Synergetic Effects of Al and Cr on Enhancing Water Vapor Oxidation Resistance of Ultra-High Strength Steels for Nuclear Applications

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00463

Acta Metall Sin

2024, Vol. 60

Issue (3): 357-366 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00463

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Synergetic Effects of Al and Cr on Enhancing Water Vapor Oxidation Resistance of Ultra-High Strength Steels for Nuclear Applications

PENG Xiangyang¹, ZHANG Le², LI Congcong², HOU Shuo¹, LIU Di², ZHOU Jianming¹, LU Guangyao¹(

), JIANG Suihe²(

)

¹Equipment Research Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd., Shenzhen 518000, China
²State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Cite this article:

PENG Xiangyang, ZHANG Le, LI Congcong, HOU Shuo, LIU Di, ZHOU Jianming, LU Guangyao, JIANG Suihe. Synergetic Effects of Al and Cr on Enhancing Water Vapor Oxidation Resistance of Ultra-High Strength Steels for Nuclear Applications. Acta Metall Sin, 2024, 60(3): 357-366.

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Abstract

Heat-resistant steels that usually form a typical Cr₂O₃ protective scale easily fail under the servicing environment of high-temperature and -pressure water vapor in a light water reactor. Advanced materials with a superior combination of high-temperature water vapor oxidation resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and radiation resistance must be developed. This work develops a new ultra-high strength maraging stainless steel by alloying different Cr contents into a recently developed Fe-Ni-Al ultrahigh strength steel without losing its high mechanical properties. The oxidation properties of the new martensitic steel are tested in both dry air and water vapor atmospheres. The alloy ingot is prepared by arc melting under argon atmosphere. The oxidation resistance of steel after aging treatment is tested in dry air and humid air at 600^oC. The surface and cross-section morphologies of the oxidized samples are then characterized. The results show that the average weight gain per unit area of the Fe-13Ni-2.3Al high-strength steel added with 9%Cr (mass fraction) is only 0.1 mg/cm² after 100 h oxidation at 600^oC in a 10% water vapor atmosphere. It decreases more than 50 times compared with those of the Fe-13Ni-2.3Al high-strength steel and the Fe-18Ni-3Al maraging steel added with 5%Cr. The microstructure characterization of the oxidized high-strength steel reveals that a composite oxide film rich in Fe, Cr, and Al spontaneously forms on the surface of the Fe-13Ni-9Cr-2.3Al high-strength steel in the 600^oC air + 10% water vapor atmosphere due to the synergistical effect of the Al and Cr additions. The oxygen partial pressure at the interface between the oxide film and the matrix is reduced by the third component effect of Cr, which promotes the formation of a dense and continuous Al-rich oxide film on the substrate surface in a high-temperature water vapor atmosphere.

Key words: ultra-high strength steel oxidation by water vapor oxide film third element effect synergetic effect

Received: 16 September 2022

ZTFLH:

TG146.2

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51971018);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U20B2025)

Corresponding Authors: LU Guangyao, senior engineer, Tel: 18566285086, E-mail: luguangyao@cgnpc.com.cn; JIANG Suihe, professor, Tel: 17710175186, E-mail: jiangsh@ustb.edu.cn

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	PENG Xiangyang
	ZHANG Le
	LI Congcong
	HOU Shuo
	LIU Di
	ZHOU Jianming
	LU Guangyao
	JIANG Suihe

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00463 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2024/V60/I3/357

Table 1 Nominal compositions of the Fe-Ni-Cr-Al martensitic steels

Fig.1 SEM images of 5Cr (a) and 9Cr (b) samples aged at 500^oC for 4 h before oxidation experiments, corresponding XRD spectra (c), and tensile stress-strain curves at room temperature (RT) and 600^oC (d)

Table 2 Mechanical properties of 5Cr and 9Cr samples aged at 500^oC for 4 h before oxidation experiments at RT and 600^oC

Fig.2 Mass changes of 5Cr, 9Cr, and 0Cr samples after isothermal oxidation experiments at 600^oC dry air (a) and 600^oC air + 10% water vapor (b) for 100 h, mass changes of cycle oxidation experiment at 600^oC air + 10% water vapor (c) and their surface morphologies (d)

Fig.3 Cross-sectional SEM images (left) and EDS results (right) of 5Cr (a), 9Cr (b), and 0Cr (c) samples after isothermal oxidation experiments at 600^oC dry air for 100 h

Fig.4 Cross-sectional SEM images (left) and EDS results (right) of 5Cr (a), 9Cr (b), and 0Cr (c) samples after isothermal oxidation experiments at 600^oC air + 10% water vapor for 100 h

Fig.5 Cross-sectional morphology, composition distributions and structural analyses of 9Cr sample and its oxide film after isothermal oxidation at 600^oC air + 10% water vapor for 100 h
(a) bright field TEM image (b) dark field TEM image and EDS results
(c) EDS line scanning result along the arrow in Fig.5b (d) HRTEM image
(e) inverse Fourier transforms (FFTs) of zones F1 and F2 in Fig.5d (f) GIXRD spectrum of 9Cr sample

Fig.6 Schematics of initial oxidation behavior of 9Cr (a) and 5Cr (b) samples

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