International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014

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International Journal of Fatigue

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

Influence of plastic deformation in fatigue crack behavior in bainitic steel

M.C. Marinelli a, *, M.Balbi a, U. Krupp b
a
Instituto de Física Rosario – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Bv. 27 de febrero 210 bis, 2000
Rosario, Argentina
b
IEHK - Institut für Eisenhüttenkunde / Steel Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Intzestraße 1, D-52072 Aachen, Germany

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In the present paper, the behavior of fatigue microcracks is studied in a high-strength bainitic steel with the aim
LCF of identifying the microstructural features that influence the mode of initiation and propagation of microcracks.
Surface crack initiation For this study, a gradual monitoring of surface damage during low-cycle fatigue test at different plastic strain
Crack propagation
ranges was carried out by means of light optical and electron microscopy along with EBSD data analysis.
High strength bainitic steel
Moreover, the dislocation structure near the surface was analyzed and correlated with the crack initiation site.
The results showed a change with respect to cracking mechanisms from 0.2% plastic strain.

1. Introduction
There has been a considerable attention in the fabrication of high-
strength bainitic steels in recent years due to the many advantages
that they put up in the marketplace, thanks to their good strength to
weight ratio and good erosion resistance [1–3]. These steels are suitable
for cold forming of structural and safety-related automotive compo­
nents. The high strength level gives potential for considerable weight
reduction and a cost-effective way to produce energy-efficient vehicles.
In particular, high-strength bainitic steels are widely designed and
manufactured in bearing, gear and automobile industry as crash rein­
forcement bars to protect against sidewise impact and for injection lines
(under pulsating loads) in common rail diesel engines [4–9].
Bainitic steels are processed using accelerated cooling in order to
obtain bainitic ferrite laths increasingly thin with a fine-scale dispersion
of retained austenite between the laths to achieve better mechanical
properties and an extended fatigue life [10–14].
Although the fatigue life of high-strength bainitic steels with
different bainitic morphologies was analyzed by several authors
[15–19], fatigue damage mechanisms were not entirely understood.
It is well known that fatigue failure usually occurs as a result of
stress/strain concentration and crack development in a critical region. In
previous studies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used to
analyze the fracture surfaces, related to the fatigue behavior of the
bainitic steels. Some authors [9,17] have reported that fatigue micro­
cracks nucleate at the interface between the bainitic ferrite and retained
austenite regardless of the strain amplitude imposed. On the other hand,
Sankaran et al. [20,21] revealed that microcracks nucleate in slip band
extrusions/intrusions on the surface under mixed mode (ductile and
brittle) in multiphase (ferrite/ bainite/ martensite) microstructures.
Branco et al [18] reported that microcracks initiate along the slip band
and they grow through the grain boundaries and eventually form a long
crack by coalescence of short cracks.
Rementeria et al [22], using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD),
reported that the crack initiation occurs at the surface on slip systems
{1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 and identified the possible microstructural barriers for
crack propagation, such as block and packet boundaries. Meanwhile,
Mueller et al [23] identified the microstructural features governing the
fatigue limit as the bainite block size, which is considered the main
obstacle for short fatigue crack growth.
On the other hand, Nohava et al [24] analyzed secondary cleavage
cracks and they reported that those propagated mainly in the range of a
bainite packet on cleavage crack planes {1 0 0} but also in slip planes and
were arrested on high-angle twist type boundaries.
The aim of the present paper is to identify the microstructural fea­
tures that influence the mode of initiation and propagation of micro­
cracks during low-cycle fatigue at different plastic strain ranges. For this
purpose, a gradual monitoring of surface damage during the fatigue test
is proposed by means of light optical and electron microscopy along with
EBSD data analysis.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: marinelli@ifir-conicet.gov.ar (M.C. Marinelli).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2020.106014
Received 9 September 2020; Received in revised form 21 October 2020; Accepted 21 October 2020
Available online 26 October 2020
0142-1123/© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
M.C. Marinelli et al.
2. Experimental methodology
2.1. Material
The material employed in the present work is the bainitic steel
16CrMnV7-7 with a nominal chemical composition as given in Table 1.
The material was supplied by Georgsmarienhütte GmbH (Germany) in
the form of cylindrical bars of 30 mm in diameter. According to the
manufacturer, optimal material properties are achieved by isothermal
transformation to bainitic ferrite in the temperature range 300–500 ◦ C.
2.2. Test specimen preparation and low-cycle fatigue test
The fatigue tests were carried out on cylindrical specimens for
studying the fatigue behavior and shallow-notched cylindrical speci­
mens for the cracks study [27]. The former ones were prepared by
standard mechanical polishing finished with 1 μm diamond paste to
achieve a smooth surface. On the other hand, the latter ones were me­
chanically polished down to 6 μm diamond paste and then electrolyti­
cally polished using a solution of 10% perchloric acid in ethanol at T =
