Effect of W-addition on low cycle fatigue behavior of high Cr ferritic steels

A study was done to investigate the effect of tungsten (W) addition on the microstructure, tensile properties and low cycle fatigue (LCF) properties of 9Cr-lMo steels at 298K and 873K. Four steels containing different amounts of W (0W, 1.2W, 1.8W and 2.7W) were normalized at 1323K for 1 hour and tempered at 1023K for 1 hour. Microstructural analysis revealed that no significant differences wete observed in their tempered martensitic microstructure of 0W, 1.2W and 1.8W alloys, but d-ferrite was observed to form at the prior austenite grain boundaries of the 2.7W alloy. With the increase in W content, yield and tensile strength increased at both temperatures. Low cycle fatigue life also increased with the W content up to 1.8%, but decreased in the 2.7W alloy, which was primarily due to the presence of soft d-ferrite acting as the crack initiation site. The fatigue life at 873K was reduced compared to that at 298K, due not only to the decrease in strength at high temperature but also to the formation of oxide layers along the slip bands, which increases slip irre-versibility during cyclic deformation.