Evolution of Nanostructure of FeNi(Ti/Cr)N Alloys During Phase Cycling

Abstract

ABSTRACTA possibility to manipulate the microstructure of cold rolled (down to less than 1% of the initial thickness) Fe94Ni4Ti2 and Fe93Ni4 Cr3 foils via inter-phase cycling by nitriding and de-nitriding is investigated. The grains in the as-rolled material had a dominating (001)[110] texture and contained a complicated internal nanostructure due to a dislocation network. The interphase cycling α↔γ'-Fe4N and α↔ε-FexN (x∼3) was investigated as a tool to change or destroy the texture. We observed that the α↔γ'-Fe4N phase transformations weaken but do not erase the texture. A stronger reduction of the texture was obtained in the α↔ε-cycling, where grains with a new orientation appear in XRD scans. During the α↔γ' phase transformation a lamella structure is formed which is coarsening with the number of cycles. It was found that the rates of the α↔γ' and α↔ε interphase transitions were slowing down with the number of cycles. The observation is explained by an increase of kinetic barriers while removing/transforming the rolling-induced defects during the cycling.