− 15 ◦ C, V = 15 V, I = 2A for 4 min to improve the observation of
microcracks with respect to nucleation and growth. The central part of
the notch was monitored and digitally recorded, during the fatigue test,
using an in-situ light optical microscopy (LOM) system consisting of a
CCD camera, JAI model CM-140MCL with a 50X objective, ± 1 μm FD
and 13 mm WD and a 12X ultra zoom.
Low-cycle fatigue tests (LCF) were performed at room temperature in
an electromechanical testing machine INSTRON 1362 under plastic
strain control with plastic strain ranges of Δεp = 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.2%,
0.25% and 0.3% with a fully reversed triangular wave and total strain
rate of 2 × 10− 3 s− 1.
2.3. Microcracks analysis
The microstructural features and microcracks analysis were devel­
oped using automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in a FEG –
SEM Quanta 200 scanning electron microscope and transmission elec­
tron microscopy (TEM) using a Philips CM 200 transmission electron
microscope operated at 160 kV.
TexSEM Laboratories software (TSL OIM) was used to perform EBSD
data acquisition and post-processing. EBSD maps were acquired either
using a step size of 30 nm for the microstructural characterization of the
as-received steel or 100 nm to study the microcrack behavior. Grain
dilatation cleanup type with a grain tolerance angle of 15◦ was
employed to clean up the data points in the fatigued specimens.
Thin foils were prepared from slices taken parallel to the loading axis
of the fatigued shallow-notched cylindrical specimens. The discs of 3
mm in diameter were subsequently thinned and electro polished in a
twin-jet polishing unit using a 10% perchloric acid and 90% ethanol
mixture at − 17 ◦ C and 20 V.
3. Results
3.1. As-receved microstructure
This steel presents a distribution of lower bainite blocks identified by
colors in Fig. 1a. Each group of blocks with the same habit plane form a
packet. In the literature, it is considered a bainite block boundary when
Table 1
Nominal chemical composition of the 16CrMnV7-7 (in wt. %). Data supplied by the manufacturer Ms = 420 ◦ C, σy = 860 MPa, TS = 1200 MPa.
C Si Mn P S
0.15–0.20 0.20–0.30 1.68–1.80 < 0.015
Cr Mo Ni V Nb
0.70–1.80 0.03–0.06 0.12–0.25 0.05–0.15
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International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014
the misorientation angle is greater than 15◦ [25,26]. Fig. 1b represents
the misorientation angles corresponding to block and packet bound­
aries, resulting high-angle boundaries with misorientation angles of 45◦
and 60◦ . Each block is divided into sub-micrometer bainitic ferrite laths
with similar crystallographic orientation and an average width size of
0.6 μm. This latter contains cementite particles and high dislocation
density inside and a film-like retained austenite at lath/block boundaries
(Fig. 1c).
Additionally, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) study revealed an amount
of 5 vol% of retained austenite (Fig. 1d).
3.2. Low-cycle fatigue behavior
The cyclic behavior of the bainitic steel 16CrMnV7-7 at room tem­
perature under plastic strain control for Δεp = 0.1%, Δεp = 0.2% and
Δεp = 0.3% is shown in Fig. 2.
All three curves present a short initial cyclic hardening stage, fol­
lowed by a cyclic softening response. The initial cyclic hardening
behavior is commonly observed during LCF in carbide-free and carbide-
bearing bainitic steels [17,19,27] as a result of the entanglement of
dislocations causing reduction in the mobile-dislocation density, while
the cyclic softening is the result of dislocation rearrangement.
In order to obtain the Coffin-Manson curve for the studied steel, fa­
tigue tests were performed at different plastic strain ranges Δεp = 0.1%,
0.15%, 0.2%, 0.25% and 0.3%.
The Fig. 3 shows a bilinear behavior at Δεp / 2 = 1 × 10− 3. This
phenomenon was previously noted in carbide-free and carbide-bearing
bainitic steels [15,19]. In fact, the authors reported that this behavior
could be attributed to a change in the fracture mechanism and slip
system with increasing strain amplitude. However, there is no reliable
study on bainitic steels that shows it. Therefore, in this paper the crack
behavior with increasing plastic strain amplitude will be analyzed.
3.3. Surface damage and microcracks behavior during LCF
3.3.1. Δεp = 0.1%
The evolution of surface damage corresponding with Δεp = 0.1%
shows that the first slip lines start after 50 cycles as can be seen in
Fig. 4b. As cycling proceeds, these lines intensify causing extrusions,
which will give rise to microcracks after 200 cycles.
In order to determine the crack initiation and propagation sites, the
slip systems associated with the microcrack and their Schmid factors
(SF) were calculated using a computer analysis of selected EBSD-
characterized areas [28]. For this data processing, the points located
in the proximity of cracks were selected. For each possible slip plane, the
trace of the intersection of the plane with the sample surface was
calculated and compared with the crack line. The results showed that the
cracks lie in {1 1 0} slip planes. However, to determine the slip system
corresponding with the crack, other analysis is necessary. Thus, the SF
for each slip system {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 was calculated and compared with
those obtained using TSL OIM analysis, as shown in Fig. 5a. This figure
shows an SEM image overlapped with the Schmid factor map corre­
sponding to the zone indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4f.
From the analysis carried out, it is observed that the crack is formed
by three microcracks f1, f2 and f3, which were initiated within bainitic
[ ]
ferrite laths orientated on the slip system (110) 111 with SF = 0.48 and
[ ]
SF 0.49 for f1 and f3 respectively, and (101) 111 with SF = 0.48 for f2.
Al Sn
0.010–0.020 0.018–0.028 < 0.020
N Cu
0.020–0.040 0.018–0.025 < 0.20
M.C. Marinelli et al. International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014

