Ni-based superalloys are high-temperature materials used for the most durable components in gas turbine engines. Micro-alloying with B and C allows achievement of superior high-temperature strength and processability. However, minute variations in such micro-alloying additions have pronounced effects on the types and decorations of interfaces in these superalloys.
In collaboration with an Australian manufacturer, researchers at UNSW Sydney studied the detailed impact of B and C micro-alloying additions on grain boundary (GB) segregation in the presence of various GB precipitates using atom probe tomography (APT). They developed new APT methods for the quantitative characterization of the interfacial excess of solutes in such complex GB microstructures.
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