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Towards enhanced fatigue performance of advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels: A comparative study between banded ultrafine bainitic and martensitic steels.

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Title: Towards enhanced fatigue performance of advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels: A comparative study between banded ultrafine bainitic and martensitic steels.
Authors: Mweene, Bright1 (AUTHOR), Ghosh, Sumit2 (AUTHOR), Somani, Mahesh2 (AUTHOR), Chauhan, Ankur1 (AUTHOR) ankurchauhan@iisc.ac.in
Source: Materials Science & Engineering: A. Nov2025, Vol. 946, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subjects: High strength steel, Bainitic steel, Alloy fatigue, Martensitic structure, Microstructure, Low alloy steel, High cycle fatigue
Abstract: To explore the strategies for improving the fatigue resistance in advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels, two variants were examined: one with segregation-induced martensite-austenite (MA) bands in an ultrafine bainitic (UFB) matrix produced via low-temperature bainitization, and another with MA bands in a martensitic matrix processed by direct quenching and partitioning (DQ&P). UFB contained 20.8 % retained austenite (RA), while DQ&P had 15.8 % RA with finer, more closely spaced MA bands. Owing to its martensitic matrix with finer laths and higher dislocation density, DQ&P showed higher hardness and yield strength (1237 MPa vs. 914 MPa). Low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests at room temperature under fully reversed loading aligned with the MA bands revealed initial cyclic hardening followed by softening in both steels, driven by strain-induced RA-to-martensite transformation and dislocation-mediated plasticity. DQ&P exhibited consistently higher stress amplitudes, though both steels showed similar fatigue lives at lower strain amplitudes. At the highest strain amplitude, UFB's fatigue life is nearly double that of DQ&P. Cracks initiated at surface defects and propagated through microstructural features, with pronounced deflection, branching, and arrest at high-angle grain boundaries, including prior austenite grain boundaries (PAGBs), and MA islands. Deflection angles often exceeded 15°, with some reaching ∼90° near stiff MA islands close to PAGBs. Total strain-life and stress-life curves indicated similar fatigue performance. In contrast, plastic strain-life and hysteresis loop energy analysis revealed higher intrinsic fatigue resistance/toughness in UFB and better damage dispersion in DQ&P due to its finer MA band structure. The findings highlight that incorporating finer and more uniformly distributed bands, as seen in the DQ&P steel, into the tougher UFB matrix could be a promising strategy to enhance fatigue resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Materials Science & Engineering: A is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 189142125
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  Data: Towards enhanced fatigue performance of advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels: A comparative study between banded ultrafine bainitic and martensitic steels.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mweene%2C+Bright%22">Mweene, Bright</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ghosh%2C+Sumit%22">Ghosh, Sumit</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Somani%2C+Mahesh%22">Somani, Mahesh</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chauhan%2C+Ankur%22">Chauhan, Ankur</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ankurchauhan@iisc.ac.in</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Materials+Science+%26+Engineering%3A+A%22">Materials Science & Engineering: A</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 946, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+strength+steel%22">High strength steel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bainitic+steel%22">Bainitic steel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alloy+fatigue%22">Alloy fatigue</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Martensitic+structure%22">Martensitic structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microstructure%22">Microstructure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Low+alloy+steel%22">Low alloy steel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+cycle+fatigue%22">High cycle fatigue</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: To explore the strategies for improving the fatigue resistance in advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels, two variants were examined: one with segregation-induced martensite-austenite (MA) bands in an ultrafine bainitic (UFB) matrix produced via low-temperature bainitization, and another with MA bands in a martensitic matrix processed by direct quenching and partitioning (DQ&P). UFB contained 20.8 % retained austenite (RA), while DQ&P had 15.8 % RA with finer, more closely spaced MA bands. Owing to its martensitic matrix with finer laths and higher dislocation density, DQ&P showed higher hardness and yield strength (1237 MPa vs. 914 MPa). Low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests at room temperature under fully reversed loading aligned with the MA bands revealed initial cyclic hardening followed by softening in both steels, driven by strain-induced RA-to-martensite transformation and dislocation-mediated plasticity. DQ&P exhibited consistently higher stress amplitudes, though both steels showed similar fatigue lives at lower strain amplitudes. At the highest strain amplitude, UFB's fatigue life is nearly double that of DQ&P. Cracks initiated at surface defects and propagated through microstructural features, with pronounced deflection, branching, and arrest at high-angle grain boundaries, including prior austenite grain boundaries (PAGBs), and MA islands. Deflection angles often exceeded 15°, with some reaching ∼90° near stiff MA islands close to PAGBs. Total strain-life and stress-life curves indicated similar fatigue performance. In contrast, plastic strain-life and hysteresis loop energy analysis revealed higher intrinsic fatigue resistance/toughness in UFB and better damage dispersion in DQ&P due to its finer MA band structure. The findings highlight that incorporating finer and more uniformly distributed bands, as seen in the DQ&P steel, into the tougher UFB matrix could be a promising strategy to enhance fatigue resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Materials Science & Engineering: A is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.msea.2025.149080
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 1
        StartPage: N.PAG
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: High strength steel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bainitic steel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Alloy fatigue
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Martensitic structure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Microstructure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Low alloy steel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: High cycle fatigue
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Towards enhanced fatigue performance of advanced high-strength medium-carbon low-alloy steels: A comparative study between banded ultrafine bainitic and martensitic steels.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Mweene, Bright
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            NameFull: Ghosh, Sumit
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            NameFull: Somani, Mahesh
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            – D: 20
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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              Value: 946
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