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ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
This overview of our recent studies on manganese steels [1-10] was funded by the
American Foundry Society and the North American metal casting industry. It
encompasses the nature of embrittling phases and their quantitative relationship to
impact toughness, the behaviour of carbides and phosphide eutectic, structural
soundness and microporosity distribution, macro- and micro- segregation, and a
method of measuring quench time as a process control tool. The overview fo-
cuses on results, the specific details of procedures and materials are found in
individual research papers.
BEHAVIOUR OF CARBIDES
In regular manganese steels (ASTM A 128, Grade B), the thin carbide delinea-
tions are less than 0.2 µm thick, and the thick carbides have a starting thickness of
0.5 – 1.5 µm, and appear as a step where they meet the thin carbides (arrows in
Fig. 1). In Cr-bearing manganese steels (Grade C), intermediate “thickened” car-
bides are also observed (Fig. 1e,f). These are effectively similar to thin carbides.
They appear as thick diffuse delineations and the cementite is not resolved by
light microscope.
Figures 2a-d show extracted replica images of grain boundary carbides by trans-
mission electron microscopy (TEM). The thickened carbides in Grade C steel are
seen to have a straight interface with one austenite grain and a serrated interface
with the other. Although, their total width in the thickened areas have reached 3 –
4 µm, their centers are 1.0 – 1.5 µm thick when their finger-like growth is exclu-
ded.
Figures 2e-g show thin foil TEM micrographs of the three carbides. The thin car-
bide delineations are seen to be discreet particles. They nucleate on a grain boun-
dary, but growth usually takes place into only one austenite grain. The “thicken-
ed” carbides in Grade C steel also consist of many discreet particles but with grea-
ter protrusions into austenite matrix. There are indications of stress on the lattice
particularly as the particles get larger (Fig. 2f). The thick carbide films, on the
other hand, are continuous (Fig. 2g).
Figure 3 shows energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) line scans across a thin
and a thick carbide in a Grade C steel using the TEM’s nanoprobe. The thin car-
bide’s Mn and Cr contents are close to those of austenite matrix, 13% and 2.5%,
respectively. The thick carbide has significantly higher concentrations of Mn and
Cr in solid solution (18% and 6%, respectively) and the diffusion of these ele-
ments into the carbide causes a depleted layer in the surrounding matrix. The lite-
2
rature on phase diagrams shows that in a 13% Mn, 1.2% C steel, the Mn content
of the cementite that forms at 600°C varies between 17% Mn (Benz 1973, in [11])
and 32% Mn (Koch and Keller 1964, in [11]). The 18% measured composition of
the thick carbide in Fig. 3 falls within this range. This supports the hypothesis
that the thick carbides are the stable phase, and the thin carbides are metastable.
The thin carbides appear as delineations under light microscope, primarily be-
cause they are comprised of many small, discreet particles. The “thickened” car-
bides in Grade C steel are essentially the same, with greater protrusions into auste-
nite matrix. Crystallographically, all carbides index to an M3C cementite struc-
ture but their chemical compositions are significantly different. It is proposed that
the following mechanism operates for carbide precipitation during quenching:
• The thin carbides are less stable but have a good lattice match with the
austenite matrix. This gives rise to a low energy interface and a low nuc-
leation barrier. The thick carbides, on the other hand, are the more stable
constituents, but have a higher energy interface and a higher nucleation
barrier.
• Soon after they form, the thin carbide growth slows down and stops be-
cause of the increased lattice mismatch and stress at the interface, and the
driving force being low, is not able to overcome the increased interfacial
energy. Eventually, a thick carbide with a larger driving force and an in-
coherent interface forms.
• The thick carbide thus formed grows rapidly in the lateral direction in a
continuous film, along the grain boundary, incorporating any thin carbides
along its way. Growth in the normal direction slows after a micron or so
thickness because of the required diffusion of Mn and Cr from the matrix
and of Si from the carbide. The thick carbides embrittle the steel either
from their poor cohesion with austenite, in which case cracks propagate
along the carbide / austenite interface, or because of their continuous na-
ture and the cracks propagate through the brittle carbide.
