Oxidation Induced Stresses in High-Temperature Oxidation of Steel: A Multiphase Field Study

Oxide growth and the induced stresses in the high-temperature oxidation of steel were studied by a multiphase field model. The model incorporates both chemical and elastic energy to capture the coupled oxide kinetics and generated stresses. Oxidation of a flat surface and a sharp corner are considered at two high temperatures of 850 degrees C and 1180 degrees C to investigate the effects of geometry and temperature elevation on the shape evolution of oxides and the induced stresses. Results show that the model is capable of capturing the oxide thickness and its outward growth, comparable to the experiments. In addition, it was shown that there is an interaction between the evolution of oxide and the generated stresses, and the oxide layer evolves to reduce stress concentrations by rounding the sharp corners in the geometry. Increasing the temperature may increase or decrease the stress levels depending on the contribution of eigen strain in the generated elastic strain energy during oxidation.