Contribution of Local Analysis Techniques for the Characterization of Iron and Alloying Elements in Nitrides: Consequences on the Precipitation Process in Fe–Si and Fe–Cr Nitrided Alloys

Abstract

Atom Probe Tomography (APT), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and 3D mechanical calculations in complex geometry and anisotropic strain fields were employed to study the role of minor elements in the precipitation process of silicon and chromium nitrides in nitrided Fe–Si and Fe–Cr alloys, respectively. In nitrided Fe–Si alloys, an original sequence of Si3N4 precipitation was highlighted. Al–N clusters form first and act as nucleation sites for amorphous Si3N4 nitrides. This novel example of particle-simulated nucleation opens a new way to control Si3N4 precipitation in Fe–Si alloys. In nitrided Fe–Cr alloys, both the presence of iron in chromium nitrides and excess nitrogen in the ferritic matrix are unquestionably proved. Only a certain part of the so-called excess nitrogen is shown to be explained by the elastic accommodation of the misfit between nitride and the ferritic matrix. The presence of immobile excess nitrogen trapped at interfaces can be highly suspected.