UDC 539.379 : 539 .374: 669 .15-194.52 : 669 .15 -153.

6 2

Three Stages of Ductile Fracture Process and Criteria of Void

Initiation in Spheroidized and Ferrite/Pearlite Steels*

By Tsuyoshi INOUE** and Shushi KINOSHITA **

S y nopsis sco py). In addi tion, a mod el a nd criteri on [or void

i\I/icrosco/)ic -investigation of ductile fra cture processes has beell made ill initiation a re pro posed.
the course of tellsile diformatioll of spheroidi zed and ferri te/pearlite steels
by means of transmission alld scanning elect roll microscopies. II. Experimental Procedure
In the begillning of diformatioll , dislocatioll tallglillg occurs in the The c hemical compos ition of m a terials used 111 this
vicinity of a spheroidal carbide alld a cell structure forms aroulid a pearlite
investigation is given in T a b le I . Steels A a nd B
Ilodule. These dislocatioll structures p rotect second-phase particles from
a re commerci a l grade plain carbo n steels (JIS S I OC
highly localized stress cOllcelltrations and delay the void illitiatioll to a
cOllsiderably late stage of diforma tioll.
a nd S40C , resp ectively) and steels D throug h G a re
Basillg 011 these observatiolls, criteria for void initiatioll at both spheroidal hig h purity F e- C binary a lloys ind uction-vacuum-
carbides and pearlite nodules are discussed. The stresses Oil the second- m elted as 90 kg la bora tory scale heats. All of the
phase particles can be estimated by modifying the Fisher-Hart-P~v (FHP ) steels were ho t forged into b a r stocks of 13 mm dia .
model for dispersion hardening. a nd were subj ected to heat trea tments to give t he
III spheroidi z ed steels, the void initiation takes place when the stress 011 spheroidi zed a nd ferrite/pearlite stru ctures. To o b-
carbides reaches their frac ture stress. I nferrite/pearlite steels, Ihe imposed ta in th e sph e roid ized stru c tures , specim ens were
stress on I)earlite Ilodules illduces slips of pearlitic f errite alld the seconda ry quenched a nd tempered for val·io us hours at 700°C.
stress concentration exerts to cementite lamellae due to the dislocalion pile-
T his treatme nt gives uni fo rml y di stributed carbid e
liPS. Th is secondary stress call be /)redicted by Ansell- L enel model and
pa rticl cs of average sizes ra ng ing 0.3 to 1. 9 It m. F or
void initiation occllrs when the secondary stress overcomes the fracture stress
of cemelltite.
ferrite/pearlite structures, tee ls were a u te niti zed
a nd cooled in a ir (normalized) .
I . Introduction T ensile specimens with ga uge sec tion of 7 mm di a.
There has bee n a la rge a mount of experimental by 25 mm long were mac hin ed o u t of the heat t rea ted
evidence l - 7 ) to show th a t ductile fracture process of ba r bla nks. Th e strain was g ive n by a n lnstro n-type
ma terials consists of three stages, i.e., ini tia tio n, grow th tensile teste r at cross-head speed of 5 mm/min . In
a nd coalescence of voids, a nd second -phase particl es
play a n importa nt role as sites of vo id initiation . Strain
T o ta l du ctility of m a teria ls, th erefore, can be expressed
as a sum of the ductility of each stage, as schema ti cally
shown in Fig. I .
I n 1962 , Ed elson and Baldwin 8 ) found that du ctility
of materi a l depends primarily upon the volume frac-
tion of second-phase pa rticl es.
Following at heel , several models9 - 14 ) have been
proposed to acco unt theoreticall y fo r th e a bove-men-
tio ned experimental resul t. M ost of these models,
however, d eal main ly with the void growth stage (stage
Ell
II ) assuming that the a mount of strain before void

u ~li
ini tiation is negligibly sm a ll (0 1=:0 0).
However, there is consid era ble evide nce 1 5 ,1 6) tha t
void form a tion occurs at sufficiently la rge strain a nd
to ta l duc tili ty can be no longer discussed without tak-
ing th e first stage of duc ti le fracture process into con- Fracture
sid eration. Despi te the importa nce of the first stage,
the m echanisms a nd criteri a for void initia tion a re
far from good understa nding.
(l
The presen t paper d escribes the d etails of observa- Fig. I . Schem at ic rep resen ta tio n of three stages of du c tile
tion of ductile fracture process, especia lly focusing on fr ac ture p rocess. T ota l du ctili ty or fractu re stra in
the stage of void initiation, in spheroidized and ferrite/ (0 f ) is a sum of stra ins of stages I and II , because
p earlite steels by means of TEM (Transm ission Elec- the stra in of stage III bei ng hi ghl y loca lized a nd
tron Microscopy) and SEM (Scanning E lectron Micro- ha ving li ttle effect on m a croscopi c strain.

