Effects of grain size on fracture toughness in transition temperature region of Mn–Mo–Ni low-alloy steels

An investigation was conducted into the effect of grain size on fracture toughness in the transition temperature region of Mn–Mo–Ni low-alloy steels used for nuclear pressure vessels. Three kinds of steels with different austenite grain sizes (AGS) were fabricated by varying the contents of Al and N, and their microstructures and mechanical properties were examined. Elastic–plastic cleavage fracture toughness, KJc, was determined by three-point bend tests of precracked Charpy V-notch (PCVN) specimens according to ASTM E1921 standard test method. When the AGS decreased, the total number of carbides increased, while the size and the aspect ratio of carbides decreased. Local fracture stresses, estimated from a theoretical stress distribution in front of a crack tip, were found to be mainly determined by the 92nd% size of carbides. Cross-sectional areas beneath fracture surfaces were observed to understand microstructural features to affect the cleavage crack propagation behavior. The results showed that measured cleavage fracture units were smaller than AGSs, indicating that packet boundaries as well as austenite grain boundaries played an important role in the cleavage crack propagation. Based on the electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) results, the cleavage fracture units could also be matched with the effective grain sizes determined by the misorientation tolerance angle of 25°.