A model for slip induced cleavage fracture has been proposed to account for the influence of both grain size and grain boundary carbide size on the fracture behaviour of low carbon steel. It was shown in low carbon irons that grain boundary carbides may fracture due to inhomogeneous yielding of the ferrite matrix and provide important sources of cleavage cracks which may propagate into the ferrite matrix. Reducing the size of the grain boundary carbide enhances the fracture resistance of the low carbon irons but continual removal has a deleterious effect. The onset of intergranular fracture has been rationalized in terms of the stress concentrations at the head of a dislocation pile-up.

Title: Fracture in Low Carbon Steel, Author: Donald H. Timbres, Location: Thode

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis