HIGH TEMPERATURE OXIDATION BEHAVIOUR OF TiAl8Nb ALLOY

The goal of this work is to determine the effect of niobium on the kinetics and mechanism of Ti-Al oxidation in air. In order to compare the oxidation kinetics of Ti-Al and Ti-Al with the addition of niobium, isothermal oxidation was performed on Ti-48Al and Ti-46Al-8Nb (in at.%) alloys at 1073 K in synthetic air. Cyclic oxidation of Ti-46Al and Ti-46Al-8Nb alloys was carried out in laboratory air for 42 cycles (1 cycle, 24 hrs). The morphology, as well as chemical and phase composition of the oxidation products were investigated using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy combined with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). From these investigations it can be concluded that niobium addition increases the corrosion resistance of TiAl and, furthermore, improves the adherence between the metallic substrate and the oxide scale. The oxidation mechanism of Ti-46Al-8Nb was studied via secondary neutral mass spectroscopy (SNMS) after two-stage isothermal oxidation (24 hrs in O-16(2) followed by 24 hrs in O-18(2)) at 1073 K. From this analysis it can be assumed that the oxidation mechanism of Ti-46Al-8Nb alloy consists of simultaneous outward titanium and aluminum diffusion and inward oxygen transport.