Stability of Y–Ti–O Precipitates in Friction Stir Welded Nanostructured Ferritic Alloys

Abstract

Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs), which have complex microstructures consisting of ultrafine ferritic grains with a dispersion of stable oxide particles and nanoclusters (NC), are promising materials for fuel cladding and structural applications in the next generation nuclear reactor. This study evaluates microstructure of friction stir welded NFA using electron microscopy and atom probe tomography (APT) techniques. APT results revealed NCs are coarsened and inhomogeneously distributed in the stir zone. Three hypotheses on coarsening of NC are presented.