ISSN: 1945-7553
CODEN: JTEVAB
Page Count: 7

Impurity Segregation to Grain Boundaries

Joshi, A
Assistant metallurgist, Metallurgy and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y.

Stein, DF
Professor and head, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.

Abstract

Minute quantities of impurities present in a material can have a major influence on the mechanical, chemical, or electrical properties of materials when they are segregated in localized regions. Since grain boundaries are often the preferred regions for segregation, it is not surprising that the properties of grain boundaries differ from the bulk resulting in such phenomena as intergranular fracture and intergranular corrosion. The objectives of this paper are to demonstrate the usefulness of Auger spectroscopy in determining segregation, the role of segregation in the deterioration of properties, and to discuss our present understanding of the mechanisms for segregation.

Keywords:
Auger electrons, spectroscopy, impurities, grain boundaries, embrittlement, corrosion, sensitizing, steels, tungsten, segregation

Paper ID: JTE10004J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE10004J
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