Neutron diffraction analysis of the microstructure of dispersion-hardening steels

Abstract

Neutron diffraction was employed in order to determine microdeformations in samples of stainless austenitic dispersion-hardened steels subjected to the action of high temperatures (to 700°С) during different times (up to 12 h). Experiments were conducted on a high-resolution neutron diffractometer using the timeof- flight method. The analysis performed showed systematic changes in the parameters and microdeformations of the crystal lattice. The high level of the diffractometer resolving power made it possible to reveal some important additional details of the microstructure of dispersion-hardened steels as compared to the results obtained earlier on a diffractometer with monochromatic neutron beam.