Mechanism of isothermal oxidation of the intel-metallic TiAl and of TiAl alloys

Abstract

The oxidation behavior of Ti36Al, Ti35Al-0.1C, Ti35Al-1.4V-0.1C, and Ti35 Al-5Nb-0.1C (mass-%) in air and oxygen has been studied between 700 and 1000°C with the major emphasis at 900°C. Generally an oxide scale consisting of two layers, an outward- and an inward-growing layer, formed. The outward-growing part of the scale consisted mainly of TiO2 (rutile), while the inward-growing part is composed of a mixture of TiO2 and α-Al2O3. A barrier layer of Al2O3 on TiAl between the inner and the outer part of the scale was visible for up to 300 hr. Under certain conditions, the Al2O3 barrier dissolved and re-precipitated in the outer TiO2 layer. This “shift” leads to an effect similar to breakaway oxidation. Only the alloy containing Nb formed a longlasting, protective Al2O3 layer, which was established at the metal/scale interface after an incubation period of 80–100 hr. During this time, Nb was enriched in the subsurface zone up to approximately 20 w/o. The growth of the oxide scale on TiAl-V obeyed a parabolic law, because no Al2O3 barrier layer formed; large Al2O3 particles were part of the outward-growing layer. A brittle α2-Ti3Al-layer rich in O formed beneath the oxide scale as a result of preferential Al oxidation particularly when oxidized in oxygen. Oxidation in air can lead also to formation of nitrides beneath the oxide scale. The nitridation can vary between the formation of isolated nitride particles and of a metal/Ti2AlN/ TiN/oxide, scale-layer system. Under certain conditions, nitride-layer formation seemed to favor protective Al2O23 formation at the metal/scale interface, however, in general nitridation was detrimental with the consequence that oxidation was generally more rapid in air than in oxygen.