Identification and 3D Reconstruction of Cr5S6 Precipitates Along Grain Boundaries in Fe13Cr

Abstract

Metal sulfide grain boundary precipitates of a ferrous model alloy with 13 wt.% chromium formed at 650°C under a gas atmosphere containing 0.5% SO2 and 99.5% Ar were investigated after ageing for 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h. The precipitates formed along grain boundaries were identified as Cr5S6 using energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. Serial focused ion beam slicing was conducted followed by three-dimensional reconstruction to determine the number, size, and penetration depth of the precipitates evolved at the different time steps. There was a linear increase in the number of precipitates with time, while their average size increased only for the initial aging time but became constant after 6 h. Based on these results, a model for grain boundary sulfidation of ferritic alloys is discussed.