Oxygen diffusion barrier coating

A method for coating a titanium panel or foil with aluminum and amorphous silicon to provide an oxygen barrier abrogating oxidation of the substrate metal is developed. The process is accomplished with known inexpensive procedures common in materials research laboratories, i.e., electron beam deposition and sputtering. The procedures are conductive to treating foil gage titanium and result in submicron layers which virtually add no weight to the titanium. There are no costly heating steps. The coatings blend with the substrate titanium until separate mechanical properties are subsumed by those of the substrate without cracking or spallation. This method appreciably increases the ability of titanium to mechanically perform in high thermal environments such as those witnessed on structures of space vehicles during re-entr

Oxidation characteristics of Ti-14Al-21Nb ingot alloy

Static oxidation kinetics of Ti14Al21Nb (wt pct) ingot alloy were studied in air over the temperature interval of 649 to 1093 C in a thermogravimetric apparatus. The oxidation products were characterized by x ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, energy dispersive x ray analysis, and Auger electron spectroscopy. Cross-sections of the oxidized samples were also examined using light and scanning electron microscopy. The oxidation rate was substantially lower than the conventional alloys of titanium, but the kinetics displayed a complex behavior involving two or more oxidation rates depending on the temperature and duration of exposure. The primary oxide formed was TiO2, but this oxide was doped with Nb. Small amounts of Al2O3 and TiN were also present in the scale. Diffusion of oxygen into the alloy was observed and the diffusivity seemed to be dependent on the microstructure of the metal. A model was presented to explain the oxidation behavior of the alloy in terms of the reduction in the oxygen diffusivity in the oxide caused by the modification of the defect structure of TiO2 by Nb ions