Towards Optimization of Grain-Boundary Structures in Annealed Nickel

Author(s):  
C.B. Thomson ◽  
V. Randle

Many properties of materials are influenced by intergranular structure. Increasing the number of grain boundaries with favourable properties, or ‘special’, boundaries, can enhance the performance of a material in service. However, the criteria that must be satisfied for a boundary to be classified as special are not widely understood. For example, it has been shown that Σ3 coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries alone present a resistance to corrosion greater than for other boundary types in nickel (fee). In contrast, Rolim Lopes et al. observed no statistical preference for Σ3s in the grain boundary network of FeAl (bcc), and Bouchet and Priester discovered that in nickel there was a weak propensity for segregation to several boundary types, including Σ3, Σ1 1 and Σl9a CSLs.Commercially pure and superpure nickel specimens have been subjected to the strain annealing treatments detailed in the Table. Fig. 1 shows the results from an electron backscatter diffraction study of the commercial purity specimens (CI to C4). It is clear that the only boundary types that increase in frequency with increased thermal processing are Σ3n (n=l,2,3) CSLs. An abundance of annealing twins was observed for sample C4, and is unique to this sample, and this accounts for the very high proportions of Σ3s. Samples CI to C3 were annealed under vacuum, whereas C4 was treated in air, and it is proposed that the dominant energy minimization mechanism has changed from grain/grain boundary rotation for samples CI to C3, to annealing twin formation for sample C4. If the structure of a grain boundary evolves towards the exact misorientation of what is considered a special CSL type, the special properties of that boundary will, in general, become more marked. Σ3s have been shown to possess special properties. Fig. 2 shows the average deviation from exact misorientation for the Σ3s in each sample, normalised by the Brandon criterion for maximum permitted deviation. This clearly indicates that the Σ3s created by annealing twin formation can be considered more special than those produced via grain/grain boundary rotations.

2005 ◽  
Vol 495-497 ◽  
pp. 1225-1230
Author(s):  
Andre Luiz Pinto ◽  
Carlos Sergio da Costa Viana ◽  
Luiz Henrique de Almeida

Grain boundary engineering has been applied to different materials in order to increase properties particularly sensitive to intergranular phenomena. This work analyses the micromechanisms that allow the control of the amount of special boundaries which respect coincidence site lattice theory. α-brass, a lead alloy, Inconel 625 and Inconel 600 were submitted to different thermomechanical treatments and were analyzed via electron backscatter diffraction in order to characterize their grain boundaries. The occurrence of thin twins in some crystal directions during the deformation step seems to determine the results obtained as well as strain induced boundary migration.


2007 ◽  
Vol 539-543 ◽  
pp. 3389-3394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Guo Wang

The progress of grain boundary engineering (GBE) is overviewed and the challenges for further investigations emphasized. It points out that, the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) reconstruction of grain boundaries, which gives the information of connectivity interruption of general high angle boundaries (HABs), is more significant than purely pursuing high frequency of so-called special boundaries. The criterion for the optimization of grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) needs to be established. The energy spectrum and the degradation susceptibility of grain boundaries of various characters including HABs and low Σ(Σ≤29) coincidence site lattice (CSL) needs to be studied and ascertained. And finally, the newly proposed model of non-coherent Σ3 interactions for GBCD optimization are discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Thomson ◽  
V. Randle

Electron backscatter diffraction is applied to the study of texture and mesotexture in superpure nickel. Low level strain annealing is shown to influence the grain boundary population such that greater proportions of special boundaries exist. It is found that variations in the texture of a specimen are not reflected by characteristic changes in the grain boundary population, indicating that texture analysis cannot be applied to the prediction of special boundary densities. Mechanisms active during the evolution of special boundaries are discussed and compared to those involved under similar conditions in commercially pure nickel. It is shown that alnnealing twin formation need not be prevalent for a high level of special boundaries to form. Differences in the hardness of various boundary types are identified, such that low angle boundaries and ∑3 boundaries close to exact misorientation can be categorized separately to other boundaries, in that they show minimal hardening.


2007 ◽  
Vol 263 ◽  
pp. 207-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vĕra Rothová ◽  
Jiří Buršík ◽  
Milan Svoboda ◽  
Jiří Čermák

Grain boundary self-diffusion in both the cast and the cold-rolled Puratronic 4N5 nickel was studied in the temperature range from 600 °C to 1000 °C. The experiments were carried out with the samples pre-annealed at 1100 °C in comparison to the samples pre-annealed at intended individual diffusion temperatures. The relative grain orientation was analyzed on the same samples by means of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and grain boundaries (GBs) were characterized in terms of the coincidence site lattice (CSL) model. Considering the non-linear Arrhenius temperature dependencies obtained for most specimens by using conventional method of profile evaluation in the B-type kinetics and the appearance of two high-diffusivity paths in diffusion profiles measured, a more suitable BB-type and AB-type diffusion models were applied for data evaluation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 879 ◽  
pp. 1111-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Li ◽  
Jiao Rong Ma ◽  
Xin Rong Liu ◽  
Shuang Xia ◽  
Wen Qing Liu ◽  
...  

