Precipitate Microstructure Research Articles

Effect of wall thickness on the precipitation behavior, microstructure, electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of copper alloy prepared by electron beam powder bed fusion

Electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) is one of the most promising technologies for preparing thin-walled copper alloy, because copper alloy have a high energy absorption rate for electron beam, and high preheating temperature can reduce the solidification temperature gradient and reduce the deformation of thin-walled parts. At present, there are few reports on the systematic research work on the EB-PBF of thin-walled CuCrZr alloy parts, and it's impossible to effectively supervise the production of complex thin-walled CuCrZr alloy parts. This work aims to investigate the effect of thickness on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CuCrZr alloy produced by EB-PBF. As the wall thickness decreases from 5.0 mm to 0.3 mm, the grain sizes of the XY and YZ planes decreased from 20.4 μm and 43.1 μm to 14.5 μm and 21.5 μm respectively, and the texture intensity decreased from 16.04 and 23.57 to 7.62 and 10.99. The analysis showed that Cr2O3 nanoprecipitates were precipitated in situ in the sample, and their average size decreased from 65.8 nm to 21.6 nm. Due to the reduction in grain and nanoprecipitate size, the performance of thin-walled samples is significantly enhanced, with yield strength (YS) increasing from 112 MPa to 165 MPa and conductivity increasing from 71.7 %IACS to 86.1 %IACS. Finally, the main contributions to the YS of specimens with different wall thicknesses was discussed. Precipitation strengthening and dislocation strengthening are the main strengthening mechanisms in thin-walled samples, and the gradual refinement of nano-precipitates is the main reason for the improvement of mechanical properties as the wall thickness decreases.

Enhanced multiple precipitation and long-term stability in AlCuMgSi(Sc) alloys with Er additions

The precipitate evolution and microstructure stability of AlCuMgSiSc alloys with Er additions were intentionally investigated. It reveals that the Cu-containing metastable precipitates (rod-liked Q′ and lath-liked L precipitates) are promoted and achieved highest tensile strength of ∼441.3 MPa through precipitation strengthening after aging at 12 h in AlCuMgSiErSc alloy. Meanwhile, the AlCuMgSiErSc alloy shows approximately ∼6.9 % and ∼ 10.8 % higher UTS (27.7 MPa) and YS (34.1 MPa) than AlCuMgSiSc alloy after severe over aging for 150 h, respectively. Surprisingly, the σ-Al5Cu6Mg2 precipitates are rarely observed in AlCuMgSiErSc alloy indicating that the formation of σ-Al5Cu6Mg2 is inhibited. The excellent thermal stability can be explained by the high density of Q′ precipitates with hybrid structures and L precipitates. Moreover, Er solute atoms preferentially segregate at the interface of the Q′ precipitates and enrich the θ' precipitate, which inhibits the diffusion of solute atoms and stabilizes the coarsening of precipitates. This work may provide a strategy for designing AlCu series alloys with thermally stable microstructures.

Effect of Tempering Temperature on the Aqueous Corrosion Resistance of 9Cr Series Heat-Resistant Steel

In this investigation, the aqueous corrosion resistance of 9Cr series heat-resistant steel during tempering was investigated. Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) were used to analyze the effect of tempering temperature on the microstructure and precipitation behavior of precipitates. The heat-resisting steel was heated to 1150 °C for 1 h, and then tempered at different temperatures between 680 °C and 760 °C for 2 h. The microstructure of the heat-resistant steel after tempering was composed of lath-tempered martensite and fine precipitates. The hardness decreased with increasing tempering temperature, ranging from HBW 261 to HBW 193. The aqueous corrosion resistance improved as the tempering temperatures increased from 680 °C to 720 °C but deteriorated at higher temperatures, such as 760 °C, which was obtained by an electrochemical corrosion performance test. The aqueous corrosion resistance was affected by the decrease in dislocation density and the decrease in Cr solution in the tempered martensite. With the increase in the tempering temperature, the aqueous corrosion potential first increases and then decreases, the self-corrosion current density first decreases and then increases, and the polarization resistance first increases and then decreases. Furthermore, the increase in corrosion resistance is attributed to the reduction in dislocation density and chromium depletion in the martensitic structure as the tempering temperature approaches 720 °C. This paper reveals the effect of tempering temperature on the corrosion resistance of 9Cr series heat-resistant steel, which is a further exploration of a known phenomenon.

