Crystallographic analysis of grain boundary Bcc-precipitates in a Ni–Cr alloy by FESEM/EBSD and TEM/Kikuchi line methods

Variant selection of intergranular bcc-Cr precipitates in a Ni–43 mass% Cr alloy was studied by electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) in a scanning electron microscope equipped with a field emission gun (FESEM) and Kikuchi line analysis in transmission electron microscope (TEM). A single variant was invariably selected at the underlying grain boundaries (GB) when GB-precipitates were KS-related with respect to both the adjacent matrix grains. Meanwhile multiple variants were formed at the GB when GB-precipitates were KS-related to one of the adjacent matrix grains. Theses variant selections were examined with the tilt angle to underlying GB of low-energy interphase boundaries and the orientation relationship with respect to both the adjacent matrix grains. The underlying mechanism was discussed from the viewpoint of activation energy for nucleation of two-dimensional nuclei.