No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The nature of defects in a quaternary Fe-40A1–0.7C-0.5B alloy was examined by transmissionelectron microscopy (TEM) techniques including weak beam microscopy and z-contrast imaging.Complex {001} stacking faults were observed in certain conditions in these alloys that were not previouslynoted in a ternary Fe-40A1–0.6C alloy. These faults exhibit a 1/2<001> displacement vectorthat lies in the plane of the fault and structurally misses an aluminum layer. Six variants of this faulttype are present. These faults are absent in brine-quenched and furnace-cooled alloys, but are readilyobserved in the air-cooled condition. In addition to the usual <111> superdislocations that are APBdissociatedinto 1/2<111> superpartials, dissociated <100> dislocations (into two 1/2< 100> partials)are also observed under certain conditions. Quenched and aged alloys show dissociated <001> loops.The absence of such defects in the B-free alloy and following certain heat treatments in the B-containingalloy, suggests that boron may be segregating to the cube planes and lowering the interfacialenergy on these planes. The presence of dissociated <001> loops in the quenched and aged alloy alsosuggests the formation of B-vacancy complexes that coalesce during aging, forming such dissociatedloops.