• Origin a lly publi hed in T et u-to-H agar/i , 62 ( 19 76 ), 875, in J ap a nese. English versio n received December IS, 1976 .
•• Centra l R esearch La bo ra to ry, K obe teel, L td ., Wa kinoha ma -cho, Fukia i-ku , K o b e 65 1.

R esearch Artic le r 523 )

( 524 ) Transactions ISIJ, Vol. 17, 1977

Table I. Che mi ca l compos iti on of steels (wt% )

-- - - ---
Steel C Si Mn P S Al Note

A 0 .11 0 . 20 0 . 43 0.01 7 0.018 0.030 Commercia l

B 0 .40 0 . 33 0.85 0.01 6 0 .008 0 . 034
- - -- -----
D 0 .39 0.05 0 .008 0.00 7 0 .005 0.021
E 0 . 58 0.05 0.008 0 .009 0.006 0 .021 Vacuum-m el t
F 0 . 72 0 . 04 0 .008 0 .00 7 0 .006 0.022 La bora tory heat
G 0.9 1 0 . 04 0.008 0.01 2 0 .005 0.020

o rd er to o bse rve th e vari ous stages of d eform a tio n,

te nsil e tes t was interrupted a t va ri o us stra ins. Thin
fo il s fo r T E M o bserva ti ons we re prepa red using a n
e te ha nt of 7% perehlori e acid so luti on in gla ci a l ace t ic
acid . SEM o bservati ons wer e carr ied out on th e
lo ng itud in a l sec t ions of frac tured tensile specim ens
vary ing the di sta nce from frac ture surface end. The
d e ta il of thi tec hniqu e a nd a na lysis of strain a t the
position of o bservati on have been d escribed in th e
previo us pa pers. 1 8 , 19)

III. Experimental Results

Ph oto. I . Disloca tion stru c ture around ca rbid e in steel A, mi-
1. Observation of Ductile Fracture Process in Spheroidi zed ,,=
cros tra in ed to 0.03
Sleeis
1. Dislocation Structure around Spheroidal Carbides
On ce pl astic d eform a tion begins, sph eroid a l car-
bid es hinder th e motion of dislocations in matri x.
Ph o togra ph I shows a di sloca tio n- carbid e interactio n
at a very beginning of d efo rm a ti o n of a sph eroidi zed
steel (s teel A sph eroidi zed fo r 30 hr a nd stra ined to
c = 0.03) . As th e d eform a ti o n proceed s, a nd there-
fore as disloca tio n d ensit y a ro und carbides in c reases,
th e ta ng ling of di slocations begins to occ ur as shown
in Pho to. 2.
A t a la rge r stra in , it can be see n th a t carbid es be-
com e surro und ed b y ta ngled di sloca tions, just looking
like a cocoon of silkworm , as shown in Pho to 3. Th e
Ph oto. 2. Tangled di slocat io ns aro und ca rbides in steel A,
cocoon of ta ngled dislocati on protec ts th e carbid e p a r-
strained to <= 0.05
ticl e from th e highl y localized stress concen tra tio n,
but it is ex pec ted to impose th e a veraged stress on
the carbid e pa rticl e.
2. Void Initiation at Spheroidized Carbides
As m ention ed a bove, the cocoon of tangled dis-
locations exerts stress on the who le on th e carb id e and
th e stress is expec ted to be rela ted close ly to the den-
si ty of disloca tio n a round t he p a rticle. Th erefore,
th e stress on th e carbide increa ses g radu a ll y with in-
c reasing th e st r a in of peeime n a nd thi s stress will
be qu a ntita ti vely di scussed la te r .
Th e streng th o f ca rbid e (ce m e ntite in th is case) is
suffi cient to susta in the stress w ithout und ergoing
pl as ti c d eform a tion up to a consid erable strain of th e
specim en . As ca n be seen in Pho to . 3, the contour Ph o to. 3. "Cocoon " 0 (' di sloca ti on a round ca rbid e fo rmed a t
p a tterns in carbid e indi ca te th a t th e stra in of carbid e stra in ~ = 0. 1 in stee l B
rem a ins within th e elas ti c limit. At a higher strain
of th e spec im en , as can be seen in Phot.o. 4, di sloca-
tio ns a nd slip trace begin to a ppear in carbid e a nd of void initia tion will be a lso discussed later.
even tua lly vo id ini tia tes a t ca rbid e when the stress 3. Growth and Coalescence of Voids
exceed s th e fract u re stress of the carbid e. Th e cri teri a In spheroidi zed steels as sta ted a bove, vo id form a-

