Liquid Metal Embrittlement

Failure by liquid metal induced embrittlement

Sulfur-containing free-cutting steel may have an improved machinability and fewer defects by adding certain amounts of Te, Pb and Bi to prevent elongation of sulfide inclusion particles, and by lowering Al-content to decrease Al2 O3 of oxide inclusions or by lowering O-content to decrease large Al2 O3 inclusion particles. The free-cutting steel may be produced by continuous casting.

Free cutting steel

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the addition of zirconium to microalloyed steels. It has been used since the early 1920s, but has never been universally employed, as have niobium, titanium or vanadium. The functions of zirconium in steelmaking are associated with a strong chemical affinity, in decreasing order, for oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and carbon. Historically, the main use of additions of zirconium to steel was for combination preferentially with sulphur, to avoid the formation of manganese sulphide, known to have a deleterious influence of the impact toughness of wrought and welded steel. Modern steelmaking techniques have also raised the possibility that zirconium additions can reduce the austenite grain size and increase dispersion strengthening, due to precipitation of zirconium carbonitrides, or in high nitrogen vanadium–zirconium steels, vanadium nitride. This review gathers information on the compounds of zirconium identified in steels together with crystallographic data...

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Role of zirconium in microalloyed steels: a review

Visual Examination and Light Microscopy

This investigation was aimed at understanding the mechanism of hot-shortness in AISI 12L14 + Te steels, which might lead to a hot-rolling practice to minimize the high yield losses in this grade. High temperature tensile tests showed a pronounced loss in ductility between 810 and 1150 °C, the embrittlement being most severe at about 980 °C. Electron microprobe studies confirmed thermodynamic stability data which indicated that tellurium occurs primarily as PbTe in this steel composition. SEM fractography revealed increasingly brittle, partially intergranular tensile fracture with a loss of ductility. Auger Electron Spectroscopy of samples quenched from the embrittlement temperature range indicated the formation of a thin film of PbTe on the grain boundary surfaces. All these results are consistent with a mechanism of liquid metal embrittlement by PbTe which has a melting point of 923 °C. Some theoretical considerations of this mechanism are discussed. The characteristic return to ductility above the embrittlement range suggests that rolling at temperatures above 1150 °C might minimize the hot-shortness problem. Results of limited hot-rolling experiments to study the incidence of surface cracking as a function of temperature support the above suggestion.

Mechanism of hot-shortness in leaded and tellurized free-machining steels

A free machining steel shape containing bismuth which functions as a liquid metal embrittler. The opportunity for bismuth to function as a liquid metal embrittler is increased by limiting the size of bismuth-containing inclusions to less than five microns.

Free machining steel with bismuth

A free machining cast steel shape containing bismuth which functions as a liquid metal embrittler. The ability of the bismuth to function as a liquid metal embrittler is enhanced by restricting the total amount of ingredients which lower the wetting ability of the bismuth to less than the bismuth content and by controlling the amount of strengthening elements added to the steel.

Bismuth containing steel

The effects of small increases of sulfur and addition of zirconium in conjunction with sulfur on the machinability and mechanical properties of laboratory-produced AISI 1045 steels have been investigated. Machinability was measured in terms of cutting energy per unit volume of metal machined. With increasing sulfur, there is a linear increase in sulfide volume fraction and improvement in machinability. Ductility parameters such as tensile reduction in area and impact shelf energy, however, significantly decrease with sulfur, particularly in the transverse direction. Addition of zirconium causes formation of manganese-zirconium sulfides and increased globularity. Although further improvement in machinability by zirconium addition is not evident, there is a significant improvement in transverse impact properties by zirconium addition for steels containing high sulfur. The study suggests that an optimum combination of higher sulfur for improved machinability and zironium for better impact properties yields a steel with acceptable machining and ductility criteria.

Effect of Sulfur and Zirconium on the Machinability and Mechanical Properties of AISI 1045 Steels

Lead, bismuth and tellurium and/or sulfur are added to steel, to increase the machinability of the steel, in an addition alloy consisting essentially of 5-40 parts lead, 5-40 parts bismuth, up to 6 parts tellurium and up to 25 parts sulfur. The alloy contains at least one of the group tellurium and sulfur, and the alloy has a melting point of at least about 400° C. (752° F.).

Debanshu Bhattacharya

Papers

Mechanism of hot-shortness in leaded and tellurized free-machining steels

Free machining steel with bismuth

Bismuth containing steel

Effect of Sulfur and Zirconium on the Machinability and Mechanical Properties of AISI 1045 Steels

Method and alloy for introducing machinability increasing ingredients to steel