Evaluation of water embrittlement on ‘dual phase’ ADI

Austempered ductile iron (ADI) suffers an embrittlement phenomenon when loaded in contact with water and other liquids. This phenomenon causes noticeable drops in elongation, ultimate tensile strength and fracture toughness of ADI of different strength grades. This paper studies the susceptibility to embrittlement of a new kind of austempered ductile iron called dual phase ADI (DPADI), which shows a matrix composed by the typical ausferrite present in ADI mixed with allotriomorphic ferrite. The new material is obtained by means of specific heat treatments that involve a partial austenitising stage. The susceptibility of DPADI to this type of embrittlement was evaluated by carrying out tensile tests in dry and wet conditions. Fracture surfaces were observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed a gradual decrease of the degree of embrittlement caused by contact with water as the ferrite content in the matrix increases.