Research Article
 Transactions ISIJ, Vol. 17, 1977 ( 525 )

tion occurs a t so la rge stra in th at hig h dc nsity of
dislocation m a kes the TEM o bserva tion diffi c ult a nd
obsecure. M o reover , it is difTicult to di sting uish the
intrinsic voids fro m pits introduced d uring thc prep-
a r a ti on of thin fo il. The o bserva tion of th e la ter
stage of d eform a tion is carried ou t by SE M .
Ph o togra ph 5 shows th e sequences of duc til e frac-
P ho to. 4 . Di loca ti o ns introduced 111 ca rbid e (ceme n tite) at
st ra in ,, = 0.3 (s teel t\ )
ture process occurring JI1 th e sph ero idi zed str uc ture
of steel D . Pho tog r a ph 5(a) illustra tes th e void ini-
ti a tion to ta ke place at aro und 0= 0.5 a nd it is no tc-
wo rth y tha t void s fo rm both by d eco hes ion of ca r-
bid e/m a tri x inte rface a nd by cracking of carbid e wit h
virtu a ll y th e sam e frequency. In th e course o f d e-
fo rma ti on, voids g row preferentiall y in th e direc tion
of tensile ax is ( ho ri zo nta l directio n in Pho to. 5( b )),
a nd th ese vo id s coalesce a nd link up eac h o th er fol-
lowed b y the fin a l fracture (Photo. 5(c)). The well-
known dimpl es o n th e ductil e frac ture surface a re
form ed a t thi s stage, a nd moreover , i t has been clear ly
d em o nstra ted 16 , 17 ) th a t the number of dimples in a
uni t a rea of frac ture surface corres ponds qua ntit a ti vel y
to th e number of carbid e in the stru c ture as can be
seen in Fig. 2.
It should be no ted from th ese observa ti ons th a t void
initi a tion occurs a t a consid era bl y la rge stra in , e.g.,
as can be een in Pho to . 5(a) in a 0.39%C steel ,
void initi a ti on occ urs a t a round 0=0.5 whi ch CO l--
responds to abo u t 40 % of th e to ta l strain to frac turc.
This fac t strongly sugges ts the importa nce of th e first
tage of ductil e frac ture . It is a lso no teworthy th a t
void s g row a nd elo nga te preferen ti a ll y to the direc-
ti on of tensi le ax is, esp ecia ll y in a low carbon stee l
as shown in Ph o to. 6.

..
E
~./
u

"
10 b
.::-
,,
·in
c
OJ

,,~
"0
<lJ
,
,,
"0
~oj

, , ,~'.
u

•
10
, ,
,,
10'
Dimple dellsit;" (cm - 2 )

Fig . 2. Relation between d imp le density o n fracture su rfacc

and carb id e d e nsity in steel B spheroidi zed fo r va ri-
o us ti mes ra ng ing 1 to 200 hr

(a) V o id ini tiat ion (,,= 0.5)

( b ) V o id g rowth (,,= l.0 )
(c) V o id coalescence (0 = 1.3) Ph o to. 6. Highl y elo nga ted vo ids suggestin g th a t growth of vo id
Pho to. 5. Sequences of duct il e frac t ure p rocess in the sphero i- occurs prefe re n tia ll y to th e direct ion of tensile ax is
dized steel D observed in SE M (stee l A)

