Anisotropy of forged steel components is especially adverse when it concerns rotationally symmetric components. Manganese sulfides (MnS) in steels may be desired for their improvement of machining properties; however, they also deteriorate fatigue behavior. A quantification of the effect of MnS on anisotropy is necessary to find an optimum for component dimensioning. To isolate the influence of MnS on anisotropy only, high cleanness of the test material is required. The test material in the current investigation was molten in a vacuum furnace to high-cleanness composition. Materials with two different S levels were produced to detect variations in anisotropy according to amount, shape, and distribution of the MnS inclusions. The two batches were cross-rolled to plates with a deformation ratio of 4.5. The MnS phase constitutes, upon forging or rolling, pancake-shaped inclusions. In the case of cross-rolling, an in-plane rotational symmetry of the inclusions could be created. The shape and size of these inclusions are essential for the mechanical behavior of the material. Push-pull fatigue testing was performed in longitudinal (in plane) and short transversal directions relative to the rolling plane. The results showed strong anisotropy of the fatigue behavior with inferior performance in short transverse directions where the principal stress is perpendicular to the flattened inclusions. The anisotropy was somewhat more pronounced for the high-S material, resulting from a different fatigue crack growth mechanism.

The bonding between manganese sulfide (MnS) inclusions and the surrounding steel matrix was investigated by in-situ tensile testing in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at room temperature. Tests were carried out for two different orientations of the inclusions with respect to the loading axis. The orientation was created during a hot cross rolling operation of the test material. Straining was performed along both longitudinal (L) and short transverse (S) directions. The investigation showed that the bond between the MnS inclusions and the matrix is weak. This was particularly seen in the S test direction where the sulfides, lying perpendicular to the load axis, delaminated from the matrix at very low applied stresses. The MnS inclusions in longitudinal tests instead fractured at high stress levels close to the yield stress.

Notch sensitivity has been connected with the presence of a film-like s-phase morphology in the grain boundaries of cast test bars of Alloy 718 of a problem material in which premature fracture occurred during testing of smooth stress rupture bars at 650 "C. A heat treatment designed to produce a plate-like S-phase morphology at the grain boundaries improved the material dramatically. Comparison with a reference material indicated the that the presence of coarse MC-carbides (0.9NbO.lTiC) at the grain boundaries attributed to the notch sensitivity problem. The degradation of the material by the carbides seems to be due to a considerable swelling action during a selective oxidation of these carbides. Additionally, a formation of a liquid phase at the carbides was confirmed. The volume increase of the selectively oxidized carbides was demonstrated by a an experiment in which two pieces of cast Alloy 718 with polished surfaces facing one another were pressed together and exposed to air at 650 "C for one hour.

Deformation and forging operations often introduce microstructural orientation and, therewith, mechanical anisotropy to steel. Flattened manganese sulfide inclusions are held responsible for a great part of fatigue anisotropy. Isotropic-quality (IQ) steel maintains the mechanical isotropy of the material, even after a deformation operation. Isotropic material generally contains little S and, therewith, few manganese sulfides. Further, the IQ steels used in this investigation were Ca treated. The Ca treatment improves the shape stability of the sulfides, even during a hotworking deformation. Two commercial materials were compared for their fatigue response, a standard medium-carbon steel with 0.04 wt pct S and a low-sulfur variant that underwent IQ treatment. The two batches were cross-rolled to plates with a deformation ratio of 4.5, leading to in-plane isotropy. Tension-compression fatigue testing was performed in longitudinal and short transversal directions relative to the rolling plane. The results showed strong anisotropy of the fatigue behavior for the standard material. The performance in the short transverse direction, with the principal stress perpendicular to the flattened inclusions, was inferior. The IQ material with nearly spherical inclusions was almost perfectly isotropic, with only slightly worse fatigue response in the short transverse direction.

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