Converging criteria to characterize crack susceptibility in a micro-alloyed steel during continuous casting

The ductility drop and decrease in strength that lead to crack formation during continuous casting of steel is typically investigated by means of the hot ductility test. In this study, hot ductility tests are performed by using a thereto-mechanical Gleeble system to simulate the deformation of steels at high temperatures and low deformation rates similar to those during continuous casting. Thus, temperature was varied between 600 and 1000 degrees C while strain rates covered a range from 0.001 to 0.1 s(-1). Tests are carried out to identify the temperature range at which the steel is susceptible to crack formation as well as the effect of strain rate. Characterization of fractured surfaces and phase transformation after thermo-mechanical tests are conducted in the SEM and Optical Microscope. The combination of these techniques makes possible to formulate cracking mechanisms during hot processing which show critical strain for failure at temperatures between 700 and 900 degrees C based on the convergence of three different criteria: I) Reduction of area, II) True fracture strength-ductility and III) True total energy. This approach provides a better understanding of crack formation in steels at the high temperatures experienced during continuous casting. This information is key to productivity losses and avoid defect formation in the final cast products.