Influence of Si on the Elevated-Temperature Mechanical and Creep Properties of Al–Cu 224 Cast Alloys during Thermal Exposure

The influence of Si content (0.1–0.8 wt.%) on the development of precipitation microstructures and the resultant mechanical and creep properties during thermal exposure, up to 1000 h at 300 °C, in Al–Cu 224 cast alloys, was systematically investigated. The room and elevated temperature yield strength (YS) increased with increasing Si content under the T7 condition, which was attributed to the fact that the Si promoted the precipitation of fine θ′. However, Si increased the coarsening of θ′ during thermal exposure at 300 °C, and the alloys with low Si exhibited a higher YS and creep resistance at elevated temperatures than high Si alloys. The mechanical strength and creep resistance were mainly controlled by the precipitation strengthening of the predominant θ′ phase. Because of the high mechanical strength and creep resistance of the 0.1Si alloy during long-term thermal exposure, the Si level in Al–Cu alloys should be maintained at a low level of 0.1 wt.% for high-temperature applications. The strengthening mechanisms were quantitatively analyzed, based on the characteristics of the precipitate. The predicted YS values under different exposure conditions agreed well with the experimentally measured values.

Investigation on the microstructural evolution and corrosion behaviors of Zn-microalloyed Al-Cu-Li alloys

Zn microalloying made great contributions to microstructures evolution and performances enhancement. The effects of various contents of Zn on the precipitate microstructure, tensile property and corrosion behavior of Al-3.2Cu-1.5Li alloys with medium Cu/Li mass ratio were examined by tensile testing and corrosion measurement. Experimental results demonstrated that the tensile strength of the Zn microalloyed samples dropped slightly as the Zn content increased due to the number density of precipitates with minor size variation showed a downward trend within the grains. Corrosion testing revealed that the corrosion type of Zn microalloyed samples was primarily localized intragranular corrosion, slight intergranular corrosion and local pitting corrosion was also partially involved. The emergence of Zn element in grain boundary (GB) coarse (T1) phases and the suppressed precipitation of intragranular phases in the alloys with higher content Zn were found to reduce corrosion sensitivity with the increase of Zn content, which was ascribed to the decreased potential difference between the GB and adjacent matrix, and between the GB precipitates and precipitation free zone (PFZ).

Accelerating precipitation hardening by natural aging in a 6082 Al-Mg-Si alloy

It is well known that long time natural aging (NA) after quenching from solution treatment will significantly reduce the precipitation hardening kinetics and peak hardness of most 6xxx aluminum alloys during later artificial aging (AA). Here we demonstrate an effective strategy to accelerate precipitation hardening, taking advantage of NA. It is found that by a short time pre-aging (PA) at AA temperature, NA for up to 1 year can reduce the time to peak strength in a 6082 alloy during later AA. A simultaneous increase in yield strength and uniform elongation at peak-aged condition can be achieved as a result of finer and denser age-hardening precipitates than those formed by direct AA treatment. Quantitative characterization of the precipitate microstructure by annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) reveals that PA generates a small fraction of fine β″ needle precipitates composed of 6–9 β″-eyes and a substantially high density of GP-zones composed of 3–5 β″-eyes, which are stable at room temperature and can grow easily into β″ upon AA. During NA after PA, more GP-zones with at least 2 β″-eyes form while the larger GP-zones inherited from PA grow further, both of which can act as the precursors of β″ precipitates during later AA.

Fabrication of highly heterogeneous precipitate microstructure in an α/β titanium alloy

