Influence of recrystallization on phase separation kinetics of oxide dispersion strengthened Fe–Cr–Al alloy

The effect of different starting microstructures on the kinetics of Fe-rich (α) and Cr-rich (α′) phase separation during aging of Fe–Cr–Al oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys has been analyzed with a combination of atom probe tomography and thermoelectric power measurements. The results revealed that the high recrystallization temperature necessary to produce a coarse grained microstructure in Fe-base ODS alloys affects the randomness of Cr-atom distributions and defect density, which consequently affect the phase separation kinetics at low annealing temperatures.