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Solutes segregating at the grain boundary (GB) have a significant influence on the mechanical and chemical properties of steel. In this study, the segregation effects of Si, P, and S on γ-Fe ∑5 (210)001 GB were systematically analyzed with solution energy, segregation energy, and tensile tests by using a first principles calculation. Si, P, and S are preferred to segregate at substitutional sites in the first layer near the GB. The variation in atomic configuration and electron distribution were investigated by the analysis of bond lengths, charge density, charge density difference, and density of states (DOS), which is caused by the atomic size and electronegativity of solute atoms. Through tensile tests, it was found that Si has a strengthening effect on GB, while P and S exhibit embrittlement effects at low concentration. As the concentration of solutes increase, the segregation sites of P are different from the others owing to the tendency to form Fe3P. The exhibited embrittlement effect is mitigated at first and then aggravated. However, in both cases Si and S show aggravating embrittlement effects on GB cohesion, while the effect of Si changes from strengthening to embrittlement. This work provides comprehensive insights into the effects of Si, P, and S, which will be a useful guidance in steel design.
Xu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.