Coarsening of precipitates during step-wise and continuous temperature sweeps

Standard theories of isothermal coarsening (Ostwald ripening) of nano-scale precipitates are adapted to describe two types of non-isothermal coarsening processes: (i) several isothermal heat treatments at different temperatures are performed in sequence and (ii) the temperature is varied continuously. Procedures are developed which allow to predict the final average size of the precipitates with an adequate accuracy. The present results are helpful for estimating the lifetime of particle strengthened technical structural components which are exposed to high temperatures.