Effect of Heat Treatment on the Isothermal Oxidation of Fe-33Ni-19Cr Alloy

Abstract

This research investigates the effect of heat treatment on the isothermal oxidation behaviour of Fe-33Ni-19Cr alloy. The samples were undergone heat treatment at three different temperatures namely, 1000oC, 1100oC and 1200oC for 120 minutes of soaking time followed by water quench to differ the grain size of alloy. The heat-treated sample was ground by using SiC paper atP600 finished. The samples were weighed using analytical balance and the surface area was measured before oxidation test. The heat-treated Fe-33Ni-19Cr alloys were isothermally oxidized at 850oC for 150 hours. The characterization on oxidized samples were carried out using scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive x-ray (SEM-EDX) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The result shows that, the average grain size increases as the heat treatment temperature increased. Fine grain size develops higher grain boundary area which acts as an ion diffusion path across the metal-gas interface during oxide formation. HT1000 sample with fine grain structure shows minimum weight gain and low oxidation rate compared to HT1100 and HT1200 samples. Uniform oxide layerformed on surface of the fine grain size sample. Whereas spallation of oxide scales was identified on the coarse grain size sample. Phase analysis shows that the oxidized sample formed several oxide phase.