Distribution of boron within the microstructure of a ferritic steel determined using secondary ion mass spectrometry

Abstract

At low concentrations, boron in ferritic steels can potentially have a significant effect on the mechanical properties. High spatial resolution microanalyses have been undertaken on a normalised C–Mn ferritic steel containing less than 1 wt. ppm boron. Secondary ion mass spectrometry on bulk samples has been used to map the distribution of boron with the overall microstructure. Image analysis has been used to determine the location and concentration of boron within the overall microstructure of the steel. The results are discussed in terms of the microstructure, distribution, detection capability and overall audit of boron.

Acknowledgement

P.E.J. Flewitt would like to thank BNFL–British Nuclear Group for allowing time to work at Bristol University.