Fig. 1. As received bainitic steel: a) grain map (without cleanup) obtained by EBSD indicating blocks of bainitic ferrite laths, b) misorientation distribution of bainite
blocks, c) TEM bright field image showing retained austenite (RA), bainitic ferrite (BF), cementite and carbide particles precipitate within bainitic ferrite laths, d) The
constituent phases were analyzed by XRD using Rietveld analysis by Powder cell 2.4.

Fig. 3. Coffin - Manson curve showing a change in slope to Δεp = 0.2%.

Fig. 2. Stress amplitude vs number of cycles at several plastic strain amplitudes
of bainitic steel 16CrMnV7-7.
twist (α) and tilt (β) angles between the crack plane and the slip plane of
neighboring block (Fig. 6). According to Zhai et al [29], the smaller the
To determine the crack growth behavior and the crack plane effect
twist angle and the tilt angle between two slip planes belonging to two
on crack retardation at block boundaries, the coplanarity between the
contiguous grains are, the lower is the resistance to microcrack
slip planes of adjacent bainite blocks will be analyzed calculating the

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M.C. Marinelli et al. International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014

Fig. 4. Optical images showing the evolution of surface damage during LCF at Δεp = 0.1%.

Fig. 5. Crack analysis for Δεp = 0.1%. a) Schmid factor map corresponding to slip systems {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉, b) grain shape orientation map showing crack propagation
almost 135◦ to the loading axis.

