Oxidation of Single-Crystal γ′-Ni3A1 at Low Oxygen Partial Pressure

ABSTRACTSingle crystals of γ′-Ni3Al((001)-oriented) were oxidized at 1223 K under an oxygen partial pressure of ∼4 ×10−19 atm for times ranging from 0.1 to 50 hours. Microstructural development of the oxide scale and subscale metal was studied by electron microscopy. A special technique permitted the reproducible and efficient preparation of TEM cross section specimens. Initially, a fine-grained γ-Al2O3 scale formed with a preferred orientation. Depletion of Al from the γ′-Ni3Al resultedin a Ni-Al solid solution zone between the oxide scale and the intermetallic. After 20 hours oxidation, a discontinuous α-A12O3 layer between the γ-A12O3 and the metal was observed. The α-A12O3 layer exhibited a much larger grain size than that of the γ-A12O3 and was continuous after 50 hours oxidation. Formation of the α-A12O3 layer correlated with a decreasing parabolic oxidation rate constant kp, as measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).