Carbide Cracking in a High-Strength Steel

Abstract A high-carbon maraging steel has been subjected to four different heat-treatments to vary its tensile properties. The stresses necessary to initiate cracking of TiC particles in the steel were then determined. In all cases cracking began at about the point when visible necking occurred in the tensile specimens. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of the maraging precipitate particles in homogenizing flow and changing the local stresses at the carbide particles. The results show that suitable precipitate dispersions can both significantly increase the strength and minimize cracking of brittle inclusion particles.