The Role of Microstructure Morphology on Fracture Mechanisms of Continuously Cooled Bainitic Steel Designed for Rails Application

Abstract

The low-carbon bainitic steel after a continuous cooling process was subjected to fracture toughness investigations using the J-integral approach. The research was focused on the determination of microstructural factors influencing the fracture processes considering the crystallographic units, as well as dimensions and morphology of phases. It was found that the fracture surface is characterized by complex fracture mechanisms (quasi-cleavage, transcrystalline cleavage–ductile, and ductile mode). It was found that the main features influencing the cracking processes are bainitic ferrite packets and prior austenite grain boundaries. The changes in the crack path were also related to the changes in the misorientation angles, and it was found that changes in the crack path direction occur mainly for the bainitic ferrite packets (HABs). Also, the fracture process zone induced by the crack tip was identified. At a distance of about 4 to 5 µm from the fracture, the retained blocky austenite transformed into martensite was observed. Due to the high carbon content in the retained austenite, the transformed martensite was brittle and was the site of microcracks nucleation. Another origin of microcracks nucleation were M/A constituents occurred in the initial microstructure. In the crack tip area, the reduced dislocation density in the bainitic ferrite, which was caused by the formation of sub-grains, was also determined. Finally, the prospective improvement of the fracture toughness of bainitic steels was determined.