This book systematically elucidates the latest breakthroughs in Grain Boundary Engineering (GBE) technology for addressing the critical industry challenge of intergranular stress corrosion cracking in key components of nuclear power plants. Focusing on austenitic stainless steels and nickel-based alloys, it provides an in-depth exploration of how precise grain boundary design and control fundamentally enhance material service performance and longevity under extreme operating conditions. A distinctive feature of this work is its application of advanced 3D microstructural characterization, which clearly reveal the mechanisms behind grain boundary network evolution and performance optimization. Furthermore, it introduces innovative processing methodologies applicable to large-scale engineering components, effectively bridging the gap between GBE theory and industrial practice. This volume serves as an essential reference for researchers and engineers in materials science and nuclear engineering, as well as for graduate students and faculty in related disciplines.
1. Introduction and Fundamentals.- 1.1 Coincidence site lattice
boundaries.- 1.2 Twin related boundaries.- 1.3 Grain boundary network.- 1.4
Microstructural evolution during grain boundary engineering.- 1.5 Property
improvement by grain boundary engineering.- 1.6 Three-Dimensional
Characterization of Microstructure.-
2. Application of Grain Boundary
Engineering in Austenitic Alloys.- 2.1 Grain boundary engineering of Alloy
690.- 2.2 Grain boundary engineering of 316/316L stainless steels.- 2.3 Grain
boundary engineering of 304 stainless steel.-
3. Optimization of Grain
Boundary Network by Grain Boundary Engineering.- 3.1 Twin-related domain and
its growth.- 3.2 Multiple-twining.-
4. Three-dimensional Geometry of Grains
and Grain Boundaries.- 4.1 3D EBSD characterization.- 4.2 3D geometry of
grains.-
4.3 3D geometry of grain boundaries.- 4.4 Distribution of 3D geometrical
parameters.- 4.5 Twin boundaries in 3D.- 4.6 Effects of GBE on 3D grains.-
5.
Grain Boundary Network in Three-dimension.- 5.1 Triple-junction.- 5.2
Quadruple-junction.- 5.3 Twin boundary distribution in 3D network.- 5.4
Characteristics of 3D grain boundary network after GBE.-
6. Grain Boundary
Engineering for Improved Resistance to Intergranular Degradation.- 6.1
Propagation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking.- 6.2 Fracture
morphology of intergranular stress corrosion cracking.- 6.3 Effects of CSL on
intergranular cracking susceptibility.- 6.4 Models of intergranular cracking
in 3D.- 6.5 Comparative properties of GBE and non-GBE materials.-
7. Summary
and Overviews.
Tingguang Liu, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, having earned his doctorate from Shanghai University. He made significant contributions to the completion of the national major science and technology infrastructure project, the " Materials Service Safety Assessment Facilities". He played a pivotal role in systematically establishing a suite of world-leading large-scale test facilities dedicated to the service safety assessment and research of structural materials for nuclear and thermal power plants. His current research focuses on grain boundary engineering, environmentally assisted cracking, and lifetime prediction of nuclear materials. He has authored over 70 scholarly publications in these fields.