Fig. 6. Twist (α) and tilt (β) angles of the crack plane deflection at
packet boundary.
propagation.
Calculating the angles between the crack plane of f2 and the crack
plane of f3 the results show α = 9◦ and β = 2◦ indicating, in this case, that
the block boundary exerts a certain resistance to the crack propagation.
On the other hand, analyzing the opposite crack tip, the angles be­
tween the crack plane f2 and the possible slip planes of the neighboring
block were calculated. In this case, the lowest tilt angle (β = 6◦ ) corre­
sponds to the plane (101), but for this plane the twist angle is high (α =
59◦ ) and it is known that a certain region on the grain boundary plane
needs to be broken because of the crack plane twist, which presents
significant resistance to crack growth [30]. Therefore, f2 did not grow on
this plane and it was arrested in the packet boundary producing a high
stress concentration. After a few cycles f2 merges with f1 in a non-
crystallographic coalescence of microcracks.
Fig. 5b shows the grain shape orientation map obtained by TSL OIM
analysis. On this map each point is shaded according to the shape
orientation of the grain to which it belongs. The orientation in this
instance is the corresponding orientation with the major axis of an el­
lipse fit to the grain makes with the loading axis.
This map will allow us to analyze the influence of the orientation of
bainite blocks on the crack propagation. Definitely, it can be seen that
the cracks are located on bainite blocks orientated between 120◦ and
140◦ with respect to the loading direction (represented in orange in

4
M.C. Marinelli et al.
Fig. 5b). In particular, the crack plane traces are almost 135◦ to the
loading axis.
3.3.2. Δεp = 0.2%
At Δεp = 0.2%, slip lines were observed after 20 cycles (indicated by
arrows in Fig. 7b) which intensify during ongoing cycling, leading to the
initiation of microcracks after 100 cycles, as shown in Fig. 7c.
In a previous study the microcrack nucleation sites were identified at
Δεp = 0.2% [27]. Observing the Fig. 8a, microcracks can be divided into
two main types: microcracks initiated on slip systems (highlighted by
white dotted lines) and the microcracks nucleated at block boundaries
(highlighted by white lines). The misorientation profile allows us to
identify the different types of microcracks as shown in Fig. 8b and 8c.
The red and blue lines indicate the point-to-point as well as the point-to-
origin misorientation measurements along lines 1 and 2 respectively,
indicated in Fig. 8a. In this way, in Fig. 8b the point-to-origin profile
indicates that the microcrack initiated within the bainite block while in
Fig. 8c the microcrack nucleated between highly misoriented bainite
blocks. Therefore, with the purpose of explaining the different types of
microcracks initiation, the Taylor factor (TF) will be considered for this
analysis. This factor shows the predicted yield response of a grain
relative to the stress state and its interaction with the surrounding grain
structures. Grains with low TF value are associated with low yield
strength and can be deformed at lower stresses, while those with high
TFvalue tend to resist yielding process. Fig. 8d shows the TF map where
it is possible observing that microcracks initiated at block boundaries
are related to blocks with a high difference in TF values. For example,
the microcrack indicated in Fig. 8c is between a blue block, indicating
low TF, and a red block showing high TF. On the other hand, micro­
cracks initiated on slip systems correspond to system with low TF.
Moreover, it is interesting to note that most of the microcracks
remain arrested in block or packet boundaries and only propagate those
that initiated on slip planes whose trace is almost 135◦ with respect to
the loading axis as shown in Fig. 8e. These microcracks named as f1, f2
and f3 were identified on the slip system (110)[111] with SF = 0.48 and
SF = 0.45 for f1 and f3 respectively, and (110)[111] with SF = 0.46 for f2.
Considering α and β angles between crack planes corresponding to f1
and f2 (α = 3◦ , β = 6◦ ) and between the crack planes f3 and f2 (α = 30◦ , β
= 20◦ ) it is inferred that the crack grows from f1 to f2 and merges with f3
at the packet boundary as shown in Fig. 8e.
Fig. 7. Optical images showing the evolution of surface damage during LCF at Δεp = 0.2%.
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International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014
3.3.3. Δεp = 0.3%
Fig. 9 shows the evolution of microcracks with the number of cycles
at Δεp ¼ 0.3%. The first microcracks initiate at 40 cycles and as cycling
proceeds, a high density of microcracks (2.6 × 10− 3 μm− 2) remain
arrested at block/packet boundaries as seen in Fig. 9b-d, while others
microcracks coalesce forming a long crack.
Using the EBSD grain map and the misorientation profile (Fig. 10),
microcracks were mainly identified at high-angle block boundaries.
Fig. 11a shows the crack growth curve corresponding to the long
crack shown in Fig. 9d. This crack is formed by five small cracks iden­
tified as F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5. In particular, we will analyze the behavior
of each microcrack that intervenes in the formation of this long crack.
Fig. 11b shows in more detail the crack growth curve for each micro­
crack analyzed.
According to the crack growth curve and the analysis carried out by
EBSD, the microcrack identified as F1 initiates at a block boundary and
propagates until a packet boundary where it remains arrested. After 160
cycles, it propagates in the adjacent block on the slip system
( )
1 0 1 [1 1 1] with SF = 0.33 until another packet boundary and
finally, at 300 cycles, the crack grows on the slip system (1 0 1)[1 1 1]
(SF = 0.3) and it is slow at the adjacent packet boundary.
Regarding the microcrack F5, it initiates on the slip system
( )
1 1 0 [1 1 1] with the highest SF = 0.4 and propagates following the
( )
slip systems (0 1 1)[1 1 1] and 0 1 1 [1 1 1] with the highest SF of
0.36 and 0.37, respectively.
On the other hand, the microcracks F2, F3 and F4 nucleate at high-
angle block boundaries, as seen in Fig. 10, and remain arrested until
enough energy is accumulated to surpass the adjacent boundary and
merge with the closest microcracks.
According to Fig. 11b, it is interesting to note that F5 grows linearly
with the number of cycles. Calculating the angles α and β between crack
planes for F5 the results show low values (α = 2◦ ; β = 1◦ for the first pair
of plains and α = 3◦ ; β = 2◦ for the second). Therefore, as long as the
crack planes are in a close-proximity coplanar orientation, the block
boundaries are not longer important for microcrack growth and the
crack grows at the same rate.
On the other hand, calculating the twist and tilt angles for crack
planes corresponding to F1, high values are obtained, such as α = 41◦ ; β
= 16◦ . Therefore, in this case, the packet boundaries represent an effi­
cient barrier to crack propagation, decreasing its rate.
M.C. Marinelli et al. International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014

