Effect of cyclic strain rate and sulfides on environmentally assisted cracking behaviors of SA508 GR.1a low alloy steel in deoxygenated water at 310 degrees C
To understand the effect of the cyclic strain rate on the environmentally assisted cracking behaviors of SA508 Gr.1a low alloy steel in deoxygenated water at 310 degrees C, the fatigue surface and a sectioned area of specimens were observed after low cycle fatigue tests. On the fatigue surface of the specimen tested at a strain rate of 0.008 %/s, unclear ductile striations and a blunt crack tip were observed. Therefore, metal dissolution could be the main cracking mechanism of the material at this strain rate. On the other hand, on the fatigue surfaces of the specimens tested at strain rates of 0.04 and 0.4 %/s, brittle cracks and flat facets, which are evidences of the hydrogen induced cracking, were observed. In addition, a tendency of linkage between the main crack and the micro-cracks was observed on the sectioned area. Therefore, at higher strain rates, the main cracking mechanism could be hydrogen induced cracking. Additionally, evidence of the dissolved MnS inclusions was observed on the fatigue surface from energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer analyses. Thus, despite the low sulfur content of the test material, the sulfides seem to contribute to environmentally assisted cracking of SA508 Gr.1a low alloy steel in deoxygenated water at 310 degrees C.