EFFECT OF GRAIN BOUNDARY SEGREGATION OF ANTIMONY ON RELAXATION AT GRAIN BOUNDARIES IN SILICON-IRON ALLOYS

Abstract
A sharp grain boundary peak appears in both 2 and 3% silicon-iron alloys due to a substitutional solute of silicon. This peak is highly sensitive to the segregation of the third element of antimony and, contrary to orthodox solute peaks in binary and ternary alloys, largely decreases in magnitude on heating after a segregation treatment. The subsequent measurement on cooling returns the peak to the ordinary magnitude. As a function of annealing time at a temperature of segregation, the height of the solute peak rapidly decreases and then increases slowly to a saturation limit. The effect of antimony on the solute peak is discussed following Guttmann's theory of multisegregation. It is deduced that the interaction between silicon and antimony is repulsive.