Microstructural banding effects clarified through micrographic digital image correlation

Microstructural banding is commonly observed in commercial steels, but its effect on the global mechanical properties is still disputed in the literature. This letter investigates the influence of band morphology and banding phase properties from tensile tests for two limit cases (continuous hard band vs. discontinuous softer band), analysed from digital image correlation of in situ electron microscopy micrographs. The effects of band continuity and hardness are elucidated, yielding a clear detrimental influence especially for hard bands with a continuous morphology. (C) 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.