Theoretical study on hydrogen permeation and fault slip of γ-Ni/γ'-Ni3Al interface with alloying elements (Zr, Nb, Ru, Re, and Hf)

Abstract

In order to elucidate the role of hydrogen behavior at γ-Ni/γ'-Ni3Al interface with alloying elements, we performed comprehensive research of the permeation and slip properties by using DFT calculations. The result figures out that the alloying elements (Zr, Nb, Ru, Re, and Hf) tends to occupy corner-point sites in γ-Ni phase, while Re has the lowest substitution formation energy. The octahedron interstitial site is the favorable position for hydrogen adsorption due to its lower solution energy compared to the tetrahedron site. The diffusion energy barrier of hydrogen follows the influence order of Zr < Ru< Hf < Re < Nb. Meanwhile, Nb-doped interface has the highest hydrogen diffusion coefficient and permeability compared to other doped interfaces. By analyzing the partial density of states, the hybridization between Re-d orbital and neighbor Ni-d orbital is conducive to affect the permeability behavior of hydrogen. The generalized stacking fault energy reveals that all the alloying elements can improve the creep strength of γ-Ni/γ'-Ni3Al interface. As a barrier, Hf element is more effective to improve the dislocation slip resistance. These results can help people deepen the understanding of hydrogen behavior with alloying elements at the γ-Ni/γ'-Ni3Al interface and provide fundamental theories data for the further design of Ni-based superalloy.