| The objective of this thesis was to study the effect of surface indications on the tensile properties of cast steel. Four cast steel grades were selected for evaluation; these grades include three carbon and low alloy steels (110/80, 165/135, and Eglin) and one high alloy steel (CF8M). Using these steels, tensile specimens were produced, inspected via MT/PT, categorized by surface indications (as-cast or machined), and tested. Bars with natural surface indications were tensile tested and the properties recorded. The presence of a ⅙ inch, ⅛ inch, or ¼ inch flat-bottomed hole drilled through half the thickness mimicked a similar nonlinear worse-case scenario indication. The ¼ inch indication resulted in an ultimate tensile strength loss ranging from 21.5% to 36.0%, with the more ductile materials being impacted least. The percent elongation loss ranged from 38.5% to 69.9%, with the majority of the alloys showing an approximate 60 percent loss in elongation. The modulus decrease ranged from 2.9% to 17.5%. These results were modeled using ANSYS to observe capability in predicting a decrease in properties. The resulting decrease in properties matched the experimental data to an accuracy of 3+/-11%. The results provide a previously undocumented relationship between indication size and tensile properties. |
