Fused silicon-rich coatings for superalloys

Various compositions of nickel-silicon and aluminum-silicon slurries were sprayed on IN 100 specimens and fusion-sintered to form fully dense coatings. Cyclic furnace oxidation tests in 1 atm air at 1100 C showed all the coatings to be protective for at least 600 hours, and one slurry, Al-60Si, was protective for 1000 hours. This coating also protected NASA TAZ 8A and NASA-TRW VIA for 1000 hours in the same furnace test. Alloys B 1900, TD-NiCr, and Mar-M200 were protected for lesser times, while NX 188 and NASA WAZ 20 were scarcely protected at all. Limited stress-rupture testing on 0.64-cm-diam IN 100 specimens detected no degradation of mechanical properties due to silicon diffusion

Current viewpoints on oxide adherence mechanisms

Additional hot stage Auger experiments have provided surface segregation data for NiCrAl + or - Y or Zr alloys in agreement with other investigations. This data, combined with experimental and theoretical evidence of the Al2O3-metal bond strength, is presented in support of a chemical mechanism of Al2O3 scale adhesion. Both the detrimental effects of sulfur segregation and the beneficial effects of dopant segregation may be important. Chemical features of the dopants are compared in light of these proposed mechanisms, namely delta H sub f (sulfide), delta H sub f (oxide), electron orbital configuration, and insolubility in Ni

Effects of diffusion on aluminum depletion and degradation of NiAl coatings

Experiments were performed to critically demonstrate the effects of diffusion on the aluminum depletion and degradation of NiAl coatings on superalloys. Pack aluminized IN 100 and Mar-M200 were diffusion annealed in 0.0005 torr vacuum at 1100 C for 300 hours. Aluminum losses due to oxidation and vaporization were minimal. Metallographic and electron microprobe analyses showed considerable interdiffusion of the coating with the substrate, which caused a large decrease in the original aluminum level of the coating. Subsequent cyclic furnace oxidation tests were performed at 1100 C using 1 hour cycles on pre-diffused and as-coated specimens. The pre-diffusion treatment decreased the oxidation protection for both alloys, but more dramatically for IN 100. Identical oxidation tests of bulk NiAl, where such diffusion effects are precluded, showed no signs of degradation at twice the time needed to degrade the coated superalloys

Mechanism of strength degradation for hot corrosion of alpha-SiC

Sintered alpha SiC was corroded by thin films of Na2SO4 and Na2CO3 molten salts at 1000%. This hot corrosion attack reduced room temperature strengths by as much as 50%. Strength degradation was porportional to the degree and uniformity of corrosion pitting attack as controlled by the chemistry of the molten salt. Extensive fractography identified corrosion pits as the most prevalent source of failure. A fracture mechanics treatment of the strength/pit depth relationship produced an average K sub IC equal to 2.6 MPa sub m 1/2, which is consistent with published values

Molten salt corrosion of SiC: Pitting mechanism

Thin films of Na2SO4 and Na2CO3 at 1000 C lead to severe pitting of sintered alpha-SiC. These pits are important as they cause a strength reduction in this material. The growth of product layers is related to pit formation for the Na2CO3 case. The early reaction stages involve repeated oxidation and dissolution to form sodium silicate. This results in severe grain boundary attack. After this a porous silica layer forms between the sodium silicate melt and the SiC. The pores in this layer appear to act as paths for the melt to reach the SiC and create larger pits

Oxidation resistant coating for titanium alloys and titanium alloy matrix composites

An oxidation resistant coating for titanium alloys and titanium alloy matrix composites comprises an MCrAlX material. M is a metal selected from nickel, cobalt, and iron. X is an active element selected from Y, Yb, Zr, and Hf