To obtain a synergistic combination of high strength and high ductility in titanium alloys, design and creation of heterogenous precipitate microstructure have attracted increasing attention. Herein, using Ti-3Al-5Mo-4.5V (wt.%, an α/β titanium alloy) as a model alloy, we demonstrated that a highly heterogenous α-phase precipitate microstructures with well-controlled length scale of spatial heterogeneity (i.e., micron-sized primary α and nano-scale secondary α precipitates), can be synthesized through activating the ω-assisted α nucleation transformation pathway that operates in metastable β titanium alloy alone. A detailed analysis of transformation pathway for ω phase and the underlying ω-assisted α nucleation mechanisms is carried out using the integrated advanced characterizations, theoretical calculations and simulations based on DFT, and phase-field modeling. Experimental results show unambiguously that the embryonic ω particles (also known as athermal ω) with partially collapsed structure are incapable of refining secondary α (αs). In contrast, the isothermal ω particles with a complete structural collapse play an important role in assisting αs nucleation, resulting in the formation of the ultrafine αs lamellae at nanoscales after two-step aging heat treatments. The contributions from the isothermal ω particles are then quantified using first-principles calculations and phase-field simulations. It is found that, even though the solute partitioning between a growing isothermal ω particle reduces the αs nucleation driving force in the surrounding β matrix, the elastic interaction between the ω particles and the αs nucleus provides more driving force for αs nucleation at specific locations of the ω/β interface. Our work extends the microstructure design strategy based on ω-assisted α nucleation mechanism from metastable β to α/β Ti-alloys, thereby significantly widening the application space of the strategy.

Precipitation behavior and strengthening mechanism in a Cu-3.5Ti-0.1 Tm alloy

The study investigates the complex relationship between precipitation patterns, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties in a Cu-3.5Ti-0.1 Tm alloy subjected to isothermal ageing. The results reveal that ageing at 450 °C leads to the formation of nanoscale β′-Cu4Ti phase particles within the grains and fibrous β-Cu4Ti precipitates along the grain boundaries. The precipitation microstructure of this aged alloy is predominantly characterised by tetragonal β′-Cu4Ti precipitates. During spinodal decomposition, Ti atoms segregate in rod-like Ti-rich Cu phases, facilitating their conversion into β′-Cu4Ti phase. The β′-Cu4Ti precipitates remain fully coherent with the Cu matrix, exhibiting a crystallographic orientation relationship of (001)Cu//(001)β′ and [100]Cu//[130]β′. As the precipitate radius exceeds approximately 11 nm, the elastic strain energy surpasses the energy at the precipitate/matrix interface. This leads to a shape transition from spherical to cuboidal for the β′-Cu4Ti precipitates. Moreover, the Ti solute atoms contribute significantly to the alloy's strength through solid solution hardening, with the dissolution of 1 at.% Ti solute increases the yield strength by 46.2 MPa. However, as ageing progresses from 1 to 20 h, the effect of solid solution strengthening decreases, while precipitation strengthening becomes more dominant, mainly due to the Orowan bypass mechanism. After 20 h of ageing, precipitation strengthening significantly increases the yield strength by about 436 MPa, exceeding the contributions from solid solution strengthening (78 MPa) and grain-boundary strengthening (14 MPa).

A full-field approach for precipitation in metallic alloys. Comparison with a mean-field model

Modeling precipitation in metallic alloys is a topic of great importance in physical metallurgy as the resulting strengthening strongly depends on the precipitate microstructure. We propose here a numerical full-field model for precipitation that describes precipitates with shape functions, thereby allowing to bridge scales between phase-field approaches - that accurately describe the precipitate evolution but require a fine discretization grid - and mean-field approaches - that are computationally very efficient but rely on strong assumptions. Our results demonstrate the capability of the full-field approach to model the different stages of precipitation during isothermal treatments. The comparison with mean-field results allow to discuss the influence of solutal impingement and precipitate coagulations on the evolution of the precipitate microstructure.

Eutectic Precipitate Dissolution and Microstructure Evolution of Cr–W–Co Heat-Resistant Steel with Varying Ce Contents

Eutectic Precipitate Dissolution and Microstructure Evolution of Cr–W–Co Heat-Resistant Steel with Varying Ce Contents

Hot deformation behavior and dynamic recrystallization of 2195 Al–Li alloy with various pre-precipitation microstructures

In this work, 2195 Al–Li alloys with various precipitation microstructures were obtained by homogenization treatment followed by air-cooling (AC), discontinuous cooling (DC), and furnace-cooling (FC), and then tested by hot compression at different temperatures. The results show that the flow stresses of all specimens decrease with temperature and the peak stresses of AC, DC and FC specimens decrease in order at the same temperature. For FC samples, coarse pre-precipitates diminish the deformation resistance due to the reduction of solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening. Dynamic softening at low temperatures is significantly greater than that at high temperatures, except for the anomalous softening of the FC specimen at 520 °C due to stress release by cracks. At 370–420 ​°C, the dynamic softening of the AC specimen is more significant than the other samples, resulting from dynamic precipitation and precipitate coarsening. Furthermore, there is considerable dynamic recrystallization (DRX) in FC samples and not in AC and DC samples, although their precipitates coarsen to similar levels at low temperatures. This suggests that DRX is associated with the particle-stimulated nucleation mechanism by regularly arranged precipitates. The banded or regularly arranged precipitates divide the Al matrix into multiple confined units, hindering dislocations and (sub)grain boundary movement, and thus promoting the development of sub-grains and DRX.

