclusions of small dimension are a benefit to the production of AF, and result in good impact toughness.

Low temperature impact toughness and fracture mechanism of cast QT400-18L ductile iron with diferent Ni additions

Different contents of Ni(0.3wt.%to 1.2wt.%)were added to the QT400-18L ductile iron to investigate the effect of Ni addition on the impact toughness of cast ductile irons at low temperatures.The impact toughnesses of the samples at room and low temperatures were tested.The microstructures and fractographs were observed.Results show that with the increase of Ni addition there is a general trend of refinement of the ferrite matrix while the nodule density shows no obvious change.When the Ni content is 0.7wt.%,the matrix structure is the refined ferrite with a very small fraction(about 2%)of pearlite near the eutectic cell boundaries.When the Ni content is further increased,the fraction of pearlite increases significantly and reaches more than 5%when 1.2wt.%Ni is added.The impact toughness at room temperature increases as the content of Ni increases from 0.3 wt.%to 0.7 wt.%,but decreases as the Ni content further increases to 1.2wt.%due to the increase of pearlite fraction.The maximum value of the impact work is 18.5 J at room temperature with 0.7wt.%Ni addition.The average value of the impact work is still more than 13 J even at-30℃.In addition,the fracture mechanism changes from ductile manner to brittleness as the testing temperature decreases from 20℃to-60℃.

Influence of different microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior of coarse grain heat-affected zone in X80 pipeline steel

Coarse grain heat-affected zone samples of X80 pipeline steel under different heat inputs were obtained through thermal welding simulation experiments with Gleeble 3500.Charpy impact tests and a combination of multiscale characterizations were conducted to investigate the influence of various microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior.The results prove that, as the heat input increases, the number of M/A components increases, thereby degrading toughness and increasing hardness.Meanwhile, more M/A constituents tend to aggregate on prior austenite grain boundaries(PAGBs),and the overall dimensions of M/A and the width and volume fraction of the lath martensite substructure inside M/A islands would increase as well.These changes make intersections between boundary M/As and PAGBs become one of the preferred sites for crack initiation.In addition, only large-sized grotesque inclusions can act as a direct inducement of crack initiation.

FRACTAL GEOMETRY STUDY OF CORRELATION BETWEEN IMPACT TOUGHNESS OF STEEL AND PARAMETERS OF FREE-CUTTING PHASE

Studies were made of the calculation of fractal dimension of transverse impact fracture sur- face,and of the correlation between impact toughness of steel and parameters of free-cutting phase by means of the developed fractal geometry model of crack propagation.It is believed that the area fraction,f,of free-cutting phase is negligibly influential to the longitudinal im- pact toughness,as f1 .While the aspect ratio,saying ratio of length to width,of free-cut. ting phase is inversely influential to the transverse impact toughness.This may .be the reason why the transverse impact toughness of free-cutting steel containing more rare earth contrast to sulphur is even higher than the low sulphur containing steel.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Hardness and Impact Toughness of CuCr Containing RE Alloy

The effect of heat treatment on hardness and impact toughness of CuCr containing rare earth alloy was studied by means of metallographic, XRD, SEM/EDX, TEM and mechanical property test. The results show that the heat treatment can change the hardness of CuCr alloy, and has smaller influence to its impact toughness. The optimum properties of CuCr containing RE alloy could be obtained by aging treatment at 500 ℃ for 2 h. And the causes of the above changes and the function of RE were analyzed.

Impact Toughness Scattering of Bainitic Steel in the Ductile-brittle Transition Temperature Region

The impact toughness scattering in the ductile-brittle transition temperature （DBTT） region was experimentally examined on mixed and homogeneous grains of low alloy high strength bainitic steel under dynamic loading conditions. The results revealed that the mixed grain microstructure had larger impact toughness scattering than the homogeneous one, and the impact toughness scattering was mainly caused by the scattering in the cleavage fractttre stress σf. The value of σf. is related to the size of the microcrack formed in the bainitic packet. When a bainitic packet-sized microcrack propagates from one bainitic packet into the adjacent packet, cleavage fracture occurs. The cleavage fracture is controlled by the few coarse packets in the microstructures, and the σf scattering is influenced by the varied distances/relative locations between these coarse packets, and homogenizing the distribution of fine bainitic packet sizes is an effective way to reduce the impact toughness scattering in the DBTT region.

Effect of Calcium Carbonate Whisker on Impact Toughness of Precast Concrete

The impact toughness and compressive strength of concrete added with calcium carbonate whisker are studied.It is found that calcium carbonate whisker can significantly improve the impact energy consumption at failure of 55℃steam cured concrete,but has limited impact on 90℃steam cured concrete.At the same time,SEM,XRD and LF-NMR were used to study the micro morphology,hydration product components and pore structure of the concrete,and the mechanism of the influence of calcium carbonate whisker on the impact toughness and compressive strength of concrete was analyzed.

Impact toughness and fracture toughness of austempered ductile iron

The Impact toughness and fracture toughness of Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) are described. The notched and un-notched Charpy impact toughness of ADI at room temperature are somewhat lower than that of steel castings or forged steel pieces, however, they are approximately three times higher than that of normal pearlitic ductile iron. The impact toughness of ADI decreases with decreasing temperature; but at-40℃ it still maintains about 70% of the value at room temperature. The properties of fracture toughness are important in safety design and failure analysis. In this study all fracture toughness data of ADI are higher than that of conventional ductile iron, and are equivalent to or better than that of steel castings or forged steel pieces with the tensile strength equivalent to ADI.

Influence of isothermal quenching of LAMC CrMnSi cast steel on impact toughness

The influence of isothermal quenching process of low-alloy and medium carbon (LAMC) CrMnSi cast steel on the impact toughness was investigated. The microstructure and mechanical property of LAMC CrMnSi cast steel were analyzed by the laser optical modulator, the scanning electron microscopy, the energy dispersive spectrometer, the hardness and impact tests. The experimental results show that the dual phases of bainite and residual austenite can be obtained by the severity isothermal quenching, the fractographies of specimens change from quasi-cleavage to dimple at 310℃ for 60min, the impact toughness for specimens at the room temperature isothermally (achieves) 130J/cm^2, meantime and its hardness is more than 45(HRC).