Influence of yield strength levels on crack growth mode in delayed fracture of structural steels

A mechanistic aspect of the susceptibility to the delayed fracture is studied with an emphasis on the critical behaviour of the subsurface growth of Quasi-Cleavage (QC) and Inter-Granular (IG) cracks. The materials employed are 0.35%C plain carbon steel and boron added bolt steel which were quenched and tempered to have various levels of yield strength ranging from 500 to 1400 MPa. Fractographic analysis shows us that QC + IG cracking process can be an essential mode in the delayed fracture of steels. A low susceptibility to delayed fracture can be explained by the crack growth behavior when the crucial blunting occurs at the crack tip.