Materials Letters 58 (2004) 3514 – 3517

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Approximate evaluation of directional toughness in

heavily drawn pearlitic steels
J. Toribioa,*, A. Valienteb
a
Department of Materials Engineering, University of Salamanca E.P.S., Campus Viriato, Avda. Requejo 33, 49022 Zamora, Spain
b
Department of Materials Science, Polytechnic University of Madrid E.T.S.I. Caminos, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Received 21 November 2003; received in revised form 27 May 2004; accepted 3 June 2004
Available online 1 August 2004

Abstract

In this paper, an approximate procedure is proposed to estimate the fracture toughness of heavily drawn pearlitic steels in both
longitudinal (wire axis) and transverse (perpendicular) directions, on the basis of the anisotropic behaviour of the steels, with crack deflection
and mixed mode propagation, the deflection angle being almost 908.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Pearlitic steels; Cold drawing; Fracture toughness; Strength anisotropy; Deformation and fracture; Mechanical properties

1. Introduction with the final steps of the manufacturing process to obtain

High-strength cold-drawn steels are used in civil
engineering as structural members in the form of bars,
wires, strands, tendons and cables (e.g., high-strength steels
for reinforcing and prestressing concrete) which are axially
loaded under very severe loads, so that the knowledge of
their fracture toughness is very important [1].
This paper presents a simple procedure for evaluating the
fracture toughness in cold-drawn prestressing steel wires on
the basis of simple fracture tests in which anisotropic
fracture behaviour was detected [2] as a consequence of the
microstructural orientation in the wire axis direction
produced during the manufacture process by cold drawing
[3].
2. Experimental programme
A high-strength eutectoid steel was used in this work.
Different degrees of cold drawing were analyzed, associated
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 980 545 000; fax: +34 980 545 002.
E-mail address: toribio@usal.es (J. Toribio).
0167-577X/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2004.06.040
prestressing steel wires. The preheat treatment consisted of
heating up to the austenitic condition and posterior slow
cooling to produce fine pearlite associated with the eutectoid
point. Table 1 gives the chemical composition (common to
all the steels), whereas Table 2 shows the nomenclature,
diameter and mechanical properties of the steel wires. The
number of drawing steps applied to each one is indicated by
the digit in its own name. Figs. 1 and 2 show, respectively,
the pearlitic microstructure of steels 4 and 6 in the form of
longitudinal metallographic sections whose vertical side
corresponds to the wire axis or cold drawing direction, and
where a progressive microstructural orientation with cold
drawing is observed.
Cylindrical samples of 30 cm were cut from the steel
wires. Samples were subjected to axial fatigue to produce a
precrack. After fatigue precracking, the cracked rods (shown
in Fig. 3) were subjected to monotonic tensile loading up to
fracture. The load applied on the specimen and the relative
displacement of two points symmetrically placed in relation
to the crack plane were continuously monitored during the
test.
The heavily drawn steels analyzed in this paper (steels 4–
6) exhibited anisotropic fracture behaviour with crack
deflection and a propagation step oriented 908 in relation
 J. Toribio, A. Valiente / Materials Letters 58 (2004) 3514–3517 3515

Table 1
Chemical composition (wt.%) of the steels
C Mn Si P S Cr V Al
0.80 0.69 0.23 0.012 0.009 0.265 0.060 0.004

to the initial propagation direction by fatigue in mode I (cf.

