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Failure analysis of holding U-bolts of an

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Article in Engineering Failure Analysis · July 2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2008.09.014

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 Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis of holding U-bolts of an automobile wheels

P. Behjati a, A.R. Etemadi a,*, H. Edris b
a
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran 11365-8639, Iran
b
Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 14156-2752, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Holding U-bolts of an automobile wheels are manufactured from 10B21 boron steel rods.
Received 11 August 2008 Changing the source of the rods from X to Y, with an identical manufacturing procedure,
Accepted 14 September 2008 it was observed that parts fracture at the mechanical straightening stage (final stage of
Available online 21 September 2008
the manufacturing line). In this case study, microscopy techniques and mechanical tests
were used to identify the cause of this failure. It was shown that higher contents of carbon
Keywords: and boron of the source Y rods promotes precipitation of boron containing carbides along
10B21 boron steel
the grain boundaries. These precipitates act as crack nucleation sites and are responsible
Microstructure
Failure
for the fracture of the parts under the straightening stage stresses. Based on the results,
an optimum tempering temperature was suggested for the source Y parts to solve the
problem.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The main characteristic of holding U-bolts of an automobile wheels is being under cyclic loads which are applied by bum-
py roads. So it is necessary to prevent their brittleness or cracking which facilitates the formation and propagation of fatigue
cracks. In this case, these U-bolts are manufactured through bending 10B21 steel rods. 10B21 boron steel with interesting
characteristics such as good hardenability and appropriate mechanical properties at medium temperatures has found wide
spread use for the manufacture of high tensile bolts, self-tapping screws and thread-rolled wood screws [1,2]. The rods are
provided from source X. After bending the rods, U-shape parts are austenitised at 860 °C for 15 min followed by quenching in
water with room temperature. Tempering is performed at 430 °C for 2 h. After heat treatment, the parts are distorted and
partly lose their initial dimensions which are mechanically straightened. This behavior has been well recognized in boron
steels as a result of their high austenitising temperature. Also, rapid cooling by water quenching increases the distortion.
For a special situation, some of the required rods were provided from the source Y. Unfavorably it was observed that with
an identical manufacturing procedure the source Y parts fractured during straightening, resulting in their rejection (Fig. 1).
Since this failure occurred at the final stage of manufacturing line, significant costs were imposed to the manufacturer which
economically made it important to solve the problem.
This paper reports the results of a detailed study by microscopy techniques and mechanical tests aimed to identify the
cause of this failure. Based on the results, heat treatment parameters were modified for the source Y parts.

2. Failure analysis

To identify the cause of the failure three rods were selected from each source, randomly, to make the samples. They were
visually inspected to find any surface crack, scratch or seam. Observations showed no evidence of such marks. Also, dimen-
sional controls confirmed their consistency with the drawings.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: aretemadi@alum.sharif.edu (A.R. Etemadi).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2008.09.014
 P. Behjati et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447 1443

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the holding U-bolt and its fracture position.

2.1. Chemical analysis

Chemical composition of the rods is given in Table 1. It is discernable that C and B contents of the source Y rods are com-
pletely higher than the manufacturer’s standard range.
Effect of carbon on mechanical properties of steels is completely established. Small values of carbon significantly increase
hardness, hardenability and strength of the alloy and decrease its toughness [3]. Boron is added to low carbon steels in very
small amounts in order to increase their hardenability. These atoms in the solid solution diffuse to austenite grain bound-
aries and reduce the boundary energy which, in turn, decreases the driving force of ferrite nucleation in these potential sites
[4]. Therefore, boron retards the austenite ! ferrite þ pearlite transformation rates, i.e.; it displaces the TTT curves to the
right. Controlling boron content in boron steels is very important to avoid carbides precipitation. Increase of carbon content
leads to more sever effect. During cooling from austenitising temperature, extra boron can precipitate as Fe23(B,C)6 carbides,
especially along the austenite grain boundaries [5–7]. Coarse precipitates are suitable sites for ferrite nucleation [8].

2.2. Mechanical tests

Rods were cut and bent to U-shape parts. Then they were heat treated according to the routine procedure described
above. Ten parts of each source were selected randomly as test samples. Results of the hardness test performed on the sam-
ples are given in Table 2. It is easily seen that hardness values of the samples Y are remarkably higher than the samples X.
This can be due to the higher hardness of martensite lathes in the samples Y concerning its higher content of carbon.
Finally, distorted samples were straightened by mechanical pressing. Inspecting the straightened samples X with liquid
penetrant testing (PT) revealed no crack or surface damage. However, the samples Y fractured and split into two fragments.