Resellrch Article
 ( 526 ) Tran sac tion s lSI] , Vol. 1 7, 197 7
2. Observation oj D uc/ile Fracture Process in F errite/Pear-
lite Steels
1. Di s loc a t ion Structure aroun d P earlite Nodul es
R egarding pearlite nodules as seco nd-ph ase par-
ticles , d uc ti Ie fracture process of ferrite/p ear lite steels
is d escribabl e in the a na logy with spheroidi zed steels.
Althoug h a pearlit e nod ul e is much la r ger in size
compa ring to a sph eroid a l ca rbid e, it ac ts as a n ob-
sta cl e aga inst th e motion of matrix dislocation in the
course of deformat ion.
Tra nsmi ssio n electro n microscopic observa tions
reveal that tangling of dislocations begin to a ppear
in th e v icinit y of pear lite nod ul e a t st ra in a round
o=oO.05 ~0 . 1 a nd well -d evelop ed cell struc ture at
a round 0=0 0.2. Photog ra ph 7 shows the ce ll st ructure
d eve loped a round a pearlite nodul e in steel E stra ined
to 0=0 0 .2 a nd it is notewo rth y that cell s tend to be
elongated and cu rved a long t he circumfere nce of the
sph ere of nod ul e.
2. Void Initiation at P ea rlite Nodule
The au th o rs have reported 18 ,19 ) that , during th e
d efo rm a ti o n of ferrite/ pearlite steel s, th e stra in of
specim en is expec ted to parti ti on between the two
ph ases a nd th e par titionin g rate is strongly d e pend ent
on the volume fraction of pearlite. In the course of
d eform atio n of ferr i te/ pea rli te steels, dislocations in
Ph oto . 7. Cell stru ctu re aro und pearli te nodul e in steel E,
strain ed to £=0.2. Cell s tend to be elon gated and
curved a long th e circumference of nodul e .
Ph oto. 8. S lip traces a nd d islocations in pearlitic ferrite in no r-
mali zed stee l E , stra in ed to £=0. 1
Research Article
m at ri x ferrite become opera tive at first a nd motions
of dislocation follow in pearliti c ferrite (ferrite lamel-
lae in th e pead ite nodule ). Ph o tograph 8 shows slip
traces and dislocat ions in the p eaditic fer rite in steel
E strained to <:= 0.1. As the strain of the pearlitic
ferrite increases, th e stress concentration on the cem ent-
ite plate increases and eventually microcracking takes
place. Photogra ph 9 illustrates the cem entite plates
in p ear lite nodule of steel E strained to <:= 0.2, show -
ing th at on e of the cementite pl ate has just mic ro-
cracked a nd the a dj ace nt cementite plate is about to
crack. On ce the microcracking occurs at one cem ent-
ite pl a te, it tends to propaga te su ccessively to the
neig hborin g cem entite p late a long th e slip direc tion
of pearlitic ferrite a nd resu lts in the a lig nment of
m icrovoids as shown by the a rrow A in Photos. 10
a nd I I . These aligned microvoids are read y to link
up and open up to a void as la rge as th e size of p earlite
nodu le (arrow B in Photo. 10). Another example
o f void formation at a pearlite nodul e is shown in
Photo. 12 . In this case, miCl'ovoid s initiate preferen-
tiall y at ferrite/cem entite pl ate interface (arrow A in
Photo. 12) a nd a lig ned microvoid s link up by tearing
o ff th e cementite to form vo id (arrow B).
Photo. 9. Cem entite la m ell ae just after miCl'ovoi d initi a tion in
steel E, strained to £=0.2
Ph oto. 10. Microvo ids a ligned along the slip direction of fer rite
(arrow A ) a nd they link up a nd open up to void
(arrow B). (s teel E )
 Transactions ISIJ, Vol. 17, 1977 ( 527 )

Pho to. 13 . Slip traces in cement ite la mellae adjacent to t he voi d

in steel E, stra ined to 0 = 0.5

Ph oto. II . Mi crovo ids alignmen t induced in \

~
to 0= 0 .2
15
--..
.....
~w

~
c:~
0
--.. .- 10
c:
0

W·~
~ :§

~
o~
. . .0
-Vl
...
....
;:, c:
-
::.

