Visualization of Microstructural Factor Resisting the Cleavage-Crack Propagation in the Simulated Heat-Affected Zone of Bainitic Steel

Cleavage-crack propagation behavior was investigated in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of bainitic steel using electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) pattern analysis when a low heat input welding was simulated. From viewpoint of crystallographic analysis, it was the condition in which the Bain zone was smaller than the close-packed plane (CP) group. It was clarified that the Bain zone and CP group boundaries provided crack-propagation resistance. The results revealed that when the Bain zone was smaller than the CP group, crack length was about one quarter the size of that measured when the CP group was smaller than the Bain zone because of the increasing Bain-zone boundaries. Furthermore, it was clarified that the plastic work associated with crack opening and resistance at the Bain and CP boundaries could be visualized by the kernel average misorientation maps.