2.3. Microstructure

Optical microscopy (OM) of the samples indicated a tempered martensitic structure. Grain boundary ferrite colonies were
discernable in the samples Y microstructure (Fig. 2b). This may be attributed to the formation of more fraction of boron con-
taining carbides in the samples Y which promotes the ferrite nucleation.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) fractography of the samples Y fracture surfaces showed extended distribution of the
precipitates (Fig. 3a). Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) of these precipitates indicated that Fe, C and B are their main
constituent elements (Fig. 3b). These precipitates were generally formed along the grain boundaries. Under the straightening
stage stresses, these brittle phases can not be deformed plastically and act as crack nucleation sites. So, ductility of the parts
decreases and they fracture during pressing. Fig. 4 shows the microstructure of this brittle deformation behavior.

Table 1
Chemical composition of the rods compared with standard (in wt%)

Source C Si Mn S P Cr Ni Cu B
X 0.21 0.2 0.76 0.006 0.021 0.14 0.09 0.15 0.003
Y 0.27 0.22 0.78 0.006 0.016 0.13 0.06 0.13 0.004
Standard 0.18–0.23 – 0.6–0.9 0.05 0.04 – – – 0.001–0.003

X: sound and Y: rejected.

1444 P. Behjati et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447

Table 2
Hardness values of the samples after quenching and tempering (in HRC)

Sample Quench Temper

X 40 24
Y 58 37

X: sound and Y: rejected.

Fig. 2. OM micrograph of the samples (a) X and (b) Y at 800 magnification

3. Problem solving

It was determined that higher contents of C and B in the source Y rods produce unfavorable boron containing carbides
along the grain boundaries which decrease the ductility of the samples. Regarding the diffusional nature of the carbides
nucleation phenomenon, it is expected that controlling the time and temperature of the austenitising process will help to
decrease the fraction of these phases. So five samples Y were austenitised at 800 °C for 2 h and quenched according to
the routine procedure. It was observed that concentration of boron in grain boundaries significantly decreased (Fig. 5).
 P. Behjati et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447 1445

Fig. 3. (a) SEM fractograph of the samples Y fracture surface and (b) EDAX analysis of the arrowed precipitate.

Fig. 4. SEM fractograph showing the brittle deformation behavior of the samples Y.

Although prolonged austenitising decreases the fraction of boron containing carbides, however, it also encourages the
grain growth and distortion along with the increase of manufacturing costs. Therefore, increasing the tempering temperature
was suggested as an alternative technique to assist economically decreasing the grain boundary carbides. For this purpose
samples X and Y were annealed according to the routine procedure and tempered at different temperatures for 2 h. Fig. 6
1446 P. Behjati et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447

Fig. 5. (a) Back scatter SEM micrograph and (b) EDAX analysis of the shown grain boundaries of the samples Y austenitised at 800 °C for 2 h.

Fig. 6. Hardness values of the samples X and Y tempered at different temperatures for 2 h.

represents the hardness values obtained for each temperature. It is observed that at temperatures lower than 500 °C and
430 °C for the samples Y and X, respectively, hardness values has a falling behavior. This trend is interrupted at higher tem-
peratures. The temperature 500 °C was introduced as the optimum tempering temperature for the samples Y. Performing
bending ductility test on the samples X heat treated according to the routine procedure and the samples Y tempered at
500 °C showed a similar ductility behavior.
 P. Behjati et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 16 (2009) 1442–1447 1447

4. Conclusions

Results of the microscopy observations and mechanical tests determined that precipitation of brittle boron containing
carbides along the grain boundaries decrease ductility of the source Y parts. This was related to the higher contents of C
and B in the source Y rods. Based on the results, increasing the tempering temperature from 430 °C to 500 °C was suggested
for the source Y parts to solve the problem.

References

[1] Kapadia BM. In: Doane DV, Kirkaldy JS, editors. Hardenability concepts with applications to steels. Metallurgical Society of AIME; 1978. p. 448.
[2] Kapadia BM, Broun RM, Murphy WJ. The influence of nitrogen, titanium and zirconium on the boron hardenability effect in constructional steels. Trans
AIME 1968;Z4Z:1698.
[3] Krauss G. Steels, heat treating and processing principles. American Society for Metals; 1990.
[4] Morral JE, Cameron TB. Met Trans 1977;8A:1817.
[5] Levitin VV. Phys Met Metallogr 1960;10:130.
[6] Borisove VT et al. Phys Met Metallogr 1964;17:80.
[7] Mavropoulos LT, Jonas JJ. Can Metall Quart 1988;27:235.
[8] Watanabe S, Otani H, Kunitake T. Trans ISIJ 1983;23:31.

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