Shirley Northover

Multiscale 3D analysis of creep cavities in AISI type 316 stainless steel

Abstract A sample of AISI type 316 stainless steel from a power station steam header, showing reheat cracking, was removed from service and has been examined by a combination of microscale X-ray computed tomography (CT), nanoscale serial section focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum imaging and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Multiscale three-dimensional analysis using correlative tomography allowed key regions to be found and analysed with high resolution techniques. The grain boundary analysed was decorated with micrometre sized, facetted cavities, M23C6 carbides, ferrite and G phase but no σ phase. Smaller intragranular M23C6 particles were also observed, close to the grain boundaries. This intimate coexistence suggests that the secondary phases will control the nucleation and growth of the cavities. Current models of cavitation, based on isolated idealised grain boundary cavities, are oversimplified.

Multiscale correlative tomography: an investigation of creep cavitation in 316 stainless steel

Creep cavitation in an ex-service nuclear steam header Type 316 stainless steel sample is investigated through a multiscale tomography workflow spanning eight orders of magnitude, combining X-ray computed tomography (CT), plasma focused ion beam (FIB) scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) tomography. Guided by microscale X-ray CT, nanoscale X-ray CT is used to investigate the size and morphology of cavities at a triple point of grain boundaries. In order to understand the factors affecting the extent of cavitation, the orientation and crystallographic misorientation of each boundary is characterised using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Additionally, in order to better understand boundary phase growth, the chemistry of a single boundary and its associated secondary phase precipitates is probed through STEM energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) tomography. The difference in cavitation of the three grain boundaries investigated suggests that the orientation of grain boundaries with respect to the direction of principal stress is important in the promotion of cavity formation.

The Use of Size Distributions in Determining Growth Mechanisms: The Growth of Grain Boundary Precipitates in Cobalt-20 Iron

Accurate prediction of microstructural stability in an alloy depends not only on a sound knowledge of the thermodynamics of the system but also of the kinetics of the phase changes involved. Conventionally, precipitate growth mechanisms have been inferred from the variation with aging time of various single parameters such as the mean, mode or maximum of the precipitate size distribution, which has then been compared to theoretical models of growth of an individual precipitate. In the present study, the development, with aging time at 1003 K (730 °C), of the size and shape distributions of grain boundary precipitates in Co-20Fe has been examined to determine the rate-controlling processes, and the conclusions compared to those from conventional analysis. The growth of the precipitates was well described by the grain boundary-dependent collector plate mechanism of Brailsford and Aaron. As the precipitates grew, low-energy facets were formed, which could move only by the propagation of ledges, and thickening was inhibited. The precipitates’ diffusion fields in the grain boundary overlapped and the size distributions of the longest aged specimens showed that local coarsening occurred under partial interface control.