Abnormal grain growth in Ni-5at.%W

Abstract

The growth of abnormally large grains in textured Ni-5at.%W substrates for high-temperature superconductors deteriorates the sharp texture of these materials and thus has to be avoided. Therefore the growth of abnormal grains is investigated and how it is influenced by the grain orientation and the annealing atmosphere. Texture measurements and grain growth simulations show that the grain orientation only matters so far that a high-angle grain boundary exists between an abnormally growing grain and the Cube-orientated matrix grains. The annealing atmosphere has a large influence on abnormal grain growth which is attributed to the differences in oxygen partial pressure.

Keywords:

• abnormal grain growth
• annealing atmosphere
• texture
• grain boundaries

Acknowledgments

Financial support by the Fond for Regional Development of the European Union and co-financing by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia within its program “Regionale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Beschäftigung” is gratefully acknowledged.