High-Temperature Air and Steam Oxidation and Oxide Layer Characteristics of Alloy 617

Nickel-based superalloys are the candidate materials for many high-temperature applications, especially in advanced ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants and in the next-generation nuclear power plants. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive study on chemical composition, structure and kinetics of oxide film formation of a nickel-based superalloy, alloy 617, in ambient air and steam at 750 °C for a duration of 500 h. The morphology and nature of oxide scales have been characterized by scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive x-ray attachment, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction technique and glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GDOES). The mass gain of alloy 617 in steam was higher than that in air, and followed a parabolic rate law for both atmospheres. The depth profiles of the oxide films obtained by GDOES showed the presence of an outer chromium oxide scale with mixed oxides of nickel and aluminum at the interface. The oxidation kinetics of alloy 617 and the nature of oxide scales formed during the steam and air oxidation are discussed.