TY - CONF A1 - Lehmusto, Juho T1 - Initial oxidation of the refractory high-entropy superalloy AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr N2 - In contrast to traditional alloys, which are typically based on a single dominant element, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) consist of five or more principal elements in roughly equal proportions. These complex alloys often exhibit superior characteristics compared to conventional alloys, including enhanced strength and hardness, exceptional wear resistance, high structural stability, and strong resistance to oxidation. Despite these promising characteristics, the vast compositional space of HEAs means that only a limited number have been thoroughly investigated for their mechanical and chemical behavior. One notable example is the refractory high-entropy superalloy AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr, which represents a newly emerging class of materials. This alloy features a nanoscale microstructure composed of B2 and bcc phases, resulting in compressive strength at elevated temperatures that surpasses that of conventional Ni-based superalloys. Such performance offers potential benefits for improving turbine efficiency in aerospace and energy generation applications. However, the alloy’s microstructure is known to be sensitive to annealing. Specifically, its mechanical properties deteriorate when intragranular hexagonal Al-Zr-based intermetallic compounds form, likely due to issues with phase stability. On the other hand, the inclusion of Al has been shown to enhance oxidation resistance. Nevertheless, HEAs are also known to develop pronounced internal aging zones caused by diffusion during oxidation processes. These findings indicate a need for further investigation into the thermodynamic stability of this alloy. In addition, its oxidation behavior—both at the surface and within the material—remains incompletely understood. This ongoing research explores the oxidation behavior of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy at temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1000 °C. The influence of water vapor on the oxidation process is also examined. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate insights into the alloy’s structural, mechanical, and chemical characteristics at high temperatures. T2 - Gordon Research Conference - High Temperature Corrosion CY - New London, United States DA - 16.07.2023 KW - High-Entropy superalloy KW - Phase stability KW - Microstructural evolution KW - Oxidation behavior KW - High-Temperature Performance PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-63851 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Lehmusto, Juho T1 - The effect of humidity on the initial oxidation of the refractory high-entropy superalloy AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr N2 - Unlike conventional alloys, which typically consist of one main element, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) contain five or more principal elements. When compared with conventional alloys, HEAs may possess desirable properties such as improved strength/hardness, remarkable wear resistance, high structural stability, and notable oxidation resistance. However, due to the numerous possibilities of alloy composition, only a small fraction of HEAs has been characterized in terms of their mechanical and chemical properties. A refractory high-entropy superalloy AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr, with its superalloy-like microstructure, belongs to the first group of a subclass of such Al-containing refractory HEAs that has recently drawn attention. The alloy has a nanoscale microstructure consisting of B2 and bcc phases, enabling high-temperature compressive strengths beyond conventional Ni-based alloys. This feature could improve turbine efficiency in the aerospace and power production industries. However, the microstructure has been reported to be sensitive to heat treatment after which it loses mechanical performance when the intragranular hexagonal Al-Zr-based intermetallic forms. This might be connected with the phase stability in the material. Then again, the addition of Al has been reported to improve the oxidation resistance of the material, but also that HEA materials tend to show pronounced zones of internal aging caused by diffusion during oxidation. These previous results imply that further research on the thermodynamic stability of the alloy is required. Furthermore, the oxidation behavior (both external and internal) and the role of humidity in the process are not fully understood. With such a multi-component material, the grain boundaries are expected to play a key role in the oxidation process, serving as short-circuit pathways for diffusion. To shed more light on the oxidation behavior of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy, experiments were carried out for 24 hours at 800 °C under both dry (21% O2 + 79% N2) and humid (8% O2 + 74% N2 + 18% H2O) atmospheres. After the experiments, the samples were characterized with XRD, SEM-EDS, and EPMA. The alloy oxidized rapidly under both studied atmospheres, resulting in a visibly oxidized region with a thickness of around 1.5 microns (dry) and 3.8 microns (humid). The porosity of the oxidized regions differs from one another: