Quantification of the Fracture Surface Profiles Resulting from Different Loading Conditions on Ductile Irons

This study focuses on the characterization of the roughness of the fracture surfaces of spheroidal graphite irons of different matrix microstructures, generated under impact, bending and fatigue loading conditions. The fracture profiles were analyzed qualitatively by means of optical microscopy and quantitatively by means of the determination of the Rs and Ry topographic parameters. The values of Rs and Ry measured on the samples show changes as a result of changes in the matrix microstructure and the loading condition. Therefore, those values are potentially useful to identify the loading conditions that originated the fracture, and provide additional information to the classical fractographic analysis.