3
ular carbides play a key role but other embrittling phases such as phosphide eutec-
tic, non-metallic inclusions and microporosity also are involved. It is important to
note that the abundance of an embrittling phase is not as important as its distribu-
tion. As low as 5 ppm bismuth can embrittle high copper alloys [12] and the pre-
sence of 60 ppm aluminum nitride as grain boundary films is sufficient to em-
brittle steels [13]. These constituents, even in very thin layers, cause a loss of co-
hesion with the matrix. Oxides have the least cohesion with a metal matrix, but
typically their distribution is in the form of random discrete particles, hence they
are not as harmful to toughness. Phosphorous is a greater concern in manganese
steels it tends to segregate at grain boundaries, liquefies during solution annealing
and forms an embrittling phosphide eutectic film. Sulphur in low carbon steels
can form Type II grain boundary iron-sulphide eutectic during solidification [14];
but in manganese steels, tends to form globular manganese sulphides which are
not particularly detrimental.
Figure 4 shows the room temperature CVN impact toughness plotted against the
weighted grain boundary coverage in the three steels mentioned [5]. A good cor-
relation was obtained regardless of the steel type and processing. The results can
be summarized as follows:
4
Weighted g.b. Coverage Toughness CVN, J
< 20 % Excellent >100
20 - 40% Good >50
> 50% Poor < 20
Impact toughness decreased at a rate of 3.5 J per percent weighted grain boundary
coverage, from a nominal value of 180-200 J.
Macro-segregation
Steels having more than 0.06% P or solution annealed above 1150°C can be sus-
ceptible to phosphide eutectic embrittlement, where a phosphide-carbide eutectic
liquefies at the grain boundaries, gradually spreads along the grain boundary
during the course of heat treatment and remains in place on quenching [3]. The
as-cast structures contain this eutectic at the centers of carbide colonies as glob-
ular constituents with a mottled appearance [2,4]. In the as-cast steels, the cooling
castings do not spend as much time at high temperatures as in heat treatment, the
eutectic does not have time to spread over the grain boundaries. Phosphide eutec-
tic embrittlement is reversible. When castings are heat treated at the correct solu-
tion annealing temperature, it re-dissolves into the austenite matrix. In severely
embrittled steels, however, a trail of Kirkendall voids and cavities are left behind
and the toughness is not completely restored [3].
Most solutes in manganese steels, notably Mn and Cr, and to some extent P, mic-
rosegregate towards grain boundaries and intercellular regions. The degree of
microsegregation increases with section size [7]. This makes the thick sections,
especially near the casting surface, where the phosphorous content and the tem-
peratures are higher, more susceptible to phosphide eutectic formation.
5
MICROPOROSITY
Gaseous solute content, oxide inclusion content and distribution, and the solidifi-
cation rate (pouring temperature, molding media, use of chills, and section size)
primarily affect the formation of microporosity. Among these, the gaseous solute
content and solidification rate are probably the more important as oxide inclusions
are a common feature in aluminum-killed steels.
The microporosity of 1-in. dia. core sections varied from 0.04 to 1.5% [8]. The
average porosity in the two blocks was 0.37%. As this is not large enough to
compensate for the 3% solidification shrinkage, risers are required to feed the cas-
tings.
The quenching operation is critical in the production and heat treatment of auste-
nitic manganese steels. The quench speed depends on the load distribution on a
pallet, initial quench water temperature, section size and bath agitation. Among
1
[Niy] is Niyama’s criterion value (G/√MT/Mt) in (°C s)½ mm-1, where G is the
local thermal gradient and MT/Mt is the cooling rate.
6
these, the load distribution is the least effectively controlled. If the water permea-
tion through the load is poor, then the “effective” section size of the load becomes
much larger, and with the thermal diffusivity of the steel being poor, the quen-
ching operation can slow down considerably. The other process variable that is of
interest is the initial quench water temperature. Although each metal caster has its
own specifications for maximum initial and final water temperatures, in hot sum-
mer months and with large loads, these can become difficult to attain. Typically,
specifications apply to worst case scenarios (large section sizes). It is desirable to
know if a certain load can be quenched (or has been quenched) even though the
initial water temperature is (or has been) above the specified limit.
The steel chemistry plays an important role in determining the required quenching
speed. Increasing carbon content increases the rate of carbide precipitation, and
steels having more that 1.3% C are difficult to make. Chromium also increases
the carbide precipitation rate by increasing the carbide stability and causes car-
bides to start forming at higher temperatures.
M W CW T m CW (T TCW )
m (1)
T (T TCW )
MW
where m is the cooling water flow rate, MW is the mass of quench water, TCW is
the cooling water temperature as it enters the tank, and T is the tank temperature.
