Correlative study of lattice imperfections in long-range ordered, nano-scale domains in a Fe-Co-Mo alloy

F Theska; A V Ceguerra; C Turk; A J Breen; S P Ringer; S Primig

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.05.005

Correlative study of lattice imperfections in long-range ordered, nano-scale domains in a Fe-Co-Mo alloy

Ultramicroscopy. 2019 Sep:204:91-100. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.05.005. Epub 2019 May 17.

Authors

F Theska¹, A V Ceguerra², C Turk³, A J Breen⁴, S P Ringer², S Primig⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science & Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
² Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis and School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
³ Voestalpine Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG, Mariazellerstraße 25, 8605 Kapfenberg, Austria.
⁴ Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis and School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloy Design, Max-Planck-Institute for Iron Research, 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany.
⁵ School of Materials Science & Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: s.primig@unsw.edu.au.

PMID: 31132736
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.05.005

Abstract

Recent advancements in data mining methods in atom probe microscopy have enabled new quantitative chemical and microstructural characterization beyond the standard three-dimensional reconstruction. For example, spatial distribution maps have been developed to enable visualisation of the local lattice occupation of a selected region of interest. However, the precision of such studies yet remains unknown as correlation with complementary methods would be required. Therefore, a correlative study of atom probe microscopy, neutron diffraction and microstructural modelling of long-range ordered, nano-scale domains in a well-researched Fe-Co-Mo Maraging-type steel is presented here. Its microstructure consists of Mo-enriched µ-phase (Fe,Co)₇Mo₆ particles embedded into a body-centred cubic FeCo matrix. Previous research has shown that under slow cooling conditions, this matrix partially decomposes into nano-scale B2 long-range ordered domains surrounded by disordered regions, resulting in reduced toughness in potential cutting applications. Usually, a long-range order parameter S referring to ideal B2 long-range order is assumed within such domains according to neutron diffraction. However, atom probe microscopy and modelling results presented in the current study indicate lattice imperfections with a partial substitution of atoms on the Fe- and Co-sublattices. After considering preferential retention effects during the atom probe experiment, a model unit cell is presented to define the observed imperfect B2 long-range order as pseudo-D0₃ long-range order, and the potential impact on the materials properties is discussed.

Keywords: Atom probe microscopy; Long-range order; Modelling; Neutron diffraction.