- 05 ~"".
0

·e
\£/1 0,\
~~ ~~~-i>
o I
o 0·5
Volume fraction of pearli te
( V/)
Ph o to. 12 . Microvoids occurring a t ferrite/pearlite la m ella r in-
F ig. 3. Frac ture stra in a nd stra in to vo id in it iation as a fu nc-
terface (arrow A) a nd void fo rmed by tearing off of
ti o n of vo lume fract ion of pea rl ite
ceme nti te la mellae (steel E )

3. Mode of Fracture of Cementite Pla te volume fraction of pearlite increases, t he amoun t of

It is reported tha t cementite in ferrite can plasticall y
d eform to a consid era bl e exten t,20,21) a nd the frac ture
of cemen tite occurs either in brittl e o r duc tile m a nner
a t room tempera ture. 22 ) Pho togra ph 13 shows tips
of cementite pl a tes at a void fo rmed in steel E stI-ained
to 0= 0.5. As can be seen here, m a ny slip traces a re
visible in th e cem entite plate adj acent to void , a nd
mo reover, th e frac ture occurs preferenti ally pa ra llel to
sli p trace. These observa tions, toge ther with Photo.
I I , sugges t th a t ce mentite la mell ae a re fract ured in a
du c tile m a nner.
4. Void Growth and Coalescence in Ferrite/Pearlite Struc-
ture
The stages of g rowth a nd coalescence of voids as-
socia ted with p earlite nodules a re strongly a ffec ted
by the volume fraction of pearlite involved . In low
or m edium carbon steels, the m ean ferrite p a th be-
tween pearlite nodules is sufficientl y la rge that voids
g ro w a t the expe nse of ferrite m a trix. H owever as the
strain associa ted with the stage II decreases. Figure 3
shows th e frac ture stra in a nd th e st rain to vo id initi a-
tion as a function of volume fracti on of p earli te. I S )
It is obvious from this result th a t th e stra in after void
initiation (0 ,, =0/-£ 1) d ecreases with in creasing of
volum e fraction of p earlite.
Photogra ph 14(a) shows just beneath the fracture
surface a nd Pho to . 14(b ) indicates th e di m ples of
frac ture surface of th e norma li zed m edium carbo n
steel (s teel D ). I t can be seen that void s a re formed
a t pearlite nodul es a nd link up with eac h o ther by
means of internal necking of ferrite. As shown in
Photo. 14 (b) the d e bris of pearli te at th e bottom of
dimple is surrounded by the high ridge of ferrite in a
medium carbon steel. The heigh t of ferrite ridge (or
the d epth of dimple) d ecreases with increasing of
pearlite volume fraction, a nd hence, with d ecreasing
of the a mount of stra in in the second stage of ductile
frac ture. Photogra ph 15 shows th e low ridge of g ra in

Research Article
( 528 ) Transactions ISIJ, Vol. 17, 1977

Ph oto. 15. Sha ll ow di m ples su rro u nd ed by gra in bo und ary fe r-

ri te rid ge formed on t he fract ure surface o f nea rl y
eU lcc to id steel F

P hoto . 14. (a) Mi crostru cture nea r fracture surface, a nd

(b) fractu re surface showing d e bris of pea rli te a t
t he botto m of dimpl e (steel D )

bound a r y ferrite in a steel with nearl y eutectoid com-

positIOn. Furthermore, with increa sing of pearlite
volum e frac tion , th e m a nn er oflink age of void s cha nges
from th e interna l necking m od e to the shear-like as
shown in Pho to. 16 in a eutectoid steel.
Th e mod e of linkage is la rgely a ffected by th e
c ha rac teri sti cs of th e m a trix betwee n voids, i.e., the
stra in ha rde ning ex ponent (n- value) pl a ys a n impor-
ta nt role. Th e sm a ll er the n-va lue, th e more stra in
tend s to locali ze, a nd hence th e voids m ay link up by
shear to a n increasing ex tent. Since the n-va lue of
pearlite is very sm a ll ,I8,19) it is reasona bl y ex pected
th at th e stra in of th e stage II of a eutec toid carbon
teel is ex tremely m a ll a nd fracture occ urs imme-
di a tely afte r the initiation o f void , in accord a nce with
th e exp erimenta l resul t shown in Fig. 3.

