Formation of M 23C 6-type precipitates and chromium-depleted zones in austenite stainless steel

• Published in: Scripta materialia Vol. 65; no. 6; pp. 509 - 512
• Main Authors: Kaneko, Kenji, Fukunaga, Tatsuya, Yamada, Kazuhiro, Nakada, Nobuo, Kikuchi, Masao, Saghi, Zineb, Barnard, Jon S., Midgley, Paul A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2011
• Subjects: Analytical electron microscopy; Cr-depleted zone; In situ annealing transmission electron microscopy; M 23C 6; Stainless steel; Analytical electron microscopy; In situ annealing transmission electron microscopy; Stainless steel; M 23C 6; Cr-depleted zone
• ISSN: 1359-6462; 1872-8456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2011.06.010

Precipitate formation during the in situ annealing experiment at 650 °C. Formation of M 23C 6 carbides and chromium-depleted zones in commercially available type 304L stainless steel were investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy and analytical transmission electron microscopy. It was found that each individual small M 23C 6 carbide starts to grow with a clear orientation relationship with the matrix, and film-like carbide was subsequently observed at the interfaces with asymmetric Cr-depleted zones. From these experimental results, a model describing the precipitation of M 23C 6 and the formation of the Cr-depleted zone was proposed.