D. Grüner

Modelling compositional changes in nickel base alloy 602 CA during high temperature oxidation

Abstract The high chromium nickel base alloy 602 CA is used as construction material for high temperature components in aggressive environments such as gas burners or heat exchangers. The high temperature oxidation behaviour of this alloy is characterised by the formation of an external Cr2O3 scale and internal precipitation of alumina. The main goal of the present investigation was to elucidate the effect of aluminum on the subscale chromium depletion phenomena. The chromium concentration profiles were found to be flat and sometimes even increasing towards the oxide-alloy interface. The experimental observations were interpreted in terms of alloy thermodynamics, i.e. effect of oxidation induced compositional changes on chemical potentials of the alloy constituents. The concentration profiles in alloy 602 CA observed during high temperature exposure were modelled using the CALPHAD approach for thermodynamic and kinetic calculations. Thermodynamic calculations revealed that the Al depletion in the alloy subsurface due to internal alumina precipitation leads to enhanced Cr diffusion towards the alloy surface.

Corrosion behavior of candidate heat exchanger materials in oxidizing and reducing gases relevant to oxyfuel power plants

Abstract In the present paper, the oxidation behavior of potentially suitable construction materials for heat exchanging components in coal fired power plants was studied in the temperature range 550–700 °C. The selected materials (low alloy steel 13CrMo44, martensitic steel P92, austenitic steel S304HCu and Ni-base alloy 617) were exposed in a simulated atmosphere typical for oxyfuel combustion and the results were compared with the behavior in a test gas simulating oxyfuel gas with addition of CO, thus simulating locally occurring reducing operating conditions which may happen due to incomplete combustion. The oxidation/corrosion behavior was studied by gravimetry in combination with a number of characterization methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX) and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). For the low alloy steel and P92 only minor differences in oxidation rates between the different environments were found. For S304HCu generally smaller corrosion rates were found in the reducing gas, whereas for alloy 617 the effect of gas composition depended on temperature. The obtained results are interpreted on the basis of thermodynamic considerations comparing equilibrium activities of the main species in the gas atmospheres with the thermodynamic stabilities of various possible corrosion products.