IV. Discussion
1. Void I nitiation at Spheroidi zed Carbide
Once plastic deformation begins, di slocations mov-
ing in th e m a trix a re hind ered by pa rticles of th e
seco nd-ph ase a nd exert th e stress o n them. If th e
pa r t icl es a re strong eno ugh , th ey susta in the stress up
to a considera bl e ex tent o f tra in a nd void form a tion
eventu a ll y occurs when th e stress on pa rticl es exceed s
thei r frac ture stress . According to thi s mod el, void
initiation cri te ri a will b e reasona bl y d erived if the
stress o n t he pa rti cles can be a ppropri a tel y evalua ted .
A nsell a nd Lenel (AL )23) a nd F isher, H a rt a nd Pry
(FHP )24) have put forwa rd theories d ealing with th e
tress a ri sing from t he interacti on be tween di sloca-
tions a nd o bstacles. A L ass ume disloca tion pil e-ups
(a) Sharp voids im medi ately und e rneat h of fracture
surface
( b ) Fracture surface in eu tec to id stee l G
Photo. 16. Arrows indicate voi d s in trodu cedjust before fracture
against pa rticl es whereas FHP consid er th e disloca
tion loo ps a round a pa rticl e.
Gurl a nd 25 ) a nd Ba rnb y26) calcul ated the stress re-
quired to initia te void s accordin g to th e AL mod el.
H owever th e stress predicted through t his m odel is
too sm a ll a nd t he strain a t void initia tion m ay be
within th e elas ti c limit of m a trix. Moreove r , FHP
point ou t tha t pil e-ups can br form ed onl y b y linear
obstacles since the by-passing of di slocations occurs a nd

