M5C2 Carbides in a High-Chromium Ferritic/Martensitic Steel

The precipitate phases in an 11 pct Cr ferritic/martensitic steel normalized at 1323 K (1050 A degrees C) for 0.5 hour and tempered at 1053 K (780 A degrees C) for 1.5 hours have been investigated. Except for dominant phases, Cr-rich M23C6 carbide and Nb-rich, Ta-Nb-rich, and V-rich MC carbides, needle-like precipitates with a typical size of 70 to 310 and 10 to 30 nm for the length of the long and short axis of the needles, respectively, were also observed on the extraction carbon replica of the steel. The typical metallic element composition of the needle-like precipitates is about 53-82Fe, 14-26Cr, 0.5-18Ta, 1-6W, and 2-5Co in atomic pct. Through energy dispersive X-ray analysis and electron diffraction along with calculations regarding lattice parameter and interplanar spacing, the needle-like precipitates were identified as a Fe-rich M5C2 carbide, which is not known to have been reported previously in high-chromium steels. The M5C2 carbide has a base-centered monoclinic crystal structure with the approximate lattice parameters a/b/c = 1.142/0.5186/0.5383 nm and beta = 104.68 deg. The formation of the Fe-rich M5C2 carbides in the steel has been discussed. The effect of chromium content in matrix and boron addition on the precipitate phases in ferritic/martensitic steels has also been discussed.