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Procedia Engineering 00 (2009) 000000
Procedia
Engineering
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Fatigue 2010
Microstructural effects on fatigue crack growth behavior of a
microalloyed steel
D.F. Laurito
a
, C.A.R.P. Baptista
a
*, M. A. S. Torres
b
, A. J. Abdalla
c
a
Department of Materials Engineering, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena, University of So Paulo, Lorena/SP, Brazil
b
Department of Mechanics, FEG/UNESP, So Paulo State University, Guaratinguet/SP, Brazil
c
IEAv/CTA Instituto de Estudos Avanados, Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial So Jos dos Campos/SP, Brazil
Received 8 March 2010; revised 10 March 2010; accepted 15 March 2010
Abstract
Thermal transformations on microalloyed steels can produce multiphase microstructures with different amounts of ferrite,
martensite, bainite and retained austenite. These different phases, with distinct morphologies, are determinant of the mechanical
behavior of the steel and can, for instance, affect the crack path or promote crack shielding, thus resulting in changes on its
propagation rate under cyclic loading. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the effects of microstructure on the tensile
strength and fatigue crack growth (FCG) behaviour of a 0.08%C-1,5%Mn (wt. pct.) microalloyed steel, recently developed by a
Brazilian steel maker under the designation of RD480. This steel is being considered as a promising alternative to replace low
carbon steel in wheel components for the automotive industry. Various microstructural conditions were obtained by means of
heat treatments followed by water quench, in which the material samples were kept at the temperatures of 800, 950 and 1200qC.
In order to describe the FCG behavior, two models were tested: the conventional Paris equation and a new exponential equation
developed for materials showing non-linear FCG behavior. The results allowed correlating the tensile properties and crack
growth resistance to the microstructural features. It is also shown that the Region II FCG curves of the dual and multiphase
microstructural conditions present crack growth transitions that are better modeled by dividing them in two parts. The fracture
surfaces of the fatigued samples were observed via scanning electron microscopy in order to reveal the fracture mechanisms
presented by the various material conditions.
Keywords: microalloyed steels; fatigue crack growth; heat treatment; microstructural analysis.
1. Introduction
The need for reduction of the vehicles weight leads to the development of steels with improved chemical
composition and microstructure. Thus, there is a strong drive in the steel industry to enhance the performance of the
existing products, particularly, formability and toughness [1]. The mechanical properties of these new materials,
which include the high strength and low alloy (HSLA) steels and the microalloyed steels, are more favourable both
to manufacturing and service performance of automotive components. These steels have low or medium carbon
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-12-3159-9914; fax: +55-12-3153-3006.
E-mail address: [email protected].
c 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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1877-7058 c 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2010.03.206
2 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000
content and small additions of alloy elements such as Mn, Nb, Mo, V and Ti. A variety of microstructures in
microalloyed steels can be obtained depending on the deformation temperature, cooling rate and the chemical
composition [2-4]. Accelerated cooling is one of the methods to strengthen the steels with minimum alloying
content and to obtain good toughness [5]. Microalloying elements are added mainly to control the austenitic grain
size of the reheating, to retard the recrystallization of austenite and to promote precipitation hardening. Elements
such as Nb and Ti facilitate grain refinement by means of the precipitation and anchoring of solute in austenite and
contribute to increase the strength by precipitation in ferrite during and after the austeniteferrite transformation
[6]. The improvement in the properties of microalloyed steels is primarily a consequence of fine ferrite grain size
produced by the transformation of austenite [7].
On the other hand, the research involving the transformation of phases by means of inter-critical and isothermal
heat treatments has intensified, with promising results given by the dual phase steels [8]. These are characterized by
microstructures consisting of a dispersion of hard martensite particles in a soft ferrite matrix [9]. Many studies [9-
10] have shown that martensite content is dominant in controlling tensile properties and that increasing the amount
of martensite decreases ductility. Other factors that have been reported to influence the ductility of dual phase steels
include the composition of the martensite, alloy content of the ferrite, retained austenite [10]. Due to its combination
of high strength, good ductility and continuous yielding, dual phase steels have been considered to be ideal for the
production of automobile components that require good formability [11]. Microalloyed steels can also be heat
treated in order to obtain dual phase and multiphase microstructures.
