The 22Cr25NiWCoCu austenitic stainless steel was developed by AB Sandvik Material Technology in Sweden. Due to its high creep strength and good corrosion resistance, this material is well suited for use in superheaters in advanced coal-fired power boilers as well as in other types of steam boilers using various types of fuel. The examined material was subject to long-term ageing for the time of annealing up to 20 000 h at 700 and 750°C. Precipitation processes and microstructure stability as-received and after ageing were investigated. Examination of the microstructure was conducted using scanning electron microscopy. The identification of secondary phases was carried out by X-ray phase composition.
Using the results of the investigations of precipitation processes in the microstructure, both within the grains and at the grain boundaries, their statistical analysis was carried out. To illustrate this impact, the following parameters were used: surface area and equivalent diameter of precipitates. Based on the surface area measurements, the percentage of the phase in the reviewed photo’s total area was calculated.