Effect of explosive compaction on microstructure of ODS FeCrAl alloy fabricated by oxidation method

Abstract A fabrication process of 14Cr ODS FeCrAl alloy including direct oxidation treatment, explosive compaction and vacuum post-sintering was proposed herein. A thin oxide layer formed on the powder surface during a low-temperature oxidation treatment was crushed in the explosive compaction, resulting in the redistribution of oxides at prior powder boundary (PPB) and the subsequent formation of an exclusive iron oxide layer between the grains of compacted materials. A large number of defects (dislocations and grain boundaries) were also produced in the compacted particles. Through characterizing the evolution of oxide dispersoids during the course of fabrication, the contribution of explosive compaction to dislocations, nanoscale precipitates and mechanical properties was clarified. The results show that the iron oxide layer became the container for transporting oxygen and was dissolved during the post-sintering, which affected the composition of nanoscale precipitates. The high-density dislocations not only became the rapid diffusion paths of oxygen, aluminum and yttrium atom, but also became the preferential sites of Y-Al-O precipitation. With the manufacturing method, the more uniform distribution of oxide nanoparticles and the higher microhardness of ODS alloy were obtained.