The strength, ductility and fatigue resistance of steels can be related to their microstructural aspects. Tayan et al.
[12] investigated the effect of carbon content and martensite volume fraction on the fatigue behavior strength of dual
phase steels with carbon content between 0.085% and 0.3% (wt. pct.). They observed that dual phase steels show
better fatigue properties than the as received steels. Moreover, an optimum heat treatment temperature preceding
water quenching was found to exist for the studied steels, with respect to tensile strength. Baptista et al. [13]
investigated the fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of low carbon dual phase steels and found that a higher tensile
strength corresponds to lower FCG resistance. Suzuki and McEvily [14] obtained FCG curves for dual phase steels
presenting duplex microstructures with distinct phase morphologies. They observed that not only the martensite
fraction volume, but also its morphology, can significantly affect the FCG behavior.
The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth behaviour
of a 0.08%C-1,5%Mn (wt. pct.) microalloyed steel, recently developed by a brazilian company (CSN) under the
designation of RD480. This steel is being considered as a promising alternative to replace a low carbon steel in
wheel components for the automotive industry. Distinct microstructural conditions were obtained by means of inter-
critical and isothermal heat treatments followed by water quench, in which the material samples were kept at the
temperatures of 800, 950 and 1200
o
C. The effect of the microstructural changes due to these heat treatments on the
tensile behaviour of this steel was object of a more detailed investigation in a previous work [15]. The as-received
(hot-rolled) material condition was also employed for comparison. The crack propagation test results were
summarized in terms of FCG rate (da/dN) versus stress intensity factor range (AK) curves. In order to describe the
FCG behavior, two models were tested: the conventional Paris equation [16] and a new exponential equation
developed for materials showing non-linear FCG behavior [17]. The results allowed correlating the tensile
properties and crack growth resistance to the microstructural features. The discussions are supported by
fractographic analyses via SEM. Moreover, it is shown that the Region II of FCG curves of the dual and multiphase
microstructural conditions are better modeled by dividing them in two parts.
2. Experimental Procedure
The material used in this study was a commercial grade low carbon microalloyed steel, developed by CSN under
the designation of RD480. The chemical composition of this steel is given in Tab. 1. The material was received as
hot rolled plates with 5 mm in thickness, from which tensile and fatigue specimens were machined. These
specimens were divided in four lots; the first one remained in the as received (AR) condition. The others were
hold in furnace at 800, 950 and 1200C for 30 min, and then the specimens were quenched directly into cold water.
After heat treatment, cross-section of samples were polished, etched and observed under light and scanning electron
microscope (SEM) in order to reveal their microstructures. Three distinct etching procedures were adopted: 2%
nital, 10% sodium metabisulphite and a combination of them.
1916 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000 3
Table 1. Chemical composition of RD480 steel.
Element C Mn P S Si Cu Ni Cr
wt.% 0.085 1.169 0.017 0.005 0.053 0.007 0.008 0,016
Element Mo Sn Al N Nb V Ti B
wt.% 0.005 0.003 0.021 0.0055 0.035 0.003 0.013 0.001
The tensile and fatigue crack growth tests were conducted at room temperature in laboratory air using a MTS
810.23m servo-hydraulic machine with 250 kN capacity. For the tensile tests, small size specimens (6 mm in width
and gage length of 30 mm) and a constant crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min were employed.
