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Retained Austenite and Tempered Martensite Embrittlement in Medium Carbon Steels

  • Symposium on Tempering of Steel
  • Published:
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Abstract

Electron microscopy, diffraction and microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, and auger spectroscopy have been used to study quenched and quenched and tempered 0.3 pct carbon low alloy steels. Some in situ fracture studies were also carried out in a high voltage electron microscope. Tempered martensite embrittlement (TME) is shown to arise primarily as a microstructural constraint associated with decomposition of interlath retained austenite into M3C films upon tempering in the range of 250 °C to 400 °C. In addition, intralath Widmanstätten Fe3C forms from epsilon carbide. The fracture is transgranular with respect to prior austenite. The situation is analogous to that in upper bainite. This TME failure is different from temper embrittlement (TE) which occurs at higher tempering temperatures (approximately 500 °C), and is not a microstructural effect but rather due to impurity segregation (principally sulfur in the present work) to prior austenite grain boundaries leading to intergranular fracture along those boundaries. Both failures can occur in the same steels, depending on the tempering conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Memorex Corporation, Santa Clara, CA

    A. K. Jhingan

  2. Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, CA

    G. THOMAS (Professor)

Authors
  1. M. Sarikaya
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  2. A. K. Jhingan
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  3. G. THOMAS
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Formerly Graduate Student, is now Assistant Research Engineer.

Formerly Graduate Student.

This paper is based on a presentation made at the “Peter G. Winchell Symposium on Tempering of Steel” held at the Louisville Meeting of The Metallurgical Society of AIME, October 12-13, 1981, under the sponsorship of the TMS-AIME Ferrous Metallurgy and Heat Treatment Committees.

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Sarikaya, M., Jhingan, A.K. & THOMAS, G. Retained Austenite and Tempered Martensite Embrittlement in Medium Carbon Steels. Metall Trans A 14, 1121–1133 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02659860

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