Title: On the conversion of stable tearing into unstable cleavage in spheroidized steels

Authors: B. Strnade, E. Mazancova, K. Mazanec

Addresses: Institute of Metals Science, Technical University, 708 33 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. ' Research Institute, New Metallurgical Works, 707 02 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. ' Institute of Metals Science, Technical University, 708 33 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia

Abstract: This paper describes a method for ascertaining how, in spheroidized steels, the probability of cleavage initiation and ductile failure initiation in the transition temperature region varies with the distance from a pre-crack tip. In this method, criteria for the propagation of microcracks initiated at carbides (Godse and Gurland. 1989), and for coalescing of voids (Garrison and Thompson, 1986) are applied to the conditions found in the non-homogenous stress-strain field ahead of a crack tip. Temperature dependences have been utilized for estimating the distance at which stable crack propagation is converted into a cleavage process and the lowest temperature at which ductile tearing can occur.

Keywords: cleavage failure; ductile failure; microcrack propagation; void coalescence; local cleavage strength; local fracture strain; Poisson distribution; carbide size distribution; fracture mechanism; speroidized steels; low carbon steels; crack propagation; crack initiation; stable tearing; unstable cleavage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.1990.036618

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 1990 Vol.5 No.3, pp.231 - 243

Published online: 05 Nov 2010 *

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