Aluminide Coatings for Power-Generation Applications

Aluminide coatings are of interest for many high temperature applications because of the possibility of improving the oxidation of structural alloys by forming a protective external alumina scale. In order to develop a comprehensive lifetime evaluation approach for aluminide coatings used in fossil energy systems, some of the important issues have been addressed in this report for aluminide coatings on Fe-based alloys (Task I) and on Ni-based alloys (Task II). In Task I, the oxidation behavior of iron aluminide coatings synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was studied in air + 10vol.% H{sub 2}O in the temperature range of 700-800 C and the interdiffusion behavior between the coating and substrate was investigated in air at 500-800 C. Commercial ferritic (Fe-9Cr-1Mo) and type 304L (Fe-18Cr-9Ni, nominally) austenitic stainless steels were used as the substrates. For the oxidation study, the as-deposited coating consisted of a thin (<5 {micro}m), Al-rich outer layer above a thicker (30-50 {micro}m), lower Al inner layer. The specimens were cycled to 1000 1-h cycles at 700 C and 500 1-h cycles at 800 C, respectively. The CVD coating specimens showed excellent performance in the water vapor environment at both temperatures, while the uncoated alloys were severely attacked. These results suggest that an aluminide coating can substantially improve resistance to water vapor attack under these conditions. For the interdiffusion study, the ferritic and austenitic steels were coated with relatively thicker aluminide coatings consisting of a 20-25 {micro}m outer layer and a 150-250 {micro}m inner layer. The composition profiles before and after interdiffusion testing (up to 5,000h) were measured by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The decrease of