Abstract The principal reason of the intergranular embrittlement in plasma carburized lay-er on 20Cr2Ni4A steel, analyzed by TEM and Auger spectra, was revealed to be due to the segregation of S, P and other impurities along prior austenite grain boundaries. The retained austenite in the layer is unrelated to the intergranular fracture caused in the region. However,the segregation of impurities may be eliminated by reheating and quenching.
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