Abstract
Nimonic PE16 alloy is a nickel‐based superalloy containing 34 wt.% iron and 16 wt.% chromium with additions of molybdenum, titanium and aluminium. It is used in the fuel assembly of the UK advanced gas‐cooled reactors (AGR). This component supports significant loads in service and its mechanical integrity is therefore of paramount importance. Mechanical properties may be influenced by the grain size and grain boundary composition, both of which can themselves alter during service. Scanning Auger microscopy is a well‐established method for investigating grain boundaries, and has now been applied to the study of PE16. In order to expose PE16 grain boundary surfaces it is necessary to hydrogen charge samples and fracture by pulling in tension at a slow strain rate within the ultra‐high vacuum chamber of the Auger microprobe. A series of casts of nimonic PE16 alloy that have received a range of thermal ageing treatments have been fractured in an intergranular manner and the grain boundary composition determined. Segregation of trace and minority elements, particularly Mo and P, has been detected at grain boundaries. Significant variations between different as‐manufactured casts were observed, whilst ageing brought about the growth of chromium‐rich particles on the grain boundaries. Ductile fracture in PE16 followed a path through Ti(C, N) particles. Many of these particles incorporated large amounts of sulphur.