Compact tension specimens, cut in the LT orientation, were adopted for the FCG tests. These were performed
with constant load amplitude under force control at load ratio (min/max) R = 0.1. The test frequency was kept
constant at 10 Hz and the loading waveform was sinusoidal. The compliance method of crack length monitoring was
used during the tests and the five point incremental polynomial technique was employed for computing the crack
growth rate. All of the experimental and numerical procedures were in conformity with the standard practice for
Measurement of Fatigue Crack Growth Rates (ASTM E647-95a). The crack propagation test results were
summarized in terms of FCG rate (da/dN) versus stress intensity factor range (AK) curves. The fracture planes of the
fatigued specimens were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) LEO 435 Vpi.
3. Results and Discussion
The obtained results are summarized in three sections: microstructural analysis, tensile propertied and fatigue
crack growth behavior. In these analyses, the material in the as received condition is referred as AR; the remaining
material conditions are designated by WQ (from water quench) followed by a number representing the soaking
temperature, i.e., WQ800, WQ950 and WQ1200.
3.1. Microstructural analysis
It can be seen if Fig. 1a that the AR material presents fine grained microstructure with polygonal morphology.
The microalloying elements Nb, V and Ti contribute to the formation of small size grains in the hot rolled steel.
Figure 1b (nital etching) shows that the main phases in this material are perlite (dark) and ferrite (bright). The same
material condition was also etched in an aqueous solution of sodium metabisulphite in order to reveal the presence
of retained austenite. However it was not possible to detect this phase, which means that its amount in the AR
condition is negligible.
The microstructure of WQ800 condition, shown in Fig. 2, presented changes in grain size compared to the AR
material. By heating the steel to the intercritical region (800C), two phenomena occur: the formation of carbon-
enriched austenite and the growth of non-transformed ferrite grains. The austenite grains in equilibrium with the
remaining ferrite are small and in lower amount due to the low carbon content of the alloy. After quenching,
austenite is transformed in a second, harder phase (martensite and/or bainite) spread over the ferrite matrix, resulting
in a typical dual phase steel microstructure. In Fig. 2b, the same microstructure is revealed by sodium
metabissulphite etching. In this case, the small white globular areas correspond to retained austenite, indicating that
part of the austenite did not transform, due to the severity of the water quench.
It can be seen in Fig. 3a that the water quench from a total austenitization temperature (950C) brought deeper
microstructural changes to this steel. The polygonal aspect of the grains was reduced, the soft phase (ferrite) became
more acicular and the amount of the second phase (martensite/bainite) is increased. The overall microstructure is
still refined. Liang et al. [11] observed a similar microstructure as a result of water quenching from the austenitic
region. The micrography obtained with sodium metabisulphite etching, Fig. 3b, shows that the amount of retained
austenite (white phase) is increased for this soaking temperature.
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925 1917
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(a)
(b)
Fig. 1. RD480 steel, AR condition. (a) SEM micrography showing grain refinement; (b) optical micrography revealing the grain boundaries and
phases: perlite (dark) and ferrite (etchant: 2% nital).
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2. RD480 steel, WQ800 condition, optical micrographies. (a) dual phase structure (etchant: 2% nital); (b) retained austenite, white phase
(etchant: 10% sodium metabissulphite).
(a)
(b)
Fig. 3. RD480 steel, WQ950 condition. (a) SEM micrography showing acicular ferrite and increasing in amount of the second phase; (b) optical
micrography showing retained austenite, white phase (etchant: 10% sodium metabissulphite)
1918 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925
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The microstructure of WQ1200 condition is shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the blue-tinted phase (martensite),
sprinkled with a white phase (retained austenite), has a tendency to surround the ferritic phase (pale brown) like a
net, see Fig. 4a. It can be seen in Fig. 4b the ripped up morphology of the transformed phases, indicating that
shearing events occurred during transformation. This occurrence is well known for low carbon (less than 0.6 wt.
pct.) steels.
