Athina Markaki & T.W. Clyne
'Surface Steps on a Stainless Steel Fibre'
Scanning electron microgragh of surface steps on a ferritic stainless steel (446) fibre, after holding for several hours at 1250 C in a reducing atmosphere. The particles (artificially coloured purple here) are Cr23C6 carbides. The steps arise from preferential exposure of low energy planes, in the absence of a surface oxide. The carbide particles, which are mostly located at grain boundaries, inhibit grain growth and also influence the local topography of the step structure.
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