Effects of GBCD on cold work embrittlement of high strength interstitial free steels

The effects of grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) on cold work embrittlement (CWE) of P-added high strength interstitial-free (IF) steels have been evaluated using an electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. It has been found that cracks propagation along the high-energy continuous random boundaries resulted in the CWE, and that low-angle or low- CSL boundaries can offer obstacles to the propagation of cracks. The results indicate that the CWE of high strength IF steels can be improved by an optimum GBCD which is described as a high frequency of low-angle or low- CSL boundaries, and a more discontinuous random boundary network. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.