Microstructure variation and hardness diminution during low cycle fatigue of 55NiCrMoV7 steel

The influence of temperature and hardness level on the cyclic behavior of 55NiCrMoV7 steel, and the microstructure variation and hardness diminution during low cycle fatigue behavior were investigated. By means of SEM and XRD, the modality of carbides and the full-width half-maximum (FWHM) of martensite (211) [M(211)] of X-ray diffraction spectrum in fatigue specimen were studied. The results showed that the cyclic stress response behavior generally showed an initial exponential softening for the first few cycles, followed by a gradual softening without cyclic softening saturation. The fatigue behavior of the steel is closely related to the hardness level. The hardness diminution and the variation of half-width M(211) are remarkably influenced by the interaction between the cyclic plastic deformation and the thermal loading when the fatigue temperature exceeds the tempering temperature of the steel.