Ref. [2]). This 908-step is quasi-parallel to the wire axis or
cold drawing direction, a consequence of the marked
microstructural orientation induced by cold drawing [3].
The fractographic analysis [2] revealed that the predominant
micromechanisms of fracture in heavily drawn steels are Fig. 1. Longitudinal metallographic section of steel 4 (the vertical side of
microvoid coalescence (MVC), i.e., dimpled fracture, with the micrograph is parallel to the drawing direction).
evidence of isolate cleavage (C) facets indicating locally
brittle fracture.
the steel during manufacture by heavy drawing. Such
Fig. 4 shows a scheme of the fracture profiles and
pseudocolonies posses an anomalous (very high) local
microscopic fracture modes in the three steels analyzed in
interlamellar spacing which makes them preferential
this paper. There is a first subcritical crack growth in mode I
fracture paths with minimum local toughness. This is
by MVC over a very small distance x S up to the propagation
consistent with the ideas presented in Ref. [4], according
step and finally further growth in a direction close to the
to which the pop-in in the load–displacement curve is
initial one (20–308 from it). The step gets closer to the
produced by a small amount of abrupt crack extension
fatigue precrack border as the drawing becomes heavier, and
and could be related to the presence of heterogeneities in
in the fully drawn steel the step is located just at the fatigue
the material in the form of large inclusions, carbides or, in
precrack border (x S=0). Fracture surfaces are MVC before
the case of the pearlitic steel analyzed in this paper, the
the step (when x S is different from zero) and MVC with
aforesaid pearlitic pseudocolonies produced by heavy
some C facets after it.
drawing.
The load–displacement plots during the fracture tests
Therefore, two characteristic points may be defined in the
showed no decrease in load, and this happened with
load–displacement curve: the point of initiation of nonlinear
independence of the degree of cold drawing. The
behaviour (at a load value F Y) and the point of final fracture
appearance of the load–displacement plot in the fracture
(at the maximum load level F max). The former was
tests was seen to depend on the strain hardening level. In
associated with a detectable pop-in in the load–displacement
heavily drawn steels, the plot always exhibited a first
plot, which marks the beginning of the nonlinear behaviour.
linear portion (associated with mode I propagation), later
These two points could be used to define a characteristic
a pop-in (associated with the 908-step) and finally a
load and its corresponding characteristic value of stress
nonlinear part (associated with the further propagation in a
intensity factor.
direction close to the initial one in mode I). The 908-step
explains the nonlinear part of the load–displacement
curve; after a pop-in associated with the step, the plot
3. Evaluation of fracture toughness
becomes curved as a consequence of bending of the
cracked sample.
To evaluate the fracture toughness in the steel wires,
The pop-in is not produced by plastic yielding but by a
an expression is needed of the stress intensity factor
kind of microstructural yielding due to the appearance of
(SIF) for the geometry and loading conditions depicted in
the 908-step as a consequence of the presence of
extremely slender pearlitic pseudocolonies [3] created in

Table 2
Nomenclature, diameter and mechanical properties of the steels
Steel 4 5 6
D i (mm) 8.15 7.50 7.00
D i/D 0 0.68 0.62 0.58
E (GPa) 196.7 202.4 198.8
r Y (GPa) 1.239 1.271 1.506
r R (GPa) 1.521 1.526 1.762
P (GPa) 2.50 2.74 2.34
n 8.69 7.98 11.49
E: Young’s modulus, r Y: yield strength, r R: ultimate tensile stress (UTS). Fig. 2. Longitudinal metallographic section of steel 6 (the vertical side of
P, n: Ramberg–Osgood parameters: e=(r/E)+(r/P)n . the micrograph is parallel to the drawing direction).
3516 J. Toribio, A. Valiente / Materials Letters 58 (2004) 3514–3517
Fig. 3. Cracked bars used in the experimental programme.
Fig. 3. In this paper, the following general expression [5]
is used:
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
KI ¼ Y ða=DÞr pa ð1Þ
where r is the remote axial stress, a the crack depth and
Y(a/D) a dimensionless function given by (cf. Ref. [5]):
Y ða=DÞ ¼ ½0:473  3:286ða=DÞ þ 14:797ða=DÞ2 1=2
h  i1=4
ða=DÞ  a=DÞ2
which was obtained using the finite-element method
together with a compliance technique to obtain a global
value of the stress intensity factor from the energy release
rate.
A fracture criterion on the basis of the energy release rate
G will be used to account for the anisotropic behaviour, i.e.:
G ¼ Gc
In materials with strength anisotropy—as the cold drawn
steels considered in this paper—the specific energy for
fracture depends on the propagation angle h in relation to
Fig. 4. Fracture profiles and microscopic fracture modes.
the crack plane in the standard fracture mechanics sense,
G c(h), and it can be related to the directional fracture
toughness K IC(h) as follows:
2
Gc ðhÞ ¼ K IC ðhÞ=EV ð4Þ
2
where EV=E in plane stress and EV=E/(1-m ) in plane strain.
In addition, and taking into account the propagation step (cf.
Fig. 4) oriented 908 in relation to the radial direction
(original crack propagation direction in mode I), the relation
between the energy release rates in the radial (h=08) and
axial (h=908) directions is [6]:
Gð908Þ ¼ 0:2615Gð08Þ ð5Þ
which indicates clearly that the energy release rate for crack
deflection is quite lower than the correspondent value for
crack propagation in mode I, and thus crack deviation from
the mode I direction only happens if the fracture resistance
in the axial direction-measured in terms of specific energy
for fracture—is low enough.
Fig. 5 shows the relevant fracture instants in the tests:
crack deflection at a load level F Y (associated with the pop-
in and the 908-step) and final fracture at a load level F max
following a direction close to the initial one. These two key
fracture instants allow an approximate evaluation of direc-
tional toughness in cold drawn steels.
To obtain the approximate value of the directional
toughness (the final aim of the present paper), the following
hypotheses will be used:
(i) The subcritical crack growth by MVC in mode I
ð2Þ (before the 908 step, cf. Fig. 4) is neglected; that is,
the crack length for calculating the critical value of
the SIF at the load level F Y is the fatigue crack length:
aca fat.
(ii) The pop-in crack growth is neglected in macroscopic
terms, assuming that it represents only the size of a
microstructural fracture unit (the pearlitic pseudocol-
ony described in reference [3]); i.e., Dac0.
ð3Þ (iii) The final crack propagation path after the 908-step is
assumed to occur following a direction parallel to the
initial crack plane in mode I; that is, the propagation
angle in Fig. 5b is neglected: Dhc0.
Fig. 5. Relevant fracture instants: (a) initiation of fracture (pop-in) with
crack deflection at a load level F Y; (b) final fracture with crack propagation
following a direction close to the initial one at a load level F max.
 J. Toribio, A. Valiente / Materials Letters 58 (2004) 3514–3517
Now, the fracture criterion based on the energy release
rate is applied to the fracture instants of Fig. 5a and b to
obtain the directional fracture toughness of the steels in
directions h=908 (Fig. 5a) and h=08 (Fig. 5b). With regard
to the first, the fracture criterion (3) yields:
Gða; FY ; 908Þ ¼ Gc ð908Þ
and considering the relation (5) between the energy release
rates in different directions:
0:2615Gða; FY ; 08Þ ¼ Gc ð908Þ
or, in terms of SIF, accounting for Eq. (4) and considering
that in this mode I case G=K2I /EV:
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
0:2615KI ða; FY Þ ¼ KIC ð908Þ ð8Þ
which gives the directional toughness in axial (h=908)
direction.
With regard to the instant fracture associated with
maximum load (Fig. 5b), the fracture criterion (3) simply
gives, considering hypothesis (iii); i.e., Dhc0:
Gða; Da; Fmax ; 08Þ ¼ Gc ð08Þ
In a mixed mode case like this, the energy release rate
depends on both K I and K II, as follows:
 
