Intergranular embrittlement in plasma carburized layer

This paper deals with the cause of intergranular fracture occurred in the retained austenitic region in plasma carburized layer. The results show that the presence of retained austenite, which has a good effect on the impact toughness, has no relation to this embrittlement. Analysis by Auger electron spectroscopy shows that the impurities S and P segregate at the grain boundaries is the main reason of the intergranular embrittlement in carburized layer. However, the segregation of P and S can be removed by reheating and quenching treatment.