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Acta Metall Sin  2023, Vol. 59 Issue (2): 309-318    DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2021.00176
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Theoretical Calculation and Analysis of the Effect of Oxygen Atom on the Grain Boundary of Superalloy Matrices Ni, Co and NiCr
LI Xin, JIANG He(), YAO Zhihao, DONG Jianxin
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Cite this article: 

LI Xin, JIANG He, YAO Zhihao, DONG Jianxin. Theoretical Calculation and Analysis of the Effect of Oxygen Atom on the Grain Boundary of Superalloy Matrices Ni, Co and NiCr. Acta Metall Sin, 2023, 59(2): 309-318.

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Abstract  

As advanced aero engines and heavy-duty gas turbines require high service temperatures, how to maintain better performance and damage tolerance of superalloys at high service temperatures has emerged as a critical issue in the application of superalloys. Previous research has shown that temperature rise has no effect on the crack growth rate of alloys placed in a vacuum. However, in air, fatigue crack growth rate is observed to significantly depend on temperature. According to the sample fracture, which is an oxide-covered intergranular fracture, oxygen atoms significantly affect the performance of superalloys. As first-principle calculation method has advanced rapidly in recent years, it can eliminate the effect of irrelevant impurity atoms on the weakening of grain boundaries and establish a pure grain boundary system. Thus, this method is an ideal analysis tool for this research. The ideal tensile test combined with ideal separation work and charge density difference of the grain boundary in nickel-based superalloy under different oxygen concentrations, was performed using the first-principle calculation method. The internal reason for the weakening of the Ni grain boundary due to oxygen is given. A similar comparative analysis of Co and NiCr grain boundaries was also performed. Further, the cause of the oxidation and weakening of the grain boundaries is explained. The results demonstrate that the high electronegativity of O atoms weakens the Ni—Ni metal bond at the grain boundary due to the lack of charge. Further, in the stretching process, when the tensile strain reaches 0.10, the strain of the oxygen-containing Ni grain boundary is entirely provided by the Ni—Ni bond present at this boundary. The presence of oxygen significantly accelerates the fracture failure process of the Ni grain boundary. In addition, Co-based alloy has higher strength after grain boundary oxidation and has better oxidation resistance weakening performance than Ni; however, the strain of fracture is small. Although the NiCr-based grain boundary strength is the weakest, the mechanical properties after oxidation are relatively stable. The reason for the weakening of the Ni grain boundary due to oxidation is attributed to structural distortion caused by oxygen atoms, whereas the weakening of Co- and NiCr-based grain boundary due to oxidation is primarily related to changes in the charge density distribution.

Key words:  superalloy      grain boundary      oxidation      first-principle     
Received:  30 April 2021     
ZTFLH:  TG132.3  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51771016)
About author:  JIANG He, Tel: 13811910685, E-mail: jianghe17@sina.cn

URL: 

https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2021.00176     OR     https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2023/V59/I2/309

Fig.1  Grain boundary (GB) model of Ni 5(012)
Fig.2  Position of oxygen atoms in grain boundary plane of initial model (a-c) and relaxed model (d-f)
(a, d) one oxygen atom (O1) (b, e) two oxygen atoms (O2) (c, f) three oxygen atoms (O3)
Fig.3  Ideal strength curves of Ni grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.4  Schematics of total length of grain boundary and spacing of Ni—Ni
(a) pure grain boundary
(b) grain boundary with one O atom
Fig.5  Total lengths of grain boundary and spacing of Ni—Ni in the process of ideal strength test
Fig.6  Atom positions in Ni grain boundary when a fracture happens under different oxidized conditions
Fig.7  Charge density differences of Ni grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.8  Lozovoi models of work of separation wsep[25] (Wsep(A)—work of separation of pure grain boundary, Wsep(B)—work of separation of grain boundary with impurity atom, Wsep(C)—work of separation of grain boundary without impurity atom)
Fig.9  Differences of separation work (Δ) of Ni grain boundary under different oxidized conditions (IS—effect of interstitial structure, CC—effect of chemical and compressed imputity)
Fig.10  Ideal strength curves of Co grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.11  Atom positions in Co grain boundary when a fracture happens under different oxidized conditions
Fig.12  Differences of work of separation of Co grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.13  Charge density differences of Co grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.14  Ideal strength curves of NiCr grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.15  Atom positions in NiCr grain boundary when a fracture happens under different oxidized conditions
Fig.16  Differences of separation work of NiCr grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
Fig.17  Charge density differences of NiCr grain boundary under different oxidized conditions
SystemTensile strength / GPaFracture strain
PureO1O2O3PureO1O2O3
Ni31.5924.7322.7517.430.300.220.280.09
Co34.8928.6924.7125.570.210.140.130.10
NiCr26.2519.6620.3621.030.160.160.170.18
Table 1  Ideal strength test results of three kinds of grain boundaries
SystemISCCΔ
O1O2O3O1O2O3O1O2O3
Ni-11.75-7.67-9.00-1.85-5.46-5.93-13.60-13.13-14.93
Co-0.392.662.06-2.26-5.99-8.05-2.65-3.33-5.99
NiCr2.520.660.13-81.35-81.39-86.77-78.83-80.73-86.64
Table 2  Differences of separation work of three kinds of grain boundaries
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