Si | Alloy's strength increases, but its ductility and toughness decrease, due to the formation of Nb3Si and Nb5Si3 | With increasing temperature over 1000oC, the resistance to oxidations decreases because of the reduction in the density of oxide films caused by a phase transformation in SiO2 |
Al | Inhibiting the formation of Nb3Si phase and promoting the formation of β-Nb5Si3. Toughness decreases, due to the formation of Nb3Al with a content of Al more than 6% (atomic fraction) | Resistance to the oxidation increases with formation of a dense layer of Al2O3 |
Cr | Inhibiting the formation of Nb3Si phase and promoting the formation of β-Nb5Si3. Formation of Nb9Si2Cr3 is be-neficial to creep resistance of the alloy, while the formation of NbCr2 phase has negative effects | Enhancing the oxidation resistance of the alloy above 1000oC by forming Nb9Si2Cr3, NbCr2 with high oxidation resistance and NbCrO4 which beneficial to improving adhesion of the oxide layer |
Hf | Inhibiting the formation of Nb3Si phase and promoting the formation of β-Nb5Si3. High temperature creep properties decrease, due to the formation of Hf5Si3 intermetallic compound with a high content of Hf in alloys | Resistance to oxidations decreases because of embrittlement and cracking of the HfO2 layer with a high content of Hf |
Ti | Stabilizing the Nb3Si phase. Toughness increases due to the increase in the diffusion rates of the atom and the growth of the phase Nbss caused by the addition of Ti | Enhancing the oxidation resistance of the alloy at a temperature below 800oC by forming dense TiO2 layers, and decreasing at a temperature above 800oC due to a phase transformation in TiO2 |
V | Stabilizing the α-Nb5Si3 phase and inducing the microstr-ucture transformation from dispersion to eutectic-like structure. Alloy's fracture toughness decreases, but its high temperature strength decrease, due to the softening of solid solution caused by thermal activation diffusion process | Resistance to oxidations decreases because of cracking of oxidation layers caused by the formation of V2O5 with a high content of V in alloys |