Abstract
An analytical transmission electron microscopy study was performed on the nature of nanosize secondary phase precipitates that form in standard heat-treated commercial nickel base superalloy IN 738. In addition to M5B3 borides and M23C6 carbides, the precipitates were found to also consist of particles of M2B-type boride phase, which is previously unreported in the alloy and rarely reported in nickel base superalloys. The M2B borides exhibited a dual crystallographic structure: body centered tetragonal and face centered orthorhombic. Analyses of electron diffraction patterns and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicated that both crystal structures can co-exist in a single M2B particle as an intergrowth with the formation of planar defects. Crystallographic relationship between microconstituent phases in the heat-treated alloy were elucidated and the influence of the borides on resistance to grain boundary liquation cracking during high-temperature material processing, such as laser beam treatment, is discussed.
Acknowledgement
Financial supports from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Standard Aero Limited are gratefully acknowledged.