Intergranular fracture stress and phosphorus grain boundary segregation of a Mn-Ni-Mo steel
- EDF, Moret sur Loing (France). Direction des Etudes et Recherches
- Ecole des Mines de Paris, Evry (France). Centre des Materiaux
Nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) steel A508 class 3 which is a low alloyed steel is not usually sensitive to reversible temper embrittlement when properly heat treated. However heterogeneous zones may be present in particular near the inner side of the vessel. These zones result from the segregation of the alloying elements (C, Mn, Ni, Mo) and impurities (S, P) taking place during solidification of the material. They are called segregated zones (or ghost lines). They can reach 2 mm thick along the radius and 30 mm long through the circumferential direction. Their susceptibility to reversible temper embrittlement is mainly due to grain boundary phosphorus segregation triggering brittle intergranular fracture when the material is tested at low temperature. In this material like in other steels the influence of some other alloying elements (Mo, Mn...) is clearly significant and should also be taken into account. But phosphorus effect has proved to be predominant. The aim of the present study is therefore to find out a quantitative relationship between grain boundary phosphorus segregation and critical intergranular fracture stress. A synthetic steel with a chemical composition representative of an average segregated zone was prepared for the present study. A number of heat treatments were applied to reach different embrittlement conditions. Then brittle fracture properties were obtained by performing cryogenic fracture tests on notched tensile specimens while the corresponding grain boundary phosphorus levels were measured by Auger electron spectroscopy. Systematic fractographic observations were carried out. Moreover an attempt to determine the influence of temperature on the critical intergranular fracture stress was made.
- OSTI ID:
- 352431
- Journal Information:
- Scripta Materialia, Vol. 40, Issue 9; Other Information: PBD: 9 Apr 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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