Mechanism of Decrease in Impact Toughness in a Low-Carbon MnCrMoNiCu Plate Steel with Increasing Austenitizing Temperature

In order to reveal how microscopic factors affect the toughness and the occurrence of cleavage fracture of a low-carbon MnCrMoNiCu alloyed steel, a series of thermal treatments was performed on the steel employing a thermomechanical simulator. These involved reheating samples at different temperatures (950-1250 °C), producing different prior austenite sizes, followed by a continuous cooling transformation process. The Charpy V-notch toughness was determined, and the effect of austenite grain size on the ductile-to-brittle transition temperatures of the steel was investigated. The microstructural evolution on the austenite sizes was studied, fracture features were characterized, the critical event for cleavage fracture was identified, and the local cleavage fracture stress σ_f was calculated. The impact toughness decreased as the austenitizing temperature increased. A quantitative relationship between σ_f and the size of the initial cleavage fracture facet (microcrack nucleus) a_f in the lathy martensite + bainite microstructure has been developed.