a thin layer of pores was detected in the outermost part of the oxidized zone under dry conditions, whereas the pores were distributed throughout the oxidized zone under humid conditions. Furthermore, the presence of humidity affected the phase formation. The grain boundaries, while still recognizable, differed visually from the grains in the as-received material, indicating the active role of grain boundaries during the oxidation. In addition, in the exposed samples, cracks along the grain boundaries were detected. Interestingly, cracks were also located within the grains. This could originate from the diffusion of species from the grains to the grain boundaries, which has changed the composition of grains. As a consequence, cracks formed most likely during cooling due to the Pilling-Bedworth effect. The formation of cracks suggested that the macro-scale homogeneity of the material may change during operation at high temperatures due to the active grain boundaries. T2 - High Temperature Corrosion and Oxidation 2023 Workshop CY - Marktheidenfeld, Germany DA - 25.09.2023 KW - High-Entropy superalloy KW - Oxidation behavior KW - Grain boundaries KW - Microstructure Evolution KW - High-Temperature Performance PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-63850 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Suárez Ocano, Patricia T1 - I n situ monitoring of growing oxidation of the chemically complex alloy AlMo 0.5 NbTa 0.5 TiZr in the high temperature regime using synchrotron radiation Preliminary results N2 - The chemically complex alloys (CCAs) that contain mostly refractory elements (rCCAs), may be highly resistant to heat and load, which makes them attractive candidates for use at extremely high temperatures associated with many technological applications, e.g. aeroengine turbines. However, the field of CCAs, especially their resistance in harsh (oxidative) and hot environment is still young and not much experimental evidence for the understanding mechanisms in this regime is available, which the proposed study addresses. For safe use in structural applications, in addition to their mechanical performance, the environmental resistance of this alloy is also critical. Surface degradation can significantly decrease the mechanical resistance during high temperature exposure, leading to premature failure. The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr rCCA only contains Al as a protection candidate and it is composed of a coherent B2/bcc nanoscopic cube-on-cube interweave and an hexagonal phase. The evaluation of the oxidation process in the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr rCCA in the heat-treated state has not been assessed yet. The proposed study focusses on a deeper understanding of the formation mechanism and growth kinetics of oxides at high temperature in the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr rCCA using synchrotron radiation. Due to the envisaged high temperature structural applications, the alloy is evaluated in an oxidation environment specifically between 800°C and 1000°C. T2 - Large scale facility-based techniques SPP meeting CY - Online meeting DA - 02.11.2021 KW - Refractory chemically complex alloys KW - Oxidation behavior KW - Microstructural analysis KW - Synchrotron radiation PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-54383 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Suárez Ocano, Patricia T1 - Incipient Oxidation and Deformation Mechanisms of the Chemically Complex Alloy AlMo 0.5 NbTa 0.5 TiZr in the high temperature regime N2 - The development of refractory chemically complex alloys (rCCAs) has been explored for potential use in high temperature applications. An example of this is the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy. It was named as “high entropy superalloy” as it resembles the well-known γ/γ’ microstructure in Ni-Base superalloys with cuboidal particles embedded in a continuous matrix. However, the continuous phase in Ni Base alloys is an fcc solution and the cuboidal γ’ precipitates present the L12 intermetallic structure. On the opposite, this CCA has a reversed microstructure where the continuous matrix is formed by an ordered B2 phase which contains cuboidal precipitates of a disordered BCC phase. Some of the most importat results of microstructural analysis, creep test and oxidation are presented in the following work. The as-cast sample shows a bcc/B2 structure with hexagonal phase precipitates in amorphous state whereas the annealed sample also shows a combination of these phases but with larger bcc precipitates and a fully crystallized hexagonal intermetallic. It was found that porosity was higher in the annealed samples (Kinkerdall effect) and the hardness was higher in samples with faster cooling rate due smaller nanostructure. Norton plots show both diffusion and dislocation controlled deformation, and it was found different kinetics between dry and humid air oxidation with the presence of spallation. T2 - CONVEMI 2021 (Venezuelan congress of microscopy and microanalysis) CY - Online meeting DA - 29.10.2021 KW - High entropy superalloys KW - Mechanical properties KW - Oxidation behavior KW - Microstructural analysis PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-54382 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -