Synergetic Effects of Al and Cr on Enhancing Water Vapor Oxidation Resistance of Ultra-High Strength Steels for Nuclear Applications
Received date: 2022-09-16
Revised date: 2022-11-29
Online published: 2022-12-21
Supported by
National Natural Science Foundation of China(51971018);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U20B2025)
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 600oC. 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 600oC 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 600oC 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.
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[J]. Acta Metall Sin, 2024 , 60(3) : 357 -366 . DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00463
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