by Kumar, A.; Roberts, S. G.; Wilkinson, A. J.

The micromechanisms of fracture of a spheroidised A533B reactor pressure vessel steel over the temperature range of −190°C to + 60°C were investigated by performing uniaxial tensile tests on double-notched cylindrical specimens. Failure was by quasi-cleavage at temperatures between −190°C and −145°C. Quasi-cleavage fracture surfaces are characterised by clusters of planar facets that are separated from other facets either by large voids or by clusters of microvoids. At temperatures between −145°C and −25°C failure was by mixed microvoid coalescence and cleavage while complete microvoid coalescence was observed at temperatures higher than −25°C. Over the whole temperature range studied, fracture nucleation was either from large single voids or localised regions of microvoids.

DOI: 10.1007/s10704-007-9084-3
Online Date: 6/1/2007
Print publication date: 4/1/2007
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