High temperature ductility loss in carbon-manganese and niobium-treated steels

TLDR: The causes of embrittlement in several plain carbon-manganese and niobium-treated steels between 800 and 1200 °C have been investigated in this paper, where the size, distribution, and composition of grain boundary precipitates were measured on extraction replicas.

Abstract: The causes of embrittlement in several plain carbon-manganese and niobium-treated steels between 800 and 1200 °C have been investigated. Tensile ductility was measured as a function of temperature and strain rate. Percent elongation and reduction in area were used to characterize the temperature dependence and severity of the ductility loss. The size, distribution, and composition of grain boundary precipitates were measured on extraction replicas. Grain boundary segregation was measured by AES on samples that were deformed at 900 °C before being fractured under ultra-high vacuum at room temperature. Segregation of impurity residual elements and grain boundary precipitation are the primary factors responsible for the observed ductility loss. The embrittlement results in a low ductility fracture which is largely intergranular through the austenite grain boundaries. Segregation of Cu, Sn, and Sb was found on the fracture surfaces of the embrittled samples. High temperature deformation was necessary to produce segregation as no segregation was detected in undeformed samples. Grain boundary precipitation, particularly AIN but also Nb (C,N), contributed to the embrittlement when there was a relatively fine distribution of precipitates along the austenite grain boundaries. The most severe ductility loss occurred when grain boundary precipitation combined with Cu, Sn, and Sb segregation.