The effects of grain boundary characters on the morphology evolution of grain boundary carbides in Inconel Alloy 600 with high proportional low Σ coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries aged at 715 oC for 1-100 h were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). During the aging process, the carbides precipitated at coherent twin (Σ3) boundaries are very few and finest within all the aging time. Bar like carbides precipitated near both sides of the incoherent twin (Σ3) boundaries, and bigger carbides than that of coherent Σ3 boundaries had been found on the incoherent Σ3 boundaries. Bar like carbides precipitated near only one side of Σ9 boundaries, and much bigger carbides than that of Σ3 boundaries have been found on the Σ9 boundaries. The morphology of carbides precipitated at Σ27 and random grain boundaries are similar, and is bigger than that of precipitated at other grain boundaries. The carbides precipitated at grain boundaries with all types grow bigger with the aging time prolonging, but their growth rates are different.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritabrata Dobe ◽  
Anuja Das ◽  
Rabibrata Mukherjee ◽  
Saibal Gupta

AbstractHydrous fluids play a vital role in the chemical and rheological evolution of ductile, quartz-bearing continental crust, where fluid percolation pathways are controlled by grain boundary domains. In this study, widths of grain boundary domains in seven quartzite samples metamorphosed under varying crustal conditions were investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) which allows comparatively easy, high magnification imaging and precise width measurements. It is observed that dynamic recrystallization at higher metamorphic grades is much more efficient at reducing grain boundary widths than at lower temperature conditions. The concept of force-distance spectroscopy, applied to geological samples for the first time, allows qualitative estimation of variations in the strength of grain boundary domains. The strength of grain boundary domains is inferred to be higher in the high grade quartzites, which is supported by Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) studies using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). The results of the study show that quartzites deformed and metamorphosed at higher grades have narrower channels without pores and an abundance of periodically arranged bridges oriented at right angles to the length of the boundary. We conclude that grain boundary domains in quartz-rich rocks are more resistant to fluid percolation in the granulite rather than the greenschist facies.


2004 ◽  
Vol 467-470 ◽  
pp. 935-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Piazolo ◽  
Vera G. Sursaeva ◽  
David J. Prior

First results from grain growth experiments in a columnar structured Al foil show several interesting features: (a) the grain size distribution remains heterogeneous even after up to 300 min. annealing and (b) the Von Neumann-Mullins relation is not always satisfied. To clarify the underlying reasons for these features, in-situ heating experiments within a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were combined with detailed Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis. These show that the movement of boundaries can be strongly heterogeneous. For example, the complete replacement of one grain by a neighbouring grain without significant change of the surrounding grain boundary topology is frequently seen. Experiments show that grain boundary energy and/or mobility are anisotropic both with respect to misorientation and orientation of grain boundary plane. Low energy and/or mobility boundaries are commonly low angle boundaries, twin boundaries and boundaries that form traces to a low index plane of at least one of the adjacent grains. As a consequence the Von Neumann-Mullins relation is not always satisfied.


2011 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. 89-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Chao Zhu ◽  
Jiong Hui Mao ◽  
Fa Tang Tan ◽  
Xue Liang Qiao

Low energy grain boundaries were considered to be important in abnormal grain growth by theoretical deduction. The disorientation angles and coincidence site lattice grain boundaries distribution of more than 20 Goss grains and their neighboring matrix grains in primary recrystallized Fe-3%Si alloy were investigated using an electron backscatter diffraction method. It was found that the frequency of low energy grain boundaries of Goss grains which are more likely to abnormally grow are higher than their neighboring matrix grains, which indicated that low energy grain boundaries play a dominant role in the abnormal grain growth of Fe-3%Si alloy. The result meets well with the abnormal grain growth theory.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Zhang ◽  
David P. Field

ABSTRACTAlloy 617, a high-temperature creep-resistant, nickel-based alloy, is being considered for the primary heat exchanger for the next generation nuclear plant, which is highly influenced by thermal creep. The main objective of this study is to inspect the crept grain boundaries under its imitated working condition, and to determine which boundaries are susceptible to damage and which are more resistant, in order to help improve its creep resistance in future manufacturing. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to measure the proportions of each boundary by observing and analyzing these crept microstructures. The grain-boundary distribution can be expressed in terms of five parameters including three parameters of lattice misorientation and two parameters of the grain-boundary plane normal. Three conditions were analyzed: the original material, metal that was annealed without stress, and ones that were crept at 1000ºC at 19 MPa and 25 MPa for various times. Though observation, it is found that the voids seldom occur at low angle grain boundaries, and coherent twin boundaries are also resist to creep damage.


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