Elijah Cephus, “Analysis of Oxidation Formation in Nickel Based Superalloys”
Mentor: William Musinski, Materials Science & Engineering, Engineering & Applied Science (College of)
Poster #60
The central purpose of the research conducted was to test and analyze engineering alloys for their ability to resist oxidation formation during cyclic heat exposure. Three different alloys were tested: an additively manufactured NiCoCr alloy with and without oxide dispersion strengthening. The alloys were referred to as ODS and AM respectively. The third alloy tested was an INCONEL 625. The ODS and AM samples consisted of equal parts Nickel, Cobalt, and Chromium, with the exception of the ODS sample containing negligible quantities of Yttrium (III) Oxide (Y₂O₃), which was used for dispersion strengthening. The INCONEL alloy is mostly composed of nickel, chromium, and iron as well as an abundance of other elements that comprise between one and ten percent of the total composition. It is anticipated that the newly tested alloy (ODS) will be used in high-performance engines that will exceed temperatures of 1200° Celsius. To minimize maintenance costs to operate the engines at an efficient level, an alloy that can resist the discontinuous heating is needed to control degradation mechanics. Multiple samples were prepared before being placed within furnaces, where they were brought to various temperatures ranging from 900° to 1100°C. The environments of the furnaces ranged from dry air, 30% steam, and 100% steam. The samples were exposed to the environments for a predetermined time of 30, 40, or 100 hours. After the heat exposure concluded, the samples were analyzed for oxidation formation and local element composition using a Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersion X-Ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), as well as X-Ray Diffraction equipment (XRD). The samples were coated with a layer of copper to ensure ease of examination. Through microscopy, the ODS samples expressed a greater ability to resist the oxidation formation both in surface area formation as well as depth penetration through XRD and EDS analysis.