Materials Science Forum Vols. 475-479

Abstract: Solid solution hardening effects of Ir was investigated to develop high temperature materials at 2223 K. Pt, Rh, Hf, and Zr were chosen as second elements because their solubility into Ir at 2223 K is over 2at% and the melting temperatures of Ir solid solution are above 2273 K. Compressive strength of Ir solid solution at 2223K were investigated. Solid solution hardening effect of Ir is discussed in terms of lattice parameter change and solubility,

Abstract: This study dealt with both the strengthening of matrix and the suppression of interfacial reaction for the development of high toughness Nb/MoSi2 laminate composites. The impact values of Nb/MoSi2, Nb/MoSi2-SiC, Nb/MoSi2-ZrO2 laminate composites were investigated at the room temperature. The flexural strength of MoSi2 based composites containing SiC or ZrO2 particles were also evaluated at elevated temperatures. The reduction of reaction layer by the addition of ZrO2 particles led to the sufficient improvement in the impact value of Nb/MoSi2 laminate composites. The flexural strength of MoSi2-SiC and MoSi2-ZrO2 materials decreased at temperatures higher than 800 °C.

Abstract: Niobium and niobium-based alloys are used in a variety of high temperature applications ranging from light bulbs to rocket engines. Niobium has excellent formability and the lowest specific weight among refractory metals (Nb, Ta, Mo, W, and Re). Powder injection molding of niobium powder was investigated for efficiency of the process. The sintering of injection molded bars was conducted up to 2000°C in vacuum and low oxygen partial pressure atmosphere. This paper investigates the effect of sintering time, temperature and atmosphere on processing of pure niobium.

Abstract: Niobium-Silicon alloys offer potential as a new generation of refractory material system that could meet the high-temperature capability envisaged to exceed the application temperatures of Ni base superalloys. A serious concern in the application of Nb based alloys is their poor oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures. The ternary diagram Nb-Ti-Si system exhibits eutectic groves nearly parallel to the Nb-Ti binary and terminate in a Class II invariant reaction, L+(Nb,Ti)3Si → β+ (Ti,Nb)5Si3. A peretectic ridge from the reaction, L+(Nb,Ti)5Si3 →(Nb,Ti)3Si also exists and these reactions control the microstructures resulting from solidification of these Nb alloys. The microstructures associated with these alloys comprise a distribution of Nb5Si3 in β matrix. The effect of various alloying elements on the resulting microstructures are illustrated The effect of microstructural distribution on oxidation resistance of multiphase alloys are also discussed.

Abstract: In this paper we report the oxidation behavior of Rh-xTi (x = 15 & 20 atomic percent) alloys isothermally exposed in air between 1000 and 1300 oC up to a period of 312 hours. The weight gain of arc-melted Rh-15Ti and Rh-20Ti alloys as a function of time was monitored. Results indicate that the oxidation resistance of Rh-15Ti and Rh-20Ti alloys at 1000 and 11000 C is similar to that of advanced nickel-base superalloys. However, these alloys show excellent oxidation resistance beyond the operational limit for nickel-base superalloys. Optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to study the microstructure and morphology of the oxides. These alloys oxidize by forming TiO2 and Rh2O3 complex oxides. The Rh-20Ti alloys displayed lower oxidation resistance than Rh-15Ti alloys.

Abstract: The bonding character of Laves phases TiCr2 and TiCo2 has been investigated by electron energy loss spectroscopy and ab-initio calculations. The results revealed the hybridization between the transition-metal atoms in Laves phases. The stronger Cr-Cr (Co-Co) bonding along the Kagome net forms a tetrahedral electronic network in the C15 TiCr2 (TiCo2) structure. This was discussed with the mechanical properties of Laves phases.

Abstract: In this paper, single crystals, around 8mm in diameter, of MoSi2 and NbSi2 have been grown by optical heating floating zone method. X-ray analysis confirmed that the as-grown ingots were single phase and single crystalline material. Oxidation behavior of the poly-crystalline and single crystalline MoSi2 and NbSi2 were characterized by measuring their weight changes as a function of exposure time. For arc-melted poly-crystalline samples, MoSi2 and NbSi2 fully turned into white powders after 160 and 3hrs exposure at 773K and 1023K respectively, which is known as the “pesting” phenomenon. As a comparison, no pesting was found in the dense spark plasma sintered (SPS) poly-crystalline samples and single crystals. The weight change of single crystals during exposure is found to be much lower than that of the SPS sample, indicating grain boundary plays an important role in the low temperature oxidation behavior of these two silicides.

Abstract: NbSi2 is an attractive material for high temperature applications due to its high melting point, low density and good oxidation resistance. The high-temperature strength of NbSi2 is expected to be further improved by incorporation with Nb5Si3, which performs a high creep resistance and strength at high temperature due to its complex crystal structure. In this paper, directionally solidified NbSi2/ Nb5Si3 in-situ composites have been prepared using an optical floating zone method. Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to investigate the phase constitution and microstructure. The orientation relationship between Nb5Si3 and NbSi2 is investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). High-temperature properties of alloys are tested by compression at the strain rate of 1×10-4/s at 1673K and 1773K. It was found that high temperature strength and phase constitution of directionally solidified alloys depended on the addition of Mo.

Abstract: The microstructures, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of the refractory Nb-silicide-based composites have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), compression tests and high-temperature oxidation experiments. The results showed that 1773K/100h heat-treatment was an optimum processing for acquiring equilibrium Nb solid solution and silicides microstructure. In the binary Nb-Si system, the microstructure consisted of continuous Nb5Si3 equilibrium matrix and dispersed Nb particles, while in the the Nb-Ti-Cr-Al-Si-(Hf) multicomponent system, there are two typical microstructures, i.e., a two-phase structure of β (Nb solid solution)+D81 Nb5Si3-type silicide in the alloys with the Si+Al content (15at.% and 6at.%, respectively), and a three-phase structure of β+D81 Nb5Si3-type + D88 Ti5Si3-type silicides in the alloys with lower Si+Al content (10at.% and 8at.%, respectively). The results of compression tests showed that all alloys display high strength at both room and high temperatures, only a slight decrease in compression properties occured for Nb-Ti-Cr-Al-Si alloys, comparing to the binary Nb-Si in-situ composites. This type of alloys possesses good high temperature strengths up to at least 1473K. The results of high-temperature oxidation experiments showed that the oxidation rates of the alloys with Ti, Cr, Al and Hf addition were at least one order of magnitude lower than those of the Nb-Si binary alloys.