Comparison of the oxidation behaviour of 60Si2MnA at 800 – 1200 °C in dry and wet air

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study investigated the short-term oxidation behaviour of a Si-containing spring steel 60Si2MnA in dry air and wet air (containing 24.8%H2O) at 800–1200 °C. It was found that within the furnace temperature range of 800–1100 °C, the oxide scale amount generated in dry air within 20 min at a given temperature was drastically less than that formed in wet air, but within the range of 1140–1200 °C, the oxide scale amounts generated in the two atmospheres were nearly identical, increasing rapidly with temperature. Significantly different scale structures developed in the two atmospheres within 800–1140 °C, but the scale structures developed in the two atmospheres at 1170–1200 °C were similar. A more complex scale structure was observed in the sample oxidised at a furnace temperature of 1140 °C in dry air. The mechanisms responsible for the oxidation behaviour and scale structures developed were discussed.