The Two-step nucleation of G-phase in ferrite

フェライトにおけるG相の二段階核生成

松川 義孝*; 武内 伴照   ; 鹿窪 勇太*; 鈴土 知明   ; 渡辺 英雄*; 阿部 弘亨*; 外山 健*; 永井 康介*

Matsukawa, Yoshitaka*; Takeuchi, Tomoaki; Kakubo, Yuta*; Suzudo, Tomoaki; Watanabe, Hideo*; Abe, Hiroaki*; Toyama, Takeshi*; Nagai, Yasuyoshi*

673Kで等温時効したフェライト相中のG相(NiSiMn)析出に関し、溶質原子クラスタが母材と結晶学的に区別可能となる成長段階を見出すため、アトムプローブトモグラフィ(APT)と透過電子顕微鏡法(TEM)を組み合わせた解析を行った。その結果、G相の形成は、まず自発的に溶質原子が集まって直径2.6nm程度の臨界サイズとなった後に、組成が変化し閾値にまで達するという複数の成長段階を経ることを明らかにした。また、電子回折パターンの計算機シミュレーション結果から、しきい値の組成はNiSi(Fe,Cr)Mnと見積もられることが分かった。

Atom probe tomography (APT) and TEM were combined for identifying the stage at which solute clusters transform into compounds crystallographically distinct from the matrix, in the precipitation of the G-phase (NiSiMn) from ferrite solid solution subjected to isothermal annealing at 673 K. Based on a systematic analysis of solute clusters as a function of annealing time, the nucleation of the G-phase was found to occur via a two-step process. Moreover, the structural change was found to occur via another two-step process. There was a time lag between the end of cluster growth to become a critical size and the start of the structural change. During the incubation period solute enrichment occurred inside the clusters without further size growth, indicating that the nucleation of the G-phase occurs at the critical size with a critical composition. Judging from the results of APT, TEM and the simulation of electron diffraction patterns, the critical composition was estimated to be NiSi(Fe,Cr)Mn.