An ultrafine elongated grain (UFEG) structure with a strong ͗110͘//rolling direction (RD) fibre deformation texture was produced by warm calibre-rolling at 773 K in 1 200 MPa-class medium-carbon low-alloy steels with phosphorous (P) contents of 0.001 and 0.053 mass%. Charpy impact tests were performed at room temperature on the UFEG structure along with a conventional quenched and tempered (QT) structure. P segregation embrittlement completely disappeared in the UFEG structure. The UFEG structure exhibited the same high absorbed energy of 150 J regardless of P content, although the absorbed energy of the QT structure was significantly decreased from 93 J for 0.001 % P steel to 23 J for 0.053 % P steel due to occurrence of intergranular fracture. The high absorbed energy of 150 J for 0.053 % P-doped UFEG structure was believed to be due to both delamination fracture and fine/deep ductile dimples. The present results emphasized that the detrimental effects of P grain boundary segregation can be suppressed and the upper shelf energy can be increased through the formation of the UFEG structure.KEY WORDS: thermomechanical treatment; martensitic steel; toughness; delamination fracture; intergranular fracture; segregation embrittlement. gated grain (UFEG) structures with a strong ͗110͘// rolling direction (RD) deformation texture were obtained in high strength steel bars through the calibre-rolling of tempered martensite (tempforming) and the UFEG structures showed an increase in the upper shelf energy in addition to a significant decrease in the DBTT for cleavage fracture. Since elongated grain shape along the longitudinal direction of an impact specimen gives rise to much larger deflection angles than 60°when crack propagation along grain boundary takes place, 5) the UFEG structure is expected to suppress intergranular fracture markedly. Therefore, in the present study, we have tried to produce the UFEG structure to a Pdoped high strength steel in order to investigate whether it is possible to obtain both the suppression of intergranular fracture and the enhancement of upper shelf energy in a brittle high strength steel at a conventional QT condition. Peculiarities of the microstructure and the fracture behavior and their relation are discussed in some details.
Experimental
Material and Heat TreatmentTwo steels with the basic chemical compositions of 0.4% C, 0.25% Si, 0.73% Mn, 0.001% S, 1.0% Cr, 0.2% Mo, and P contents of 0.001 and 0.053% (all in mass %) were selected for the present study. Their chemical compositions are shown in Table 1, which are similar to that of a high strength JIS SCM 440 (AISI 4140) steel. Note that 0.053% P is more than twice as high as the typical P content of approximately 0.02% of a SCM 440 steel. Hence the 0.053% P steel was selected as a brittle steel.Two 100 kg ingots with different P contents were prepared by vacuum induction melting and casting. The ingots were homogenized at 1 473 K, and hot-rolled to plates with a thickness of 4 cm. Blocks of 12ϫ4ϫ4 cm 3 were cut out of the plates...