Oxidation behavior of Zr-containing Ti₂AlNb-based alloy at 800 °C

Abstract The oxidation behavior of Ti-22Al-(27-x)Nb-xZr (x=0, 1, 6) alloys at 800 °C for exposure time up to 100 h was examined. It is shown that oxidation rate of experimental alloys obeys the parabolic kinetics. Ti-22Al-26Nb-1Zr alloy demonstrates more excellent oxidation resistance than the other two alloys. The main oxidation products are TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and AlNbO₄ phases for all these alloys. For the Ti-22Al-26Nb-1Zr alloy, Zr addition can modify the growth mechanism of oxide scale, which can effectively hinder the diffusion of oxygen. Whereas, reaction of Zr with oxygen leads to the formation of ZrO₂ precipitates for the Ti-22Al-21Nb-6Zr alloy, which promotes the oxygen ingress into the substrate. Meanwhile, oxidation affected zones, including internal-oxidation layer and oxygen-enriched zone, are present beneath the outmost oxide scale. The difference in these zones is derived from the phase constitution in the starting Ti-22Al-(27-x)Nb-xZr (x=0, 1, 6) alloys.