Defects in wrought products

The theoretical idea of a hot deformation process probably assumes that an homogeneous
alloy is subjected to uniform temperature and it is homogeneously deformed by the same
amount of strain throughout its volume and at the same time. It is well known that this is
not the case in real industrial processes and that any modification from this ideal
hypothesis brings about different microstructures, a residual stress field and an
heterogeneous behavior.

The ideal process of hot rolling where dynamic (a) or static (b) recrystallization are
promoted in the deformed product
Macroscopic and microscopic defects can thus nucleate and grow, for instance owing to
inhomogeneous heating and cooling cycles in large-size products.

Hot cracks developed in large forging ingots due to inhomogeneous heating or excessive
strain imparted in a coarse as-cast structure

Failure mechanisms
The general response of a metallic alloy to hot working can be roughly visualized by
deformation and failure mechanism maps, showing the different mechanisms active under
specific conditions of strain rate and temperature. Each map shows several fields typical of
a defined failure mode, but the position and the activation of each field specifically
depends on alloy composition and structure.

Chapter 12 - 1
For instance by considering the map shown in the figure, it can be realized that by
reducing the size and fraction of second phase particles, the boundary 1 would shift
leftwards, whereas an increase of second-phase fraction could anticipate both ductile
fracture (shift of boundary 1 rightward) and wedge cracking (shift boundary 2 leftwards).

Processing / failure mechanism map for an aluminium alloy

The following table summarizes the most common failure modes found in plastic
deformation processing. Plastic deformation is here divided into three main groups: cold-,
warm- and hot deformation.

Common failure modes in deformation processing

The deformability of cast metals is generally limited by the solidification defects, by the
coarse structure and by the presence of micro-segregants at grain boundaries. Cracks can
therefore easily develop, so that usually cast metals are first subjected to hot working and
only when their structure is improved, they can successfully be cold deformed.
Other aspects to be considered concern micro- and macro-segregation that lead to
reduction of melting temperature at specific regions of the products. For this reason,
incipient melting of phases can occur if the hot working temperature (and strain rate as
Chapter 12 - 2
well) is not suitably reduced. The figure below compares the degree of workability
(evaluated by arbitrary units) as a function of temperature for a cast steel and a
corresponding wrought alloy.

Qualitative deformability of a cast and a wrought alloy as a function of temperature

(MPc stands for cast-alloy melting point, MPw stands for wrought-alloy melting point)
The curve of the wrought alloy also shows that at intermediate temperatures a loss in
ductility is observed. This phenomenon will be described in detail in the following section.
Additional general considerations on formability as related to alloy microstructure are given
in the following set of graphs. It is shown that single-phase alloys generally feature the
best hot formability, while low-melting materials and alloys containing insoluble phases
feature depleted workability.

Chapter 12 - 3
 Qualitative evolution of formability (forgeability in this specific case) with temperature for
different metallurgical systems

Hot ductility of ferrous alloys

In several steels, marked loss of ductility is measured at intermediate temperatures,
roughly within the temperature range 700-1100C. In particular, the loss in ductility
becomes very clear in micro-alloyed steels containing Ti, Nb, V as well as N and Al.
The loss in ductility at intermediate working temperatures has significant importance for
two different main fields:
1. During straightening of continuous casting billets produced along curved strands,
where the billet is deformed just after solidification (possibly with a core still in the
liquid phase);
2. During hot plastic forming, when the steel is deformed within the critical temperature
range.

Chapter 12 - 4
To characterize hot ductility, a set of tensile tests is performed at various temperatures and
fracture elongation or reduction of area are measured as relevant parameters.
100

Reduction of Area [%] 80

60

40

20 region I region II region III

0
600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
Temperature [ C]

Hot ductility versus temperature of a microalloyed steel

A typical ductility curve, as the one shown in the above figure, shows the three distinct
regions:
Region I ductile region at low temperature
Region II ductility gap at intermediate temperature
Region III ductile region at high temperature
It was observed that in region II fracture is always of intergranular character and it can
occur under two different conditions: when a thin film (5-20 m) of proeutectoid ferrite is
decorating grain boundaries or even when a single-phase austenitic structure is present.
The first condition promotes strain localization in the softer ferrite film (at high temperature
the -Fe phase is actually much softer than -Fe) and nucleation of voids from micro-
precipitates and second phases located along grain boundaries.

Intergranular fracture stimulated by the ferrite film (white constituent)

decorating prior-austenite grain boundaries
Fully austenitic grain boundary cracking is demonstrated to occur due to nucleation of
voids stimulated by the presence of Nb(C,N) and of AlN particles that typically precipitate.
Due to Nb depletion adjacent to austenite grain boundary regions, a precipitate free zone
Chapter 12 - 5
is formed, featuring lower strength than the core of grains, thus promoting growth of the
above microvoids. The following figure schematically depicts the described mechanisms.

Formation of intergranular cracks due to grain boundary precipitates and corresponding

precipitate free zones (a-c) or ferrite film (d-f) at austenite grain boundaries
Considering the improvement in ductility measured above and below the critical
temperature range, it can be assumed that with increasing temperature, once the dynamic
recrystallization temperature is exceeded, each crack that nucleates at grain boundary is
soon isolated due to boundary movement. Moreover, the ductility of the material with rising
temperature also increases.
At lower temperatures, the amount of ferrite found in the structure increases significantly
so that stress localization at the softer ferrite becomes progressively less critical. In
addition, the finer recrystallized ferrite grains can again isolate occasional cracks that may
had previously been formed.
It was established that nitrogen has a large influence on hot brittleness of steels. Its effect
has to be considered in combination with the amount of other nitride-forming elements
such as Al or Ti. The following figures confirm that by increasing the solubility product
[sol.Al] x [N], the hot brittleness through becomes deeper and wider. The second figure
shows that titanium has similar effects. In this case it is also important to evaluate the size
and location of the nitrides within the microstructure since this element can also positively
act by inhibiting grain growth, if positioned at grain boundary and with a suitable size.

