Fatigue tests were conducted for a modified ausformed and tempered JIS-SCM440 low-alloy (denoted as AF) steel with tensile
strengths of 1600 and 2000 MPa, respectively, and were compared with normally quenched and tempered (QT) steel. The 1600 MPa-class
modified ausformed steel (AF1600) developed no fish-eye fractures and a fatigue limit of 920 MPa, whereas normally quenched
steel (QT1600) developed fish-eye fractures and showed a lower fatigue limit of 840 MPa. The 2000 MPa-class modified ausformed
steel (AF2000) achieved a high fatigue limit of 1010 MPa, but developed fish-eye fractures. The fatigue limit of normally
quenched steel (QT2000) was 840 MPa. Results of fatigue tests at 20 kHz up to 10
9 and 10
10 cycles agreed with the fatigue limits for QT1600 and QT2000, respectively. The fracture sites of fish-eye fractures in QT1600
were Al
2O
3 and TiN inclusions, and those in AF2000 and QT2000 were Al
2O
3 and TiN inclusions and internal facets. Fracture surfaces of QT2000 that broke at over 10
7 cycles had large, clearly identifiable optically dark areas (ODAs). The AF2000 showed no fractures over 10
7 cycles, and the authors could not conclude whether the fracture surface of the specimens broken at around 5 × 10
6 cycles had ODAs. The fact that long-life fatigue failure over 10
7 cycles did not occur in AF2000 showed that ODAs did not form in this steel, since ODAs developed in proportion to cycle number
and became large and clearly identifiable at over 10
7 cycles. Their incidence was quantitatively demonstrated by modified Stress amplitude vs Number of cycles to failure (S-N)
diagram analysis. The modified S-N curve for AF2000, in which the specimens were assumed to have no ODAs, showed good agreement
with that for QT2000, in which ODAs were assumed to be formed, especially at over 10
7 cycles.