Fig. 8. a) Schmid factor map corresponding to the zone indicated in Fig. 7f , b) -c) misorientation profile along line 1 and 2 showing microcrack nucleation within the
bainite block and at the block boundary respectively, d) Taylor factor map, d) Grain shape orientation map indicating crack growth at bainite blocks orientated
between 120◦ and 140◦ to loading axis.

Fig. 9. Optical images showing the short fatigue crack evolution at Δεp = 0.3%.

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M.C. Marinelli et al. International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014

Fig. 10. EBSD grain map along with misorientation profiles indicating microcrack initiation at high- angle block boundaries. Microcracks that are circled in white
remain arrested at block/packet boundaries while those identified as F1, F2, F3 and F4 coalesce forming a long crack.

Fig. 11. a) Evolution of microcracks and their coalescence into a long crack, b) Magnification of the growth curves before the formation of the long crack. PB (packet
boundary), BB (block boundary).

It is interesting to mention that after 800 cycles, when the crack
length reaches almost 300 μm (Fig. 11a), the crack growth rate increases
significantly and packet boundaries are no longer strong barriers to
crack propagation.
3.4. Dislocation structure
To better understand the microcrack behavior the dislocation
structure developed near the surface was analyzed for the three plastic
strain ranges studied.
At Δεp = 0.1%, a heterogeneous distribution of dislocations within
laths can be seen in Fig. 12. Fig. 12a presents a high density of
dislocations within thin laths, while Fig. 12b shows a rearrangement of
dislocations in the {1 1 0} planes within larger laths.
At Δεp = 0.2%, the characteristic dislocation arrangement corre­
sponds to loop patches of dislocations. However, near microcracks, some
bainitic ferrite laths show a dislocation arrangement in the form of cells
(Fig. 13a).
On the other hand, it is interesting to note an accumulation of
dislocation at lath boundaries enclosed by dotted lines as shown in
Fig. 13b, causing a stress concentration.
Finally, the characteristic dislocation structure developed within the
bainitic ferrite laths at Δεp = 0.3% corresponds to dislocation cells with
a mean diameter of 0.3 μm as well as wall dislocation structures at the

