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Determination of the Root Causes for Cracking in a Large-Size Cast Ingot of AISI 4317 Steel Using Microstructural Analysis

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Abstract

The objective of the present work is to study the root causes for the cracking and material detachment from the external surface of a 10 metric tons high-strength low-alloy steel ingot after solidification and annealing processes. Failure analysis investigations were conducted on different samples from the cracked areas as well as from non-cracked ones. A combination of optical and electron microscopies, x-ray diffraction, and microhardness techniques were used to study and analyze the nature, morphology, and composition of the different microstructural components in the cracked regions. Thermodynamic software, Thermo-Calc® was used to corroborate and interpret the experimental findings with the existing theories. The results indicated a strong intergranular character of the cracks accompanied by the presence of second-phase particles at prior austenite grain boundaries. Segregation of chromium and manganese was demonstrated through local chemical analysis of the grain boundaries. It was concluded that a rapid cooling rate combined with the weakening of grain boundaries was at the origin of crack initiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Génie Mécanique, École de technologie supérieure, 1100, Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada

    Abdelhalim Loucif, Matthieu Bitterlin & Mohammad Jahazi

  2. Finkl Steel-Sorel, 100 McCarthy, Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel, QC, J3R 3M8, Canada

    Rami Tremblay, Jean-Benoît Morin & Louis-Philippe Lapierre-Boire

Authors
  1. Abdelhalim Loucif
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  2. Matthieu Bitterlin
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  3. Mohammad Jahazi
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  4. Rami Tremblay
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  5. Jean-Benoît Morin
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  6. Louis-Philippe Lapierre-Boire
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Correspondence to Abdelhalim Loucif.

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Loucif, A., Bitterlin, M., Jahazi, M. et al. Determination of the Root Causes for Cracking in a Large-Size Cast Ingot of AISI 4317 Steel Using Microstructural Analysis. Metallogr. Microstruct. Anal. 7, 203–208 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-018-0434-5

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