Uniaxial strain was applied to aging Fe⁻Cr alloys to study the morphological orientation and kinetics of the nanoscale α' phase by utilizing phase-field simulation. The effects of applied uniaxial compressive and tensile strain on the two and three-dimensional morphology as well as on the separation kinetics of the α' phase are quantitatively clarified. Compared with the applied uniaxial tensile strain, the applied uniaxial compressive strain shows a greater effect on the rate of phase separation, lath shape morphology and an increased rate of growth and coarsening in the α' phase, the boundary of the α + α' phase region is widened influenced by the applied compressive strain, while the applied tensile strain results in an increase of particle number density and a decrease of particle radius. The peak value of particle size distribution of the α' phase increases with aging time, while an opposite trend is shown under the applied strain, and there is an obvious deviation from the theoretical distribution of Lifshitz⁻Slyozov⁻Wagner under compressive strain. The orientation morphology and kinetic change show the substantial effects of applied strain on the phase separation and supplies the method for the morphological control of nanoscale particles.
Keywords: external strain; kinetics; morphology; nanoscale phase; simulation.