7
M.C. Marinelli et al.
Fig. 12. TEM bright field image of dislocation structure near surface at Δεp = 0.1%. a) High density of dislocations within thin bainitic ferrite laths, b) dislocation
arrangement within large bainitic ferrite laths.
Fig. 13. TEM bright field image of dislocation structure near the surface at Δεp = 0.2%, a) dislocation arrangement forming cell, b) accumulation of dislocations
at boundaries.
end of the fatigue life (Fig. 14a). Fig. 14b shows low dislocation density
in the bainitic ferrite laths interior and higher dislocation density near
boundaries.
4. Discussion
4.1. Crack initiation
At Δεp = 0.1% and 0.2% microcracks orientated on slip systems
{1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 with the highest SF within bainite blocks were observed.
Analyzing the dislocation structure, the Fig. 12b shows a rearrangement
of dislocations in the {1 1 0} planes within bainitic ferrite laths.
Furthermore, it is known that each bainite block contains bainitic ferrite
laths with parallel {1 1 0} planes [31] and misorientation less than 15◦
[26]. In particular, for the current steel, the results showed high-angle
block/packet boundaries with misorientation of 45◦ and 60◦ (Fig. 1b)
and also film-like retain austenite at lath/block boundaries. This fact
suggests that dislocations are limited to moving within the bainitc ferrite
lath contributing to the formation of extrusion/intrusion which will lead
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International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014
to the nucleation of microcracks. Fig. 13a shows a formation of dislo­
cation cell walls near the cracks which indicates a high local strain in
this region.
Using EBSD misorientation analysis, the parameter kernel average
misorientation (KAM) can be applied to evaluate the local straining
level, monitoring the local misorientations [32,33,34,35]. In KAM, the
mean misorientation between each measurement point and its first
neighbors is calculated, excluding any high-angle boundaries. KAM
considers only misorientations in a small local neighborhood within a
grain and the values are independent of the grain size [35]. Fig. 15
shows KAM map for Δεp = 0.2% where high-angle block boundaries
(40◦ –60◦ ) are marked with black lines. From this, it can be inferred that
the plastic strain is mainly accumulated in the principal crack zone
where dislocation cells were observed. Moreover, KAM map reveals a
misorientation gradient near bainite block boundaries, this could be
indicating an accumulation of dislocations at bainitic ferrite lath
boundaries as shown in Fig. 13b. In addition, at this deformation, the
results showed microcracks nucleated at bainite block boundaries with a
high difference in TF values. Indeed, the block with a lower TF will yield
M.C. Marinelli et al.
Fig. 14. TEM bright field image of dislocation structure near the surface at Δεp = 0.3%, a) Formation of dislocation walls and cells, b) low dislocation density in the
bainitic ferrite laths interior and accumulation of dislocation near boundaries enclosed by dotted lines.
Fig. 15. KAM map from EBSD analyses applied for indicating the local
straining level at Δεp = 0.2%. Microcracks nucleated at block boundaries are
circled in white lines while microcracks on slip system in dotted lines.
prior to the “stronger” block with high TF and as it deforms a stress
concentration will build up near the boundary between them [27].
On the other hand, at large plastic strain range (Δεp = 0.3%) a high
density of microcracks nucleated at high-angle block boundaries was
observed. In this case, the cracks did not necessarily initiate between
blocks with high difference of Taylor factor values (see Fig. 16a). Hence,
for explaining the crack initiation, the lattice rotation due to plastic
deformation is considered using the EBSD misorientation parameter
Grain Reference Orientation Deviation (GROD) since this parameter
considers local variations in grain scale deformation, while KAM con­
siders only misorientations in a small local neighbourhood within a
grain [33,35]. GROD reveals the angular deviation of each point relative
to a given reference orientation [36]. In this case, the reference orien­
tation is set to the lowest average kernel misorientation in the scanned
area.
The GROD map in Fig. 16b shows that lattice rotation within blocks
contributes to microcrack initiation even when high TF values are
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International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014