Effect of elastic strain energy on precipitation process of Co81Al5V14 alloy based on microscopic phase field method

The L12 phase volume fraction, size, microstructure significantly influences alloy's important physical and mechanical properties in Co-Al-V superalloy. Based on microscopic phase field method and microelasticity theory, precipitation of ordered L12 phase in Co81Al5V14 alloy were studied. The results indicate that precipitation sequence of Co81Al5V14 alloy is minimally influenced by elastic strain energy and precipitation sequence can be divided into four stages. Elastic strain energy does not significantly affect incubation period of alloy, but it does promote the formation of transitional ordered phase L10 with a single orientation and facilitates precipitation of ordered phase L12. Elastic strain energy causes precipitates to grow and coarsen along specific elastic "soft" direction ([100] and [001]). Elastic strain energy promotes process of ordering and atomic occupancy of the alloy. The effects of elastic strain energy on precipitation mechanism, microstructure and atomic occupancy are discussed in this work, which provides theoretical guidance for the design of Co-Al-V alloys with better properties.

Simulating martensitic transformation in NiTi-Hf – effects of alloy composition and aging treatment

In the NiTi-Hf alloy system, coherent H-phase (orthorhombic) nanoprecipitates have been shown to have strong impact on the B2 (cubic) to B19’ (monoclinic) martensitic transformation (MT) and the corresponding stress-strain behavior. Two typical martensite-precipitate microstructures have been observed: intra-martensite precipitates (IMP) and inter-precipitate martensites (IPM). In the former, high density small H-phase nanoprecipitates are embedded in individual domains of different variants of the B19’ martensite that form a herringbone structure, while in the latter, finer twinning B19’ martensites are confined in between larger H-phase nanoprecipitates. In this study we investigate the mechanisms underlying the formation of these two distinct microstructures through computer simulations using the phase field method. In particular, we study temperature- and stress-induced MTs in the presence of H-phase nanoprecipitates, concentration variations and stress field in the B2 matrix created by the precipitation reaction, and the corresponding thermal and stress hystereses and superelasticity for different alloy compositions and aging treatments. The simulation results indicate that densely populated nanoprecipitates 7∼20 nm in length and 3∼8 nm in width lack the strength to impede the growth, coalescence and coarsening of martensitic domains, resulting in the formation of IMP. In contrast, plate-like nanoprecipitates with diameters of ∼100 nm and thickness of ∼20 nm effectively hinder the growth, coalescence and coarsening of martensitic domains, giving rise to IPM. The IPM microstructure is accompanied by an almost linear volume fraction vs. temperature curve with less than 1 °C hysteresis during thermal cycling and a slim stress-strain hysteresis as compared to that of the IMP microstructure. Therefore, thoughtful choices in alloy composition and aging treatment enable the attainment of distinctly varied precipitate and martensitic microstructures, each characterized by unique pseudoelastic or superelastic properties.

Achieving high strength-ductility synergy via Guinier-Preston zone formation in a new Mg–Zn–Al–Ca–Mn–Ce sheet alloy

ZAXME11100 (Mg–1Zn–1Al-0.5Ca-0.4Mn-0.2Ce, wt.%) is a recently developed sheet alloy with excellent formability at room temperature. The yield strength of this alloy is significantly improved by a short 1-h aging treatment at 210 °C (T6), from 159 MPa in solution-treated state (T4) to 270 MPa in the T6 condition, with a slight reduction in tensile elongation (from 31 % in T4 to 26 % in T6). In this work, precipitation microstructure was characterized to explain the aging hardening and high strength-ductility synergy of the new alloy. A high density (8 × 1023/m3) of ordered monolayer Guinier-Preston (GP) zones enriched in Al, Ca and Zn uniformly form on the Mg basal planes after T6 treatment. Grain boundary segregation of Al, Ca and Zn is also observed. Deformation microstructure of T4 and T6 samples tested to various strain levels was examined. At small strain levels, basal and non-basal <a> dislocation slip dominates the deformation process, and cross slip of <a> dislocations between basal and non-basal planes is observed in T6 samples. The GP zones are gradually destroyed by plastic deformation. Based on those results, the strengthening contribution of ordered GP zones was modeled to be 116 MPa. Therefore, formation of GP zones is an effective way to achieve high strength-ductility synergy in wrought Mg alloys.