Microstructure of Al2O3 scales formed on NiCrAl alloys

The structure of transient scales formed on pure and Y or Zr-doped Ni-15Cr-13Al alloys oxidized for 0.1 hr at 1100 C was studied by the use of transmission electron microscopy. Crystallographically oriented scales were found on all three alloys, but especially for the Zr-doped NiCrAl. The oriented scales consisted of alpha-(Al,Cr)2O3, Ni(Al,Cr)2O4 and gamma-Al2O3. They were often found in intimate contact with each other such that the close-packed planes and directions of one oxide phase were aligned with those of another. The prominent structural features of the oriented scales were approximately equal to micrometer subgrains; voids, antiphase domain boundaries and aligned precipitates were also prevalent. Randomly oriented alpha-Al2O3 was also found and was the only oxide ever observed at the immediate oxide metal interface. These approximately 0.15 micrometer grains were populated by intragranular voids which decreased in size and number towards the oxide metal interface. A sequence of oxidation was proposed in which the composition of the growing scale changed from oriented oxides rich in Ni and Cr to oriented oxides rich in Al. At the same time the structure changed from cubic spinels to hexagonal corundums with apparent precipitates of one phase in the matrix of the other. Eventually randomly oriented pure alpha-Al2O3 formed as the stable oxide with an abrupt transition: there was no gradual loss of orientation, no gradual compositional change or no gradual decrease in precipitate density

Burner rig corrosion of SiC at 1000 deg C

Sintered alpha-SiC was examined in both oxidation and hot corrosion with a burner rig at 400 kPa (4 atm) and 1000 C with a flow velocity of 310 ft/sec. Oxidation tests for times to 46 hr produced virtually no attack, whereas tests with 4 ppm Na produced extensive corrosion in 13-1/2 hr. Thick glassy layers composed primarily of sodium silicate formed in the salt corrosion tests. This corrosion attack caused severe pitting of the silicon carbide substrate which led to a 32 percent strength decrease below the as-received material. Parallel furnace tests of Na2SO4/air induced attacked yielded basically similar results with some slight product composition differences. The differences are explained in terms of the continuous sulfate deposition which occurs in a burner rig

Windows(Registered Trademark)-Based Software Models Cyclic Oxidation Behavior

Oxidation of high-temperature aerospace materials is a universal issue for combustion-path components in turbine or rocket engines. In addition to the question of the consumption of material due to growth of protective scale at use temperatures, there is also the question of cyclic effects and spallation of scale on cooldown. The spallation results in the removal of part of the protective oxide in a discontinuous step and thereby opens the way for more rapid oxidation upon reheating. In experiments, cyclic oxidation behavior is most commonly characterized by measuring changes in weight during extended time intervals that include hundreds or thousands of heating and cooling cycles. Weight gains occurring during isothermal scale-growth processes have been well characterized as being parabolic or nearly parabolic functions of time because diffusion controls reaction rates. In contrast, the net weight change in cyclic oxidation is the sum of the effects of the growth and spallation of scale. Typically, the net weight gain in cyclic oxidation is determined only empirically (that is, by measurement), with no unique or straightforward mathematical connection to either the rate of growth or the amount of metal consumed. Thus, there is a need for mathematical modeling to infer spallation mechanisms. COSP is a computer program that models the growth and spallation processes of cyclic oxidation on the basis of a few elementary assumptions that were discussed in COSP: A Computer Model of Cyclic Oxidation, Oxidation of Metals, vol. 36, numbers 1 and 2, 1991, pages 81-112. Inputs to the model include the selection of an oxidation-growth law and a spalling geometry, plus oxide-phase, growth-rate, cycle-duration, and spall-constant parameters. (The spalling fraction is often shown to be a constant factor times the existing amount of scale.) The output of COSP includes the net change in weight, the amounts of retained and spalled oxide, the total amounts of oxygen and metal consumed, and the terminal rates of weight loss and metal consumption

COSP for Windows—Strategies for Rapid Analyses of Cyclic-Oxidation Behavior

COSP is a publicly available computer Program that models the Cyclic Oxidation weight gain and Spallation process. Inputs to the model include the selection of an oxidation-growth law and a spalling geometry, plus oxide phase, growth rate, spall constant, and cycle-duration parameters. Output includes weight change, the amounts of retained and spalled oxide, the total oxygen and metal consumed, and the terminal rates of weight loss and metal consumption. The present version is an updated Windows-based program, allowing greater compatibility with current PC operating systems. Viewing of multiple models and model fits to experimental data are enabled by an instant plotting feature and iterative modifications. Families of model curves are presented, which readily show the sensitivity to all the input parameters as well as the behavior of different growth laws and spalling modes. The cyclic behavior of NiAl and a complex superalloy are shown to be properly fitted by model curves. However, caution is always advised regarding the uniqueness claimed for any specific set of input parameters