determined. Moreover, the KAM map in Fig. 16c shows greater local
misorientation due to a relatively severe accumulation of plastic strain
in these zones. By observing an enlarged area in Fig. 16d, sub-grains can
be identified within the blocks, which could be related to dislocation
cells and walls as shown in Fig. 14a. In a recent study about the evolu­
tion of dislocation density during plastic loading in a bainitic steel [37],
it was demonstrated that at high plastic deformation the dislocation
density near bainitic ferrite lath boundaries increases much more than
that in the interior, as shown in Fig. 14b. Moreover, according with Liu
et al [38], the high local plastic strain at lath boundaries could form cells
or sub-grains, which can act as damage initiation site during fatigue.
4.2. Crack propagation
With respect to cracks propagation the analysis considering the twist
and tilt angles of the crack plane at block boundaries allowed under­
standing the behavior of the crack against a microstructural barrier such
as a block or packet boundary. The smaller the twist and tilt angles, the
lower is the resistance of the block or packet boundary and the crack
grows linearly, as observed in Fig. 11b for F5. It is interesting to mention
the importance of twist angle with respect to crack propagation because
of both the crack path and the growth rate are more sensitive to twist
angle compared with a tilt angle [39]. In other words, a high twist angle
presents much larger resistance to crack propagation than a tilt angle
and the crack can be arrested or be deflected at boundaries. In Fig. 11b
for F1 it is possible to appreciate a deceleration in the crack growth
through a high twist angle boundary (α = 41◦ ).
It is noteworthy that, at low plastic strain, the longest crack is formed
by microcracks on {1 1 0} plane surface traces orientated almost 135◦ to
the loading axis within blocks orientated between 120◦ and 140◦ , as
shown in Fig. 5b and 8e. In particular, the slip systems of these crack
planes showed low TF and very high SF allowing easy slip for disloca­
tions in that direction and therefore a preferential direction of crack
growth [40].
On the other hand, at large plastic strain, although the main crack
path remains almost normal to the principal axis of tension, this crack
propagates by linking up with small cracks (<80 μm) orientated almost
to 135◦ , 45◦ and almost normal to the loading axis (Fig. 9). The first two
correspond to transgranular crack growth on {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 slip systems
in bainite packets with an orientation close to 45◦ or 135◦ with respect to
the loading axis as seen for F1 and F5 crack, while the latter is related to
the crack growth on packet boundaries. This kind of intergranular crack
is originated by a high stress concentration due to the accumulation of
M.C. Marinelli et al.
Fig. 16. EBSD analysis applied to microcrack initiation at Δεp = 0.3%. a) Microcracks at block boundaries with high Taylor factor, b) GROD map indicating lattice
rotation within blocks, c) KAM map showing greater local misorientation due to an accumulation of plastic deformation, d) KAM map enlarged area where sub-grains
can be identified within the blocks.
dislocations at the block boundary causing severe plastic deformation
and lattice rotation in the blocks as shown in Fig. 14b and Fig. 16 for F2,
F3 and F4. However, the growth rate of these microcracks is not critical
compared to those that grow by slip systems as seen in Fig. 11b.
Rementeria and Mueller et al [22,23] have reported that the crack path
and its velocity are highly influenced by the size of bainite blocks and by
microstructural barriers at which the crack can be stopped, decelerated
or deflected. Furthermore, in the current work, the importance of the
bainite packet orientation with respect to loading direction is remark­
able. If the crack path to the next bainite packet is through highly
misoriented packet, the crack may deviate and grow intergranularly
until it reaches to a less energy state lattice rotation to activate the
available slip systems [30].
4.3. Plastic strain/ life behavior
The Coffin-Manson curves exhibit a bilinear relationship in the
log–log coordinates, and the transition occurs at the plastic strain
amplitude of around Δεp/2 = 0.1%, as seen in Fig. 3. This phenomenon
was previously reported by Mediratta et al [41] in dual-phase steels as a