Effects of alloying elements on the microstructure of precipitation strengthened Co-based superalloys

The alloying effects on the microstructure, especially precipitation of harmful phases and solvus temperature of L12-structured γʹ phase, etc., are essential for alloy design and development of precipitation strengthened Co-based superalloys. Based on the newly reported Co30Ni9Al5Mo10Cr2Ta0.03B alloy, alloying elements Mo, Cr, Al, Ta and Ni are systematically changed and alloys are fabricated to investigate their microstructures in two heat treatment statuses, namely homogenization and aging, respectively. Results show that Mo and Cr are γ forming elements and have limited effect on γʹ solvus temperature, but high concentration of Mo and Cr facilitates the formation of harmful μ phase. Al, Ta, and Ni are all γʹ stabilizers and can effectively increase γʹ solvus temperature, but roles of Al, Ta and Ni are different. Increasing Al and Ta would result in other harmful phases, such as the μ phase in the 6Ta and 4Ta alloys, and μ + B2 phases in the 13Al and 11.5Al alloys. However, Ni addition significantly increases solvus temperature and area fraction of γʹ phase without occurrence of harmful phases. The current findings might provide guidelines for design and development of precipitation strengthened Co-based alloys.

Dually-refined grain and precipitate microstructure of ATF-FeCrAl alloy by a two-step annealing process to separate the recrystallization from precipitation

The service of ATF-FeCrAl cladding requires excellent mechanical properties, creep resistance and radiation resistance, which can be improved by microstructure refinement. Traditional thermomechanical process is difficult to refine the matrix and precipitates simultaneously due to the interaction between the precipitation and recrystallization. Here by separating the recrystallization from the precipitation process, we proposed a two-step annealing strategy to obtain both refined grain and precipitate microstructure. A warm-rolled FeCrAl alloy was firstly annealed at a high temperature for a short time to obtain an extended recovery or recrystallized microstructure without significant precipitation. Then low-temperature annealing was applied to obtain homogenous and dense nano-sized precipitates without changing the grain size. Compared to the conventional one-step annealing processes, the alloy processed by the two-step process exhibited excellent radiation-induced hardening resistance, ultrahigh tensile strength (1064.9 MPa) at room temperature with an appreciable elongation (11.7%) and best resistance to degradation in tensile properties during exposure at 800 °C. The “dually-refined” microstructure obtained by the two-step annealing exhibits good stability under ion irradiation at 320 °C. The two-step annealing strategy can provide a promising pathway to achieve microstructure refinement for other alloy systems.

Heterogeneous precipitate microstructure design in β-Ti alloys by regulating the cooling rate

Cooling after solutionizing or aging plays a crucial role in heat treatment and can greatly influence the final precipitate microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium (Ti) alloys. In this study, we employ phase field simulations to strategically engineer heterogeneous precipitate microstructures in near β-Ti alloys by manipulating the cooling rate, which leads to different phase transition mechanisms. By varying the cooling rate within the temperature range of 900 ∘C to 500∘C, we identify four distinct microstructures: uniformly distributed fine congruent αc plates and fine α precipitates, heterogeneous and hierarchical α precipitates, and uniformly distributed coarse α precipitates. Further analysis reveals that these diverse precipitate microstructures originate from three distinct phase transition mechanisms, i.e., congruent transition, pseudospinodal decomposition, and classical nucleation and growth, each activated at different temperatures during continuous cooling. Utilizing the insights from the simulations, we successfully produce microstructures in Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr-1Zr (Ti55531) with heterogeneous α precipitates by applying intermediate cooling rates (∼0.01∘C/s), which activate classical nucleation and growth as well as pseudospinodal decomposition. These samples exhibit exceptional comprehensive mechanical properties, including an ultimate strength of approximately 1260 MPa and a total elongation of around 14 %. This investigation provides valuable guidance for designing novel heterogeneous precipitate microstructures by simply controlling the cooling rate, leading to significant enhancements in the mechanical properties of β-Ti alloys.

