Effects of trace elements on grain boundaries in some superalloys

The effects of trace elements on grain boundaries were investigated by analyzing the feature and composition of the boundary precipitates. The effect of trace elements segregated towards boundaries and the mechanism of interaction were interpreted by an idea of atom misfit. The mechanisms with regard to spheroidizing and degenerating of the precipitates were expounded. For the superalloys studied, the atoms with larger misfit may hinder the atoms with smaller misfit from segregating towards the boundaries and may drive the latter into the lattice(or interstice) inside grains and the boundary precipitates. The reaction of the latter on the former was also studied.