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. RD480 steel, WQ1200 condition, optical micrographies. (a) martensitic net (blue), sprinkled with retained austenite (white) and
surrounded ferrite (pale brown); (b) ripped up morphology of the transformed phases (etchants: 2% nital and 10% sodium metabissulphite)
3.2. Tensile properties
The tensile properties are summarized in Tab. 2, where oy is the yield stress, ou is the ultimate tensile strength
and AL is the percent elongation. The AR material exhibits a high ductility level due to its high ferrite content. The
oy / ou ratio is also high, due to the hot rolling production process. The WQ800 material condition experienced an
increase of about 20% in the tensile strength, compared to the AR material, and a decrease in the yield stress, while
the elongation of 17% means that the ductility is kept in an acceptable level (for most of the automotive
applications) due to the presence of the ferritic phase. The WQ800 condition shows also an important characteristic:
the lowest oy / ou ratio among all the tested material conditions. It was shown that the steels with a oy / ou ratio
below 0.68 are very suitable to applications embodying cold work processes [18]. The WQ950 condition presented
increases in the yield stress and tensile strength, and a decrease in the percent elongation, which became critical
once the necking was observed to begin at 5% total strain [15]. This behavior is related to the increases in the
volume fraction of martensite and in the hardness of the ferritic phase, which assumed an acicular morphology (Fig.
3a). According to Gndz [19], martensite is dominant in controlling the tensile properties, and a previous work by
Stein et al. [20] showed that samples heat treated in the range 900-950C presented refined martensite, due to the
small growth of austenitic grains, with a low volume fraction of polygonal ferrite and significant amount of acicular
ferrite. The highest oy and ou values were obtained for the WQ1200 condition. From Fig. 4a it can be concluded
that the high cooling rate in this condition reduced the atomic diffusion to short circuits, resulting in a microstructure
characterized by a martensitic net surrounding the ferritic grains. The tensile strength is increased due to this phase
morphology and to the increase in the hardness of ferrite (which is more sheared), but the ductility suffers a huge
drop.
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925 1919
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Table 2. Tensile properties of RD480 steel with distinct microstructural conditions.
Condition / Property o
y
(MPa) o
u
(MPa) AL (%) o
y
/ o
u
AR 459 541 32 0.85
WQ800 343 649 17 0.53
WQ950 489 676 15 0.72
WQ1200 872 964 9 0.90
3.3. Fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior
The FCG results in the range 10-8-10-6 m/cycle (Region II) for the as received material and for the heat treated
conditions are shown in Fig. 5 with two tests in each condition. In this figure, a clear increase in the crack
propagation resistance of the multiphase materials is observed. It can be stated that the formation of harder phases
upon water quenching is responsible for this increase. In the heat treated conditions, the harder phases are spread
over the softer ferritic matrix, thus creating a tendency if the crack to deviate from these phases and to propagate
mainly through the ferrite, resulting in a more tortuous crack path. Besides, crack propagation through martensitic
phase was also observed together with other mechanisms that contributed to increase the FCG resistance (Fig. 6).
The lower resistance to crack propagation shown by WQ800 material when compared to the other heat treated
conditions is probably due to the lower amount of ferrite in their microstructures (Figs. 2 to 4), which makes crack
propagation through this phase more difficult to occur. Chen and Cheng [21] observed that the mechanical strength
of dual and multiphase steels is higher when their microstructure is characterized by a martensitic phase surrounding
ferrite islands. This feature was observed for WQ1200 condition (Table 2 and Fig. 4). The higher tensile strength of
WQ1200 does not mean, necessarily, a better fatigue crack behavior as compared to the other heat treatments. This
is clear when the FCG curves of WQ1200 condition is compared to those of WQ950 (Fig. 5). The complete
surrounding of ferrite by harder phases, like observed for WQ1200 material, did not occur for WQ950. The phases
morphology presented by WQ1200 resulted in high tensile strength, but lead to material embrittlement because the
deformation of ferritic phase is inhibited (Fig. 7). This lack of ductility is probably behind the loss of fatigue crack
growth resistance presented by WQ1200 when compared to WQ950.
Fig. 5. Fatigue crack propagation curves of RD480 steel with distinct microstructural conditions.
