The Effect of Initial Oxidation on Long-Term Oxidation of NiCoCrAlY Alloy

Abstract

The initial oxidation behavior of Ni-6.5Co-17.8Cr-3.7Al-0.5Y alloy is investigated at 800°C-1000°C. X-ray diffraction results show that the dominant Cr2O3 phase and secondary α-Al2O3 and NiO phases are observed on the surface of samples at all initial stages (oxidized for 16 hours). YAlO3 and θ-Al2O3 can only be detected at low temperature (800°C) while the spinel NiCr2O4 is only observed at 900°C and 1000°C. Though the growth rates of α-Al2O3 and Cr2O3 are comparable at 900°C, the former becomes much lower than the latter when the temperature changes to 1000°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the α-Al2O3 grows from some irregular ditches in the chromia scale at 900°C. However, cracking and spalling are more serious at 1000°C without α-Al2O3-grown-ditches, which is in accordance with the growth rates of these oxides at different temperatures. The cracking can be explained by the results of Raman determination which indicate that the stress on the surface of specimen oxidized at 1000°C is higher than that at 900°C. Owing to this condition, a preoxidation treatment on the NiCoCrAlY alloy for 16 hours is prepared at 900°C, and then thermal cycling oxidation test is conducted at 1000°C for 200 hours. The result indicates that the initial preoxidation treatment at 900°C improves the oxidation resistance of alloy at 1000°C.