Microstructure Evolution in Nano-reinforced Ferritic Steel Processed By Mechanical Alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

Oxide-dispersion strengthened ferritic steel was produced by high-energy attrition, leading to a complex nanostructure with deformed ferritic grains. After mechanical alloying, the powder was then consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using various thermo-mechanical treatments. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was also performed on the same powder for comparison. Above 1123 K (850 °C), SPS consolidation-induced heterogeneous microstructure composed of ultra-fine-grained regions surrounded by larger grains. Spatial distribution of the stored energy was measured in the bimodal microstructure using the Kernel average misorientation. In contrary to large recrystallized grains, ultra-fine grains are still substructured with low-angle grain boundaries. The precipitation kinetics of the nano-oxides during consolidation was determined by small-angle neutron scattering. Precipitation mainly occurred during the heating stage, leading to a high density of nanoclusters that are of prime importance for the mechanical properties. Other coarser titanium-enriched oxides were also detected. The multiscale characterization allowed us to understand and model the evolution of the complex microstructure. An analytical evaluation of the contributing mechanisms explains the appearance of the complex grain structure and its thermal stability during further heat treatments. Inhomogeneous distribution of plastic deformation in the powder is the major cause of heterogeneous recrystallization and further grain growth during hot consolidation. Then, the thermal stability of coherent nano-oxides is responsible for effective grain boundary pinning in recovered regions where the driving pressure for recrystallization is lowered. This scenario is confirmed in both SPSed and HIPed materials.