Microstructural evolution of boron nitride particles in advanced 9Cr power plant steels

B and N can be used to increase the creep strength of advanced 9Cr power plant steels by means of microstructural stabilization and precipitation strengthening; however, the formation of boron nitride (BN) particles removes B and N from solution and reduces the strengthening effect of B and N simultaneously. In the current study, the BN precipitation/dissolution conditions in 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb steels have been investigated to understand how to prevent the formation of BN. A series of austenitizing heat treatments have been designed using thermodynamic predictions as a guide in an attempt to dissolve the BN present after the production of 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb type steels and to prevent also the precipitation of BN during the subsequent heat treatments. Advanced electron microscopy has been carried out to investigate the evolution of the BN particles in relation to the austenitization temperature. Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) has been used to identify the B-containing phases, and a method has been developed using secondary electron images to quantify the amount of BN present within the microstructure. It has been found that BN solubility is sensitive to the B and N levels in the steel composition, as indicated by thermodynamic calculations. However, it is proposed that austenitizing heat treatments at temperatures ranging from 1448 K to 1473 K (from 1175 °C to 1200 °C) with durations from 1 to 7 hours can effectively prevent the precipitation of BN as well as dissolving most of the BN particles formed during initial steel manufacture.