Research Art icle


loop s must be left aro und the non-linear o bsta cles
such as spheroid a l p a rticles.27 )
The stress o n th e particle due to dislocation loops
I S g iven , according to FHP, as
N(1- b
, == .. .. ... . ... (1 )
2R
w here, R: radius of a particle
N : number of loops
(1-: elas ti c m odulus of m a trix
b : Burgers vecto r.
In practice, ta ngled disloca tions a re fo und instead
of the oversimplified loops in the vicinity of carbide
as shown in Photo. 3. Therefore, i t is of importance
to evaluate N in Eq . (l ) as a functio n of dislocation
d ensity . To evalua te N, it is ass umed tha t the stress
on particles arises from disloca tions, of the a verage
density pc, lying betw een R a nd (R + r) a round a
particl e of radius R, a nd th en th e to ta l leng th of
dislocations in thi s region is given by 4rrR2rp . On th e
o thel' h a nd , if the dislocations a re r epl aced by N dis-
locati on loops of radius R, tota l leng th of loops being
2rrRN. Then we o btain
2rr R N = 4rr R2rp
or
N = 2Rrp ... ........... .. .... ...... .(2)'
Substituting this rela tion in Eq . ( I ) gives
T = rpbp ... .... .. (3)
I t is reasonabl y ass um ed that the void formation
occurs when th e stress expressed by Eq . (3) rea ches
the fracture stress of pa rticl es .
On the other ha nd , dislocati on d ensity p is related
with strain (0) and avail a bl e slip dista nce of di sloca-
tion (A) as
P == lib ...... . . . . .. . . . .. ..... ... ... .(4)
a nd the a va ilable slip dista nce is a ssumed to decr ease
wi th increasing stra in a ccording t0 28 )
k is th e str ess on the pearlite nodule. Pu tting T as th e
A = - L ... ...... .... ............ ..... (5)
o fract ure stress of cementite, T c, a gives the stress o n
where, L is interpa rticl e spacing and k is constant
relating to the critical strain at which the constric-
tion of avail a ble slip dista nce becomes clear due m ainl y
to the interactio n between dislocations.
Now we o bta in the strain to void initiation (10 1) by
substituting Eqs. (4 ) a nd (5) in Eq . (3 ) a nd putting
.. as T o, the fracture stress of carbid e,
ej = ,J k LTc
T(1-
..... .. ... ... .. ...... ... ...
Equation (6 ) predi cts th a t void initia tion stra in
increases proportiona lly to squa re root of the inter-
particle spacing and this para bolic la w is in good
ag reement with the experimenta l resul t repor ted in
the previous paper.1 6) The verificatio n of this equa-
Transactions ISIJ , Vol. 1 7, 1977 ( 529 )
tion will be qu a n titatively d iscussed later.
2. Void Initiation in Ferrite/Pearlite Sleels
As sta ted in t he preceding section, TEM o bser va-
tion showed th a t cell struct ures a re pred omina n t
a round pearli te nodul es a nd t he y tend to be elonga ted
a nd curved a long the circumference of pearlite
spheres (Ph o to . 7). Then i t is assumed , for simplifica-
tion, that dislocations in th e cell are forced to bend
at the radius of pearli te nodule a nd nodules a re suffered
to stress as a reaction. Thi s stress in creases as the
all-over stra in in creases a nd void forma tio n occurs
when the stress on pearlite nodules exceeds th eir frac-
ture stress. Basing on this m od e l, void ini tia tio n strain
(101) for ferrite/p earlite steels is give n by repl acing Tc
in Eq . (6) into th e frac ture stress of pea rlite (Tp) a nd
can be wri tten as
10 1 =,J k r L Tp
[1
....... .... .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. (7)
Since Eq . (7) is derived in t he a na logy of sph ero i-
di zed stru c ture, it is of impo rta n ce to keep in mind
tha t thi s equa tion is only valid for the ferri te / pearlite
structure with sufficiently la rge m ean free ferri te pa th ,
... (2) in oth er wo rd s, up to a bout O.6% C steels. Th e va-
lidity of this equ a tion will be a lso discussed late r .
3. Cementite Plate Fracture in P earlite Nodule
In the course of deformation of the ferrite/p earlite
stru cture, p earlite nodul e d eforms to the exten t in
accord an ce with the stra in pa rtitioning. Once p earl-
ite nodul e begins to deform , dislocations in p earlitic
ferrite become operative a nd pil e up against cem entite
pla tes since the cementite pla te is regard ed as a linear
obstacle for m oving dislocatio ns. For the str ess con-
centration to th e linear o bsta cl e, Ansell- Lenel (AL )
m odel dealing with dislocation pil e-ups a re a pplicabl e
and given as
2Sa 2
T = . .(8)
pb
where, 2S is the m ean free p a th of di slocation , cor-
responding to the lamella r spacing of pearlite and a
the pearlite r equired to initia te voids by rewriting Eq .
(8 )
a =,J ~; To . . . .. . . ... . . ... . ... ..... (8)'
Sin ce a corresponds to frac ture stress of p earlite
nodule Tp in Eq . (7), th en w e o btain the void initia-
tion stra in of ferrite/pearlite steels as
(6)
L) lI2 . ( bTc ) 1/ 4
. .. ... . . .. . (9)
10 1 = ( k-r 2S(1-
4. Verification oj the Proposed Criteria
In the preceding sections, som e equations predi ct-
ing the stresses on the particles a nd the strains to void
initia tion at p a rticl es a re proposed for spheroidized
Researc h Article
( 530 ) Transac tions ISIJ, Vol. 17, 197 7

