Atom probe tomography of secondary γ′ precipitation in a single crystal Ni-based superalloy after isothermal aging at 1100 °c

Abstract : Secondary γ′ precipitation in a commercial single crystal Ni-based superalloy after the 1100 °C isothermal aging has been investigated by atom probe tomography. After the isothermal aging for 300 s, 1800 s and 3600 s, a bimodal size distribution of larger primary γ′ precipitates and numerous smaller secondary γ′ precipitates was obtained. It is proposed that the secondary γ′ precipitated via a non-classical nucleation mode. The coarsening of secondary γ′ precipitates well obeys the classical LSW theory.