Microstructure Evolution of a New Precipitation-Strengthened Fe–Al–Ni–Ti Alloy down to Atomic Scale
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Material and Processing
2.2. Experimental Techniques
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. XRD, DTA and High-Temperature XRD Experiments
3.2. Microstructural Investigations
3.3. APT Measurements
3.4. Long-Term Annealing
3.5. Hardness Measurements
4. Conclusions
- Within the Fe–Al–Ni–Ti system, microstructures can be generated that comprise a disordered ferritic matrix (A2 structure) and intermetallic Heusler precipitates (L21 structure).
- Alloying with Ti increases the dissolution temperature of the L21 phase when compared to the stoichiometric binary D03 phase. In the investigated alloy, the L21 precipitates were stable at least up to 920 °C, which is an indispensable requirement for applying the alloy at high temperatures.
- After water quenching from 1200 °C, i.e., from the A2 single-phase field region, the microstructure was built up of two phases, A2 and L21. Their arrangement resembled the γ/γ′ microstructure of Ni-based superalloys. APT measurements revealed that the A2 matrix was continuous, and cuboidal L21 precipitates were embedded in the matrix. After furnace cooling, the A2 matrix was still continuous. However, the L21 precipitates became spherical and were coarser than those in the water-quenched state.
- TEM showed that the matrix–precipitate interface was coherent in the water-quenched state, which was a consequence of a sufficiently small lattice mismatch. After furnace cooling, the mismatch was larger, resulting in semicoherent interfaces. After long-term annealing at 900 °C in the A2 + L21 region for 100 h, the precipitates substantially coarsened.
- APT investigations revealed that, after furnace cooling from 1200 °C, secondary Fe-rich precipitates are present within the primary L21 precipitates. The phase compositions suggest that these particles could be ascribed to the A2 phase. These secondary precipitates are either formed on antiphase boundaries by heterogeneous nucleation or in the center of the L21 precipitates by homogeneous nucleation. In all investigated states, the L21 phase was identified as off-stoichiometric (Fe,Ni)2TiAl, with Fe being its major constituent.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Fe | Al | Ni | Ti | Others | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominal | Bal. | 20 | 10 | 10 | |
Actual | Bal. | 20.9 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 0.36 |
Phase | RT (nm) | 900 °C (nm) | 1050 °C (nm) |
---|---|---|---|
A2 | 0.2879 | 0.2915 | 0.2936 |
L21 | 0.5810 | 0.5899 | - |
Δ | 0.9% | 1.2% | - |
Sample | Phase | Fe (at. %) | Al (at. %) | Ni (at. %) | Ti (at. %) | Other (at. %) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WQ | A2 | 84.5 | 12.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
L21 | 41.3 | 24.7 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 0.5 | |
FC | A2 | 85.4 | 12.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
L21 | 36.4 | 26.3 | 18.5 | 18.3 | 0.5 | |
A2* | 79.1 | 13.3 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 0.0 |
State | As-Cast | 1200 °C-WQ | 1200 °C-FC | 900 °C-WQ | 900 °C-FC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HV10 | 608 ± 7 | 699 ± 8 | 463 ± 4 | 447 ± 6 | 446 ± 4 |
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Godor, F.; Palm, M.; Liebscher, C.H.; Stein, F.; Turk, C.; Leitner, K.; Rashkova, B.; Clemens, H. Microstructure Evolution of a New Precipitation-Strengthened Fe–Al–Ni–Ti Alloy down to Atomic Scale. Metals 2022, 12, 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12060906
Godor F, Palm M, Liebscher CH, Stein F, Turk C, Leitner K, Rashkova B, Clemens H. Microstructure Evolution of a New Precipitation-Strengthened Fe–Al–Ni–Ti Alloy down to Atomic Scale. Metals. 2022; 12(6):906. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12060906
Chicago/Turabian StyleGodor, Flora, Martin Palm, Christian H. Liebscher, Frank Stein, Christoph Turk, Katharina Leitner, Boryana Rashkova, and Helmut Clemens. 2022. "Microstructure Evolution of a New Precipitation-Strengthened Fe–Al–Ni–Ti Alloy down to Atomic Scale" Metals 12, no. 6: 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12060906