a nd fer r ite/pearlite steels. Th e verifica tion of th ese
eq ua tions will be checked usin g t he well accepted
m a teri a l consta nts; the Burge rs vector of iron b =
4 x 1O-8/ cm , th e cl as ti c modu lus of iron p = 104 kg/
mm 2 , th e frac ture stress of cem e ntite T("= 10 3 kg jmm 2
(after Coll in s2 !l ) a nd Webb 30 )) a nd th e fracture stress
of pea rlite nodul e Tp = 10 2 kg /mm2.6,IS)
( I ) Equ a ti o n (3) gives th e rela tion be twee n th e
stress on th e pa rticles and th e d ensity of dis locations
a ro und th e p a rticl es. From th e ph otogra phs, e.g.,
Photo. 3, it is reasona ble to es ti m a te r to be th e o rd er
of th e thi ckn ess of cell wa ll , i .e. , 1" = 0. 1 11 m . L e t th e
stre s given by Eq . (3) be equ a l to the frac ture stress
of cementite, T e , the criti cal d ensity of disloca tion to
initi a te void s is calcula ted as ,0,.=2.5 X 10ll/c m , wh ich
is reason a ble enough a nd is in good agreem ent with
th c va lue predic ted in the previ o us pa pers.1 6,17)
(2) Equ a tion (6) predi c ts t he stra in to void initi a-
tio n as a fun ctio n of interparticl e spacing of spheroi-
dized stee ls, a nd th e result ag rees qu a ntita ti vely with
the ex perimenta l valueI6,17 ) as shown in Fig. 4.
(H ere we put k = 0 .2 because th e r cma rked r es tric-
t io n of free pa th of di locati o n begins to occur a t
a ro und thi tra in. )
(3) Simil a rl y, th e stra in to void initiation for
ferrite/ pearlite steel is given by Eq . (7) as 01= 0. 71
fo r 0.05 % C stee l (L = 25 pm ) a nd 01= 0.45 for 0. 58 %C
steel (L = 10 p m ), a nd th ese calcula ted values a re in
good agreem ent with experimenta l valu es, C I = 0 .78
a nd 0.38, respec tively (See Fig. 3).
(4) F o r th e cem entite la m ell ae cracking, Eq . (8)
(o r (8 )') predic ts the fracture stress of pearlite to be
U= 11 5 kg/mm 2 (for the pea rlite with la mell a r spacing
of 0.3 pm ), being in accord a nce with the co mm o nl y
o bserved fra cture stress of eutec toid carbon steels.
(5) Finally, Eq . (9 ) predi c ts the tend ency th a t
th e stra in to void initiation d ecreases as th e p ear lite
la mella r spacin g increases. A lth ou g h there h as been
no experimenta l d a ta showing the rela tion be tween
pearlite la m ell a r spacing a nd strain to void initiatio n,
it i well es ta bli shed th a t th e coarser la mellae a re
d etrimenta l to th e du ctility of pea riite. 31 (32)
V. Conclusions
The du ctile frac ture process during tensile deforma-
tio n of spheroidized a nd ferrite/ pearlite steels have
bee n studi ed by m eans of tra nsmission a nd scanning
.....
w 1-2 L _
",,'
·2 1-0
~ ~~
~
08
11 06
I··J
~
~
.~
electro n microscopi es. As d eform a tion proceed s,
sphero idi zed carbid es become surrounded by
ta ng led di slocations, just as the cocoon of silkworm ,
which preve nt pa rticl es from premature formation of
void duc to the hig hly localized stress concentration.
Th e a veraged stress on th e pa rticles is evaluated as a
fun c tion of dislocatio n d ensity from the modified
F ishet-- H a rt- Pry m od el.
In ferrite/ pearlite steels, cell struc tures a re pre-
dom in ant a round pearlite nodul es. The stress on th e
pearlite nodule is a lso evalua ted in th e a nalogy of
sph eroidized steels.
Und er this stress, p earlite nodul e d efo rms a ccord -
ing to th e strain partiti o ning a nd second a r y disloca-
tio ns become opera tive in th e pearlitic ferrite a nd
impose the stress concentration on th e cementite plate.
The void initiation occurs a t pearlite nodu le when th e
stress on the cem entite p la te reac hes its fracture stress.
Basing on these mod e ls, th e criteri a fo r the stra in to
void ini tia ti on a re pu t fo rwa rd fo r sph eroidized a nd
ferrite/ pearli te steels a nd th e veri fi cation of the pro-
posed m echa nism was carried out. Although in th e
present m odels the stress reli e(33) a nd uniformity of
But-gers vector of disloca ti ons a re not taken into con-
sidera tio n, these m od els prove to a ccount qualita-
tively, a nd to a consid er a ble extent qu a ntitatively, for
th e du ctiliti es of spheroidized and ferrite/pearlite
steels.
Acknowledgements
Th e a uthors a re g r a teful to Dr. 1\11. Arika wa, M a n-
age r of Centra l R esearch L a bora tory, K o be Steel , Ltd .,
fo r th e permission to publish this p a per. It is a lso
a pl easure to thank M essrs. Y. O chid a a nd S. K awa ta
fo r assistan ce in the experimenta l work, a nd M essrs.
N . Kondo a nd T. Tanaka for their help in electron
microscopy .
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~ 0
U)
0·4
0·2

o
7=P-i 2 3 5
13)

Interparticle Spacing, L (microns)
Fig. 4. V a ria li o n of stra in to vo id initi a tio n wi th interpa r-
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Resear c h Article