The cooling water flow rate is usually known, but if not, it can be estimated from
the data. At the end of a quench, when the castings are sufficiently cool, their
contribution to heating the tank could be neglected and the tank temperature is
solely affected by the cooling water. In Figure 8, 30 minutes after the quench, the
tank cooling rate was 0.136°C/min., the tank temperature was 23.4°C, the cooling
water temperature could be taken to be the tank temperature prior to the quench,
7
m
Ti (Ti TCW ,i ) ti (2)
MW
The “adjusted water temperature” curve thus obtained represents the water tempe-
rature in the absence of any cooling. The quench times can now be found by a
similar construction as in Fig. 7.
The precision of the quench time analysis can be improved by taking temperatures
in more than one location in the tank and averaging the results, the cooling water
temperature as it enters the tank, and the ambient temperature. The data can be
further processed to obtain cooling rates that show transitions from vapor blanket
to nucleate boiling, and lastly convective cooling, and to conduct quench factor
analysis using information from an isothermal transformation diagram [9].
CONCLUSIONS
Heat treatment processing of austenitic manganese steels has been studied with
the following results:
8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mark Charest for TEM replica study and Cathy
Bibby for sample preparation.
REFERENCES
9
12) SADAYAPPAN M, Zavadil R and Sahoo M – Effect of impurity elements on
the mechanical properties of aluminum bronze alloy C95800. AFS Trans.,
107, pp. 329-336, (1999).
13) WOODFINE B C and Quarrell A G .– Effect of Al and N on the occurrence
of intergranular fracture in steel castings. J Iron and Steel Inst., 195, (1960),
pp. 409-414.
14) EEGHEM V J and DeSy A – Side effects of cast steel deoxidation. AFS
Trans., 72, (1964), pp. 142-148.
15) CAMPBELL J – in Castings, Butterworth-Heinemann, (1991), p. 203.
16) PIWONKA T S, Kuyucak S and Davis K – Shrinkage-related porosity in
steel castings. AFS Trans., 110, Paper No. 02-113, (2002).
10
a b
c d
e f
11
a b
c d
e f
12
14 7
a
12 Mn 6
10 5
Cr, C (wt.%)
Mn (wt.%)
8 4
C
6 3
Cr
4 2
2 1
0 0
-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2
Distance (µm)
20 10
b
16 8
Cr, C (wt.%)
Mn (wt.%)
12 Mn 6
8 4
4 Cr 2
C
0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Distance (µm)
Note: carbon content measured by the TEM nanoprobe is lower than the expected
amount from the stoichiometry of cementite (given in parentheses). This is almost
always the case for EDX analysis when a light element is present along with hea-
vier elements in the compound. Iron is from balance.
Fig. 3. EDX profiles across thin (3a) and thick (3b) carbides in Grade C steel
[10].
13
200
Regular manganese steel, Grade B3
High C manganese steel, Grade B4
Cr-bearing manganese steel, Grade C
Charpy Toughness, J 150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Weighted Grain Boundary Coverage, pct.
0.08
5 in. 6 in. 7 in.
Block 1
Block 2
6 in.
0.06 5 in.
Pct. P
7 in.
0.04
0.02
-3.5 -2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5
Drag Distance from Center, in. Cope
14
a b
c d
e f
Fig. 6. Observed microporosity in sections taken from 1-in. dia. core samples, cut
from wedge-block castings (6a-d). (6a) B1-7-4-6 (key: 1st block, core taken from
7-in. section, 4 in. from left, sectioned at 6 in. from drag). (6b) B2-7-6-7, (6c) B1-
6-2-2, (6d) B2-7-4-2, from [8]. (6e) Intergranular and intercellular microporosity
in a 1-in. thick block casting [16]. (6f) An extreme example of intergranular
porosity [5]. (6a-e) as-polished, (6f) etched in equal parts of water, conc. HCl and
conc. HNO3.
15
Water Temperature, °C
30
25
20
15
∆T90% ∆T
10
5
t90%= 4.2 min.
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Quench Time, minutes F9034-HT.xls
36 T 90% = 35.5°C
Actual Temp.
32
Cooling rate:
28
0.25°C/min at 32°C
24
T i = 22°C
20
t 90% = 6.3 min
16
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Quenching time, minutes Sivyer HT.xls
16