1920 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925
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Fig. 6 . Fatigue crack path for WQ950 condition (1,000): 1) crack bifurcation in martesitic phase, 2) crack deviation due to the presence of
harder phases, 3) crack shielding by harder phase.
Fig. 7. Fatigue fracture surface of WQ1200 showing brittle mechanisms (1,000 ).
In order to describe the FCG behavior of the multiphase alloys, two equations were tested: the conventional Paris
model [16], given by Eq. (1), and a new exponential model developed for materials showing non-linear FCG
behavior [17], given by Eq. (2).
( )
n
K C
dN
da
A = (1)
( K
Ae
d
)
N
da
A
=
/ |
, where A= e

(2)
In the exponential model, a calculation procedure is employed as follows: for each experimental point, a
parameter is determined in the form of Eq. (3). By plotting the values against K in the linear scale a straight line
is obtained, for which the and values are respectively its slope and intercept.
| o + A = A |
.
|

\
|
= K K
dN
da
ln (3)
Quantitative comparisons of these two models performance can be done by the normalized sum of the squares of
the residuals corresponding to the set of experimental points of each curve, which gives the average percent
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925 1921
8 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000
deviation between the experimental and calculated growth rates. The calculated C and n values of Eq. (1) and o and
| values of Eq. (2), as well as the percent deviations, are given in Tab. 3 for each material condition. Fig. 8, which
shows the fatigue crack growth curves calculated according to these two models plotted together the experimental
points for WQ 800 material condition, exemplifies the models behavior for all of the evaluated data sets.
Table 3. Fitting parameters for the Paris and Exponential models.
Paris Model Exponential Model Material
Condition
C
n
%
Deviation

%
Deviation
WQ800 - 01 9.59 10
-17
5.75 0.16 -9.63 -239.8 0.12
WQ800 - 02 4.82 x 10
-13
3.56 0.078 -11.81 -135,54 0.045
WQ950 - 01 6.88 10
-19
6.71 0.30 -8.08 -334.9 0.26
WQ950 - 02 3.52 x 10
-22
8.29 0.052 -6.62 -529.31 0.047
WQ1200 - 01 5.05 10
-17
5.73 0.22 -9.44 -279.7 0.17
WQ1200 - 02 1.31 x 10
-15
5.04 0.139 -9.14 -259.62 0.199
30 35 40 45 50 55 60
1E-7
1E-6
WQ 800
d
a
/
d
N

(
m
/
c
y
c
l
e
)
AK (MPa m
1/2
)
Experimental Points
Paris
Exponential
Fig. 8. FCG curve of WQ800 material, described by Paris and Exponential models.
From Fig. 8 and Tab. 3 it can be verified that the discrepancies between the models and experimental results for
most of the tests are higher than the expected values for this kind of analysis [22]. Even the exponential equation,
proposed for describing non-linear FCG behavior, was not successful in this case. However, a more careful
observation of Fig. 8 clearly shows a change in the slope of the FCG curve. This change, defined here as the
transition point, is indicated by a dashed line and occurs at a crack growth rate of 2.7 10
-7
m/cycle, whatever the
microstructural condition. Suzuki and McEvily [14] have already mentioned the existence of transition points in the
FCG behavior of dual phase steels. These transitions were related to changes in crack path and in fracture mode due
to a possible microstructural sensitivity of FCG behavior. Fig. 9 shows fracture surface aspects of WQ950 condition
for crack lengths corresponding to FCG rates just below and above the transition point, respectively. In Fig. 9a it is
possible to observe intense plastic deformation marks together with small dimples spread on the whole surface.
These marks seem to be aligned at approximately 90 with FCG direction. After the transition point, Fig. 9b shows a
decrease of the ductile fracture aspects, an increase in the deformation mark spacing and the existence of longer
valleys with brittleness characteristics. Therefore, the Region II FCG curves of the dual and multiphase
1922 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000 9
microstructural conditions are better modeled by dividing them in two parts: above and below the transition point.
Figs. 1012 show, for one test of each material condition, the obtained results for both tested models. Tab. 4
presents the fitting parameters and the obtained percent deviation for the studied models. A comparison of the
percent deviations shown in Tab. 4 with those of Tab. 3 allows concluding that the definition of a transition point
resulted in a much better description of FCG behaviour for the multiphase steels. Moreover, there is no significant
difference in the efficacy of the two models for both regions of the FCG curves. Another important observation is
that the slopes of the FCG curves in the region above the transition point show the conventional behaviour of
Region II FCG for all the material conditions, whereas the slopes of the regions below the transition point are very
high, as if a threshold AK was being approached.

(a) (b)
Fig. 9. Fatigue crack surface of WQ950 (a) before and (b) after crack growth transition.
Table 4. Fitting parameters for the Paris and Exponential models considering the transition point.
Paris Model Exponential Model Material Condition
C n % Deviation % Deviation
2.22 10
-22
9.31 0.080 -6.60 -356.7 0.070
WQ800-01
5.32 10
-13
3.52 0.006 -11.04 -172.4 0.009
2.94 x 10
-15
5.01 0.041 -10.87 -166.96 0.03
WQ800-02
7.75 x 10
-12
2.82 4.46 x 10
-3
-12.03 -125.85 0.012
1.39 10
-31
14.30 0.063 -4.66 -525.9 0.057
WQ950-01
1.08 10
-12
3.19 0.030 -11.44 -182.4 0.020
3.02 x 10
-28
11.68 0.021 -3.51 -722.04 0.019
WQ950-02
6.12 x 10
-18
5.97 1.24 x 10
-3
-8.59 -398.17 2.29 x 10
-3
9.66 10
-26
11.05 0.096 -4.97 -474.7 0.092
WQ1200-01
2.75 10
-13
3.60 0.052 -10.78 -202.4 0.056
1.38 x 10
-22
9.59 0.068 -6.84 -328.57 0.06
WQ1200-02
7.77 x 10
-15
4.59 0.051 -9.48 -247.77 0.1
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925 1923
10 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000
30 35 40 45 50 55 60
1E-7
1E-6
WQ 800
Experimental Points
Paris
Exponential
d
a
/
d
N

(
m
/
c
y
c
l
e
)
AK (MPa m
1/2
)
Fig. 10. Two regions of FCG curve of WQ800 material, described by Paris and Exponential models.
40 45 50 55 60 65 70
1E-8
1E-7
1E-6
WQ 950
d
a
/
d
N

(
m
/
c
y
c
l
e
)
AK (MPa m
1/2
)
Experimental Points
Paris
Exponential

35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
1E-8
1E-7
1E-6
WQ 1200
Experimental Points
Paris
Exponential
d
a
/
d
N

(
m
/
c
y
c
l
e
)
AK (MPa m
1/2
)
(a) (b)
Figure 11. Two regions of FCG, described by Paris and Exponential models. a) curve of WQ950 material b) curve of WQ1200 material
4. Conclusion
From the presented results, the following can be concluded:
- Multiphase microstructures with distinct phase contents and morphologies are obtained by water quenching the
microalloyed steel RD480 from different temperatures;
- Both the tensile strength and the FCG resistance of multiphase conditions have increased when compared to the
properties of the AR material;
- Among the tested material conditions, the best FCG resistance was obtained by water quenching RD480 steel
from 950C, leading to a microstructure in with great amount of harder phases was present, although not enough
to completely surround the softer phase (ferrite);
- A better description of the FCG behavior of RD480 steel with multiphase microstructures is obtained if the
experimental curves are divided in two regions: above and below a transition point.
1924 D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 2 (2010) 19151925
D.F. Laurito et al. / Procedia Engineering 00 (2010) 000000 11
Acknowledgements
D. F. Laurito acknowledges CAPES for the grant.
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