The influence of tungsten on the chemical composition of a temporally evolving nanostructure of a model Ni-Al-Cr superalloy

Microsc Microanal. 2004 Jun;10(3):355-65. doi: 10.1017/S1431927604040589.

Abstract

The influence of W on the temporal evolution of gamma' precipitation toward equilibrium in a model Ni-Al-Cr alloy is investigated by three-dimensional atom-probe (3DAP) microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We report on the alloys Ni-10 Al-8.5 Cr (at.%) and Ni-10 Al-8.5 Cr-2 W (at.%), which were aged isothermally in the gamma + gamma' two-phase field at 1073 K, for times ranging from 0.25 to 264 h. Spheroidal-shaped gamma' precipitates, 5-15 nm diameter, form during quenching from above the solvus temperature in both alloys at a high number density (approximately 1023 m-3). As gamma' precipitates grow with aging at 1073 K, a transition from spheroidal- to cuboidal-shaped precipitates is observed in both alloys. The elemental partitioning and spatially resolved concentration profiles across the gamma' precipitates are obtained as a function of aging time from three-dimensional atom-by-atom reconstructions. Proximity histogram concentration profiles (Hellman et al., 2000) of the quaternary alloy demonstrate that W concentration gradients exist in gamma' precipitates in the as-quenched and 0.25-h aging states, which disappear after 1 h of aging. The diffusion coefficient of W in gamma' is estimated to be 6.2 x 10-20 m2 s-1 at 1073 K. The W addition decreases the coarsening rate constant, and leads to stronger partitioning of Al to gamma' and Cr to gamma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alloys* / chemistry
  • Aluminum / chemistry*
  • Chemical Precipitation
  • Chromium / chemistry*
  • Electron Probe Microanalysis / methods
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Nanotechnology
  • Nickel / chemistry*
  • Tungsten* / chemistry

Substances

  • Alloys
  • Chromium
  • Nickel
  • Aluminum
  • Tungsten