Effect of Al content on microstructure and cyclic oxidation performance of Pt-aluminide coatings

The effect of Al content, i.e., the amount of Al picked up during aluminizing, on the microstructure and cyclic oxidation properties of Pt-aluminide coatings has been investigated. The cast Ni-base superalloy CM-247 was used as the substrate material and a single-step, high-activity pack aluminizing process was used to produce the Pt-aluminide coatings. The Al content of these coatings was varied by using packs with different compositions of the Al source. Pt-aluminide coatings having three different Al contents, namely 6.5, 16, and 21 mg cm(-2), were evaluated for their cyclic oxidation resistance at 1200degreesC in air. It was found that the Pt-aluminide coatings, irrespective of their Al contents, evolve in the same manner during aluminizing and result in a three-layer structure with an outer PtAl2 + NiAl two-phase layer, an intermediate NiAl layer, and the inner interdiffusion layer. The stability of this three-layer coating structure over long periods of aluminizing, however, is dependent on the availability of Al from the pack during this period. Below a certain threshold Al availability, the two-phase outer layer transforms to a single-phase NiAl structure causing the coating to change from its three-layer structure to a two-layer one. Cyclic oxidation results indicate that, while a minimum Al content in Pt-aluminide coatings is essential for deriving the best oxidation performance, increasing the Al content beyond a certain level does not significantly enhance oxidation behavior. The effect of Al content on aspects, such as coating degradation and nature of coating-surface damage during cyclic oxidation, is also discussed.