The effect of phosphorus segregation on the intermediate-temperature embrittlement of ferritic, spheroidal graphite cast iron

The objective of this article is to study the effect of phosphorus segregation on the fracture modes of the intermediate-temperature intergranular embrittlement which occur in ferritic, spheroidal graphite cast iron. The specimens were quenched from 820 °C and 500 °C during the furnace-cooling period of ferritization annealing in order to vary the degree of phosphorus segregation, then deformed in tension at various temperatures between 20 °C and 520 °C with a constant crosshead speed of 0.01 mm/s. These two kinds of specimens were also fractured by impact at about -50 °C in the vacuum chamber of a scanning Auger microscope in order to analyze the phosphorus segregation and compare the fracture modes. The results show that the fracture mode of the intermediate-temperature embrittlement is influenced by the history of heat treatment prior to tension. When the specimens were held at 500 °C and quenched from this temperature, the fracture was intergranular. However, the specimens quenched from 820 °C revealed cleavage fracture with cracks propagating radially from a central region with magnesium-rich particles. Identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the particles were MgO. Grain-boundary segregation of phosphorus in the specimen held at 500 °C was confirmed by Auger analysis of the impact fracture surface. Segregation of phosphorus must play an important role in the fracture mode of the intermediate-temperature intergranular embrittlement.