consequence of a change in fracture mode from dimple fracture at low
strain amplitudes to cleavage fracture at high strain amplitudes. More­
over, Zhang et al [42] attributed the bilinearity in the Coffin-Manson
relationship for Nickel-based alloy to the dependence of deformation
mode (from twinning to slip bands with increasing the strain amplitude)
as well as the change in fatigue crack initiation mode from transgranular
mode at low strain amplitude to intergranular when the strain amplitude
is high. On the other hand, in bainitic steels with low-temperature
bainite, Zhang et al [15] associated this phenomenon with the micro­
structure stability, the compatible deformation ability and the crack
10
International Journal of Fatigue 143 (2021) 106014
propagation ability.
In the current study, the change of slope at Δεp = 0.2% may be
attributed to the change in the crack initiation mode as well as to the
change crack propagation mode. The results showed that at low plastic
strain range (Δεp = 0.1%), the microcraks initiate in bainitic ferrite laths
orientated on slip systems {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 with the highest SF and a
transgranular propagation takes place on {1 1 0} slip planes with surface
traces oriented almost 135◦ with respect to loading axis. Conversely, at
high plastic strain range (Δεp = 0.3%), the microcracks preferably
nucleate at high-angle block boundaries and the crack propagation oc­
curs as a combination of two modes, transgranular and intergranular as
seen in the previous section.
On the other hand, it is noteworthy to mention that at Δεp = 0.2% the
microcracks could initiate either at bainitic ferrite laths on the primary
slip system {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 or at high-angle block boundaries. In this case,
both crack initiation mechanisms are present. Hence, this plastic strain
range is considered a transition range with respect to cracking
mechanisms.
5. Conclusions
The mechanisms of initiation and propagation of microcracks during
low-cycle fatigue in a bainitic steel 16CrMnV7-7 were characterized
through LOM, EBSD and TEM. The study of both microcracks and fatigue
behavior was carried out at different plastic strain ranges: Δεp = 0.1%,
0.2% and 0.3% concluding that:
- Fatigue behavior shows initial hardening response with subsequent
cyclic softening for all plastic strain ranges studied.
- Coffin-Manson plot shows a bilinear behavior at Δεp = 0.2%, which
is related to a change in the crack initiation mode as well as to the
M.C. Marinelli et al.
change in the crack propagation mode.
- The Taylor factor analysis allowed understanding microcrack
nucleation at low strains, while at high strains lattice rotation within
bainite blocks due to plastic strain accumulated contributes to micro­
crack initiation even when high Taylor factor values are determined.
- At low plastic strain (Δεp < 0.2%), microcraks initiate in bainitic
ferrite laths orientated on primary slip systems {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 with low
Taylor factor. The crack propagation takes place on {1 1 0} slip planes
with surface traces oriented at 135◦ with respect to loading axis.
- At high plastic strain (Δεp = 0.3%), the microcracks preferably
nucleate at high-angle block boundaries as a consequence of a high local
plastic strain and a lattice rotation. The crack propagation occurs by
coalescence of small cracks that grew both transgranular and
intergranular.
- The analysis of crack propagation considering the twist and tilt
angles of the crack plane at block boundaries allowed a better under­
standing of crack behavior against microstructural barriers. Although
both parameters control the crack path and the growth rate, the twist
angle proved to be the most significant.
- At Δεp = 0.2% microcracks can nucleate either at bainitic ferrite
laths on the primary slip system {1 1 0} 〈1 1 1〉 or at high-angle block
boundaries between bainite blocks with high difference of Taylor factor
values. The microcracks on the surface plane traces oriented almost 135◦
to loading axis, coalesce forming a dominant fatigue crack which results
in the specimen failure.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Agencia Santafesina de Ciencia, Tec­
nología e Innovación by under grant Res 133/18 Proy IO 2017-00092,
Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) under grant number RCS 201
19 and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
(CONICET).
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