Back to Low Alloy Medium Carbon QT
ML00172 - Mar.2021

Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring

Aspect of the broken spring. The wire is 36 mm diameter and the ourter diameter of the spirals is 320 mm. It was broken in different locations.

1

434
Aspect of the broken spring. The is 36 mm diameter and the ourter diameter of the spirals is 320 mm. It was broken in different locations.
M

Material

Low Alloy Medium Carbon QT
  • AISI 6150
  • UNS G61500
Ds

Description

The was in operation for four years and, during inspection, it was identified that the valve seal was damaged and the spring was broken. The analysis indicated that the spring surface was corroded, presenting pits, and there were multiple intergranular in the bottom of the pits, suggesting a embritlement effect. The environmentally assisted cracks generated the flat of this high strength spring.

C

Chemistry (% in weight)

Product Analysis

0.51C; 0.23Si; 0.83Mn; 0.011P; 0.010S; 0.96Cr; 0.13Ni; 0.02Mo; 0.10V.

Associated Images
Aspect of the broken spring. The wire is 36 mm diameter and the ourter diameter of the spirals is 320 mm. It was broken in different locations.
434
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - General View
Aspect of the fracture of the spring. The spring surface shows shallow pits.
49
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - Fracture
Surface to fracture interface. The spring shows corrosion and pits.
46
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - Corrosion
Aspect of the spring surface, with a layer of corroded products, and pits.
36
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Surface Aspect by SEMDf - Corrosion
Micrography of a transverse section of the spring, at the surface showing pits full of deposits.
36
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Transverse Section
Micrographic detail of the transverse section of the spring, at the surface, showing the pits full of corrosion deposits.
31
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Surface Deposits
Micrographic detail of spring surface, showing the pits full of corrosion deposits and a small decarburized layer (probably from the manufacturing processes).
30
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Decarburized Surface
Aspect of the flat fracture surfaces, brittle. The spring surface is corroded and presents pits.
31
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - Brittle Fracture
Micrography of a longitudinal section of the spring, at the surface, indicating that there are multiple intergranular cracks initiating from the pit.
26
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Multiple cracks
Micrographic aspect of the multiple intergranular cracks, initiating from the bottom of a pit.
25
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Intergranular Cracking
Micrographic detail of the intergranular cracks, initiating from the bottom of a pit.
29
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - As polished micrographyDf - Intergranular Cracking
Rusted aspect of the spring surface.
26
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Aspect Before AnalysisDf - General View
Micrography of the transverse section of the spring wire, in the center, presenting a refined structure and segregation bands that are detected only in low magnification.
24
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Transverse Section
Micrographic detail of the transverse section of the spring wire, martensitic.
24
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Martensite
Micrographic detail of the martensitic structure, uniform through thickness.
17
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by OMDf - Martensite
Micrographic detail of the martensitic structure, clearly obtained from a refined previous austenitic structure .
19
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by SEMDf - Martensite
Micrographic detail of the martensitic structure.
19
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Nital Etched Micrography by SEMDf - Martensite
The spring fracture was rusted and did not allow the fractographic analysis. The quasecleavage and intergranular fracture micromechanisms presented in this scanning electron microscopy image were obtained from the Charpy V broken testpiece that presented 15J of absorbed energy at room temperature (21°C).
22
VIEW
ML00172 / Mar.2021
Brittle Fracture of a LAS Valve Spring
M - Low Alloy Medium Carbon QTP - SpringAp - Oil and GasCd - Brittle Fracture
Cm - Testpiece aspectDf - Brittle Fracture