Micro Rain Radar and Radiometric Measurements to Unravel Contrasting Features of Rain Microstructure Below and Above the Boundary Layer

AbstractKa‐band Micro rain Doppler radar is an effective tool to investigate the profiles of precipitation microstructure in terms of the raindrop size distribution (DSD). The DSD parameters that vary appreciably with height are indicative of the associated atmospheric phenomena. Hence the present investigation endeavors to put light on the underlying physical processes responsible for the evolution of varied rain microstructure profiles using micro rain radar (MRR), and radiometric measurements complemented with re‐analysis outputs over an urban tropical location, Kolkata (22.57°N, 88.37°E), India. MRR unravels the prevalence of significant biases in the typical power law relationship (Dm = aRb) between rain rate (R) and mass‐weighted mean drop diameter (Dm) along the rain height, especially during intense convective rain events, above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Consequently, an alternative empirical relation appropriate to account for the R‐Dm variability above the ABL is proposed. Further, radiometric measurements and re‐analysis outputs reveal that the presence of atmospheric instabilities coupled with wind shear impacts above the ABL contributes to the enhanced breakup of raindrops and the deviations in the usual R‐Dm relationship. Thus, the present study intends to highlight the applicability of ground‐based radar measurements over the tropics to devise quantitative precipitation algorithms for reliable rain estimates.

Elucidating effects of Eu and P on solidification and precipitation of Al-7Si-0.3Mg based alloys refined by Ta and TiB2

Effects of Eu (up to 500 ppm) and P (up to 40 ppm) on solidification and precipitation of Al-7Si-0.3Mg based alloys refined by solute Ta (0.12 wt%) and stochiometric Al-2.2Ti-1B grain refiner were investigated using optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was found that (i) solute Ta can refine α-Al grains and is unaffected by the addition of Eu and/or P. (ii) 200 ppm Eu is eligible enough to modify eutectic Si although its modification effect can be enhanced with higher Eu additions (up to 500 ppm). (iii) A high P concentration (40 ppm) counteracts the modification effect in the alloy modified with 200 ppm Eu and therefore unmodified structure is obtained. (iv) Even with the addition of Eu and P, the activation energy of stable β-Mg2Si is calculated to be very low (60–70 kJ/mol), indicating a short time for the precipitation of β-precipitates. Furthermore, one possible nucleation sequence in Al-Si-Mg based alloys modified with Eu or Sr has been proposed based on the lattice mismatch calculation and thermodynamic stability. Finally, DFT calculations suggest that Eu is energetically favourable for TPRE growth mechanism. The present investigation provides new insights into controlling solidification microstructure (mainly for the grain refinement of α-Al and eutectic grains) and precipitation microstructure (mainly for β-MgSi precipitate) of Al-7Si-0.3Mg based alloys via the addition of Ta and TiB2 as a refiner of α-Al and the addition of Eu and P as a modifier of eutectic Si.

The role of the post-heat treatment on the Cr-based precipitates and related room temperature mechanical properties of the sintered Nb-lean Cu–Cr–Nb alloy

Nb-lean Cu–Cr–Nb alloys have been widely applied in electrical industries as the structural conductive material owing to their excellent combination of the mechanical and electrical properties at room temperature. In this work, the influence of temperature during fast sintering and post-heat treatment strategies on the precipitate evolution and room temperature mechanical properties of the Cu–3Cr-0.5Nb (wt.%) alloy was investigated. The increasing sintering temperature will improve the density and mechanical properties of the alloy without any obvious grain growth during this non-equilibrium process, while the post-aging at lower and higher temperatures can effectively control the formation and coarsening process of the Cr-based precipitates. Systematic characterization was then conducted on the microstructural evolution, especially the altering precipitates’ size and distribution, in the alloy at both as-sintered and the aged conditions, which is correlated to its room temperature tensile properties. Lower aging temperature will induce the nucleation of the new Cr2Nb precipitates without causing a significant coarsening of the existing precipitates like aging at higher temperature. Therefore, the low-temp. aged sample exhibits the highest tensile strength and elongation due to the enhanced Orowan strengthening mechanism induced by its unique precipitate microstructure.