Microstructure and Self-Affine Fracture Surface Parameters in Steel

The fracture surfaces of SAE-1018 steel tension and impact test specimens with different grain sizes are analyzed in order to explore the possible relations between the microstructure and the self-affine fracture surface parameters such as the roughness exponent, ζ, and the correlation length, ξ. The topography of the fracture surfaces was observed and quantified by means of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy and optical digitizer. It is confirmed that the fracture surfaces exhibit a self-affine behavior extending over six decades of length scale, from nanometers up to a few millimeters. The roughness exponent exhibits a value of ζ∼0.82 for all the cases regardless of the microstructural condition.