Complete and Incomplete Wetting of Ferrite Grain Boundaries by Austenite in the Low-Alloyed Ferritic Steel

Low-carbon low-alloyed ferritic steels are the main material for the production of high-strength pipes for the transportation of oil and gas. The formation of brittle carbide network during the lifetime of a pipeline could be a reason for a catastrophic failure. Among other reasons, it can be controlled by the morphology of grain boundary (GB) carbides. The microstructure of a low-alloyed ferritic steel containing 0.09 at.% C and small amounts...