Chapter 12 - 6
 Effect of Al and N content on hot brittleness of a C steel

Effect of Ti and grain size on hot brittleness of a C steel

Effect of secondary elements on grain size control

The grain size during and after hot working operations strongly affects cracking suscepti-
bility and ductility of alloys. A number of defects found in wrought alloys is therefore
referred to uncontrolled (abnormal) grain growth.
The resulting grain size in a hot worked metal is ruled by the time spent at high
temperature, by the strain and strain rate imparted to the material, but also by temperature
and strain gradients the part is subjected to.
Several alloying elements, often called secondary elements since they may be present in
small amounts, are able to govern the grain size evolution by generating small precipitates
that can either stimulate recrystallisation during deformation and control grain boundary
migration (limiting grain growth by preventing movement of their boundaries).
Alloy compositions are therefore designed in order to exploit these aspects by secondary
particle precipitation. It is however realized that when the composition is not carefully
selected for this purpose, remarkable differences may become evident in service or during
alloy transformation, as depicted in the figures.

Chapter 12 - 7
 6082 Al alloy containing 0,11%Cr and 0,52% Mn after plastic deformation and annealing.
The original fibrous structure is almost preserved and only few recrystalllized grains are
formed in the most heavily deformed regions

6082 Al alloy containing 0,01%Cr and 0,55%Mn after plastic deformation and annealing.
The lack of Cr does not allow a proper control of grain growth

Effect of fibrous structure and texture

Plastic deformation often stimulates also the development of a preferred crystallographic
grain orientation (called texture) and the alignment of different phases and secondary
particles along plastic flow lines (called fibrous structure).
In addition, elemental segregation formed on solidification cannot completely be removed
by the repeated recrystallization cycles and the extensive high-temperature diffusion. As a
consequence, also local enrichment in alloying elements are distributed according to
plastic flow pattern, generating the phenomenon of banding.
Segregation banding is typically observed in two-phase alloys such as ferritic-pearlitic
steels. In optical micrographs, the well defined distribution of the two constituents
emphasizes the differences in local composition (pearlite is formed where enrichment in
Mn and C exists).
Chapter 12 - 8
 Segregation banding in a ferritic perlitic steel. After quenching (figure on the right) the
different alloying element content also affects hardenability, producing banded martensite-
rich and ferrite(bainite) regions
Banding also affects thermal treatment response and possible damage since different
hardenabiliy properties are achieved as a result of the different local composition in the
banded structure. Uncontrolled transformation into martensite can also promote quench
cracking, as depicted in the following figure.

Quench cracks formed within bands transformed into martensite in a steel

On a macroscopic scale, the alignment of inclusions and constituents along the plastic flow
lines generates a fibrous structure that is observed in hot forged and hot rolled parts. Such
a structure emphasizes the strength properties along the fibres but also gives rise to
marked depletion in toughness along the transverse-to-fibre direction, as already
discussed in a previous chapter.
The following figures supply some examples of the fibrous structure observed in
engineering forged components and of a possible mechanisms that can be adopted to
mitigate the effects of the fibrous structure on surface of forged parts.

Chapter 12 - 9
 Fibrous structure detected in hot forged parts

An example of design of forging dies aimed at breaking up the straight-line flow pattern by
using corrugated surfaces

When forming parts having complex shapes, significant heterogeneity in deformation may
be experienced on different regions of the same part. Owing to the resulting changes in
accumulated strain energy, microstructural transformations (recrystallization, grain growth,
phase precipitation) can therefore give origin to markedly different structures that generate
heterogeneity in service properties and possible damage. The extreme condition is found
when dead zones, namely material regions where virtually no deformation is felt,
alternate with significantly deformed regions, as depicted in the figure.

Chapter 12 - 10
 Possible location of dead zones in forged parts

Oxidation products that are formed on surfaces of hot forked parts also play a role in
defect generation. Descaling strands are usually present in hot rolling plants with the aim
of removing (mechanically or chemically) the oxide scale. However, residual fragments
may remain on the surface and can subsequently be embedded in sub-surface metal
layers to form defects, as shown in the figure.

Stringers of inclusions detected beneath the surface of a zinc-coated rolled steel sheet.
Infiltration of zinc along the stringer promotes the detachment of metal scales

Cold-forming defects
When dealing with cold deformation, attention should be paid to residual stresses. Indeed
much of the reasons for failures during cold forming accounts to uncontrolled build up of
internal tensions.
In broad terms, in cold deformed products, surface and bulk (centerburst-type) fractures
can be distinguished. Surface failures are basically ruled by the extent of in-plane principal
stresses acting on the surface of a part while bulk failures are stimulated by hydrostatic
tension stresses at centre-thickness of rolled and forged products.
Residual stress development along thickness of rolled parts has already been discussed in
a previous chapter. Further damage can be induced due to stresses in the width direction
according to the schematics shown in the figure supported by the corresponding views of
Chapter 12 - 11
real cases. Edge cracks for instance are very common in cold rolling of alloys, when the
material progressively becomes brittle due to accumulated strain-hardening.

Residual stress distribution and possible forms of cracking in heavily cold rolled plates

6061 Al alloy cold rolled to a high reduction level forming edge cracks (left) and a main
crack at centre of width

Chapter 12 - 12