G ¼ KI2 þ KII2 =EV ð10Þ
where K I and K II depend on the following variables:
KI ¼ KI ða; Da; Fmax Þ
KII ¼ KII ða; Da; Fmax Þ
and considering now hypothesis (ii); i.e., Dac0, then
K IIc0, K I=K I(a,F max) and G=K2I /EV. Then the fracture
criterion (9) may be expressed in terms of SIF as follows:
KI ða; Fmax Þ ¼ KIC ð08Þ
which gives the directional toughness in radial (h=08)
direction.
Fig. 6 shows the results of directional toughness in radial
and axial directions. During the last stages of cold drawing
(those represented in Fig. 6), it is seen that there is a certain
improvement of fracture toughness with the number of cold
drawing steps, specially in axial (908) direction.
The directional fracture toughness is between two and
three times higher in radial direction (h=08) than in axial
one (h=908). This is a signal of the very high strength
anisotropy of heavily drawn steels, which can be explained
3517
ð6Þ
ð7Þ
Fig. 6. Directional fracture toughness in the cold drawn steels in radial (08)
and axial (908) directions.
by considering the markedly oriented pearlitic microstruc-
ture (cf. Ref. [3]) after the manufacture process.
4. Conclusion
An approximate procedure was proposed to estimate the
ð9Þ directional fracture toughness of heavily drawn pearlitic
steels in axial and radial directions, using a fracture criterion
based on the energy release rate and some assumptions
based on the experimental results. The values of directional
toughness are seen to be quite higher in radial than in axial
direction, which indicates that heavily drawn steels are very
anisotropic from the fracture mechanics viewpoint.
ð11Þ
Acknowledgements
ð12Þ
The financial support of this work by the Spanish
MICYT (Grant MAT2002-01831) and FEDER is gratefully
acknowledged. In addition, the authors wish to express their
gratitude to EMESA TREFILERIA S.A. (La Coruña, Spain)
ð13Þ for providing the steel used in the experimental programme.
References
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[4] U.P. Singh, S. Banerjee, Acta Metall. Mater. 39 (1991) 1073.
[5] A. Valiente, PhD Thesis, Polytechnic University of Madrid (1980).
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