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Study of Nb non-equilibrium segregation at prior austenite grain boundary in welding using atom probe tomography and modeling

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Abstract

The non-equilibrium segregation of Nb at prior austenite grain boundary (PAGB) induced by welding is experimentally investigated by means of atom probe tomography (APT). The Nb concentration at PAGB appeared to be 0.115 at.% for experimental steel containing 0.06 at.% Nb at the simulated welding thermal cycle for 10 s from 1320 to 950 °C. The critical time tc for achieving maximum segregation is calculated to be 565 s for the experimental steel. For the first time, the diffusion coefficient of Nb in desegregation process is calculated for the temperature of Ti = 950 °C using non-equilibrium segregation model and APT experimental result and is confirmed to be 9.23 × 10−11 m2/s. Based on it, the kinetics of Nb non-equilibrium segregation at the PAGBs in welding process is outlined, and the segregation process and desegregation process are discussed. The Nb segregation at PAGB is also predicted over the t8/5 range of 3–600 s. The critical t8/5, at which the highest Nb concentration of 0.144 at.% at PAGB is predicted to be achieved, is ~ 29 s.

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Acknowledgements

Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Hubei Provence for 1000 talent program & Australia research council via a discovery project. Deakin University’s Advanced Characterization Facility is acknowledged for use of the FEI Quanta 3D SEM and Cameca LEAP 4000 HR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Steels, International Research Institute for Steel Technology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    H. H. Wang & Z. Tong

  2. Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    J. Wang, P. D. Hodgson & I. Timokhina

Authors
  1. H. H. Wang
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  2. Z. Tong
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  3. J. Wang
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  4. P. D. Hodgson
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  5. I. Timokhina
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Correspondence to H. H. Wang or I. Timokhina.

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Wang, H.H., Tong, Z., Wang, J. et al. Study of Nb non-equilibrium segregation at prior austenite grain boundary in welding using atom probe tomography and modeling. J Mater Sci 54, 11320–11327 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03690-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03690-7

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