Precipitates and Grain Boundary Strength of an Fe-Mn-Ni Alloy

摘要

The effect of grain boundary (GB) precipitates on the GB strength of an age-hardened Fe-7.8Mn-8.2Ni alloy was investigated. Premature intergranular fracture was observed after age hardening due to the precipitation of θ-MnNi precipitates at prior austenite grain boundaries. However, the conversion of GB θ precipitates to austenite by a short second aging at 793 K (520 °C) after peak aging at 713 K (440 °C) resulted in a remarkable improvement of GB strength. The result strongly supports the proposition that the weak bonding of GB θ precipitates to the matrix is the main reason for GB embrittlement in age-hardened Fe-Mn-Ni alloys.