Abstract: The inclusion parameters,fracture surface morphology and void growth characteristics of ten- sile and fracture toughness specimens of 2.25Cr-1Mo steels with and without rare-earth (RE)additions have been investigated by quantitative metaltography(QTM),scanning elec- tron microscopy(SEM)and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS).There is a substantially higher density of inclusions in the RE-treated steel,which has lower values of fracture proper- ties including critical values of COD and J integral(δ_c and J_(IC)),fracture strain(ε_f) and Charpy V-notch energy(CVN).The fracture surface of the RE-treated steel comprises equiaxed dimples of diameters comparable with its inclusion spacing,whereas for the non-RE-treated steels,a wide range of dimple sizes is found with average diameter much smaller than the corresponding inclusion spacing.The investigation indicates that the lower values of fracture properties for the steel with RE at room temperature may be ascribed to its large content of RE-containing inclusions.

Key words: Cr-Mo steel, fracture properties, inclusion parameters, fracture morphology