Grain boundary migration-induced directional coarsening of the γʹ phase in advanced ultra-supercritical superalloy

This study investigated the features of grain boundary regions in a Ni-based superalloy which underwent creep deformation. Large grain boundary zones were denuded in fine γʹ precipitates but contained coarsened microscale γʹ rods. The coarsening direction of these rods was along the <110> of the γ matrix and γʹ precipitates. The orientation of the grain boundary zone was the same as that of the adjacent grain behind the migrating boundary. This result indicated that the formation of these zones was accompanied by the migration of the grain boundary. Then, numerous slip features were observed through detailed local disorientation analysis. It is proposed that the driving force for the grain boundary migration was the local stress induced by the dislocation creep. The dissolution-reprecipitation of the precipitates at the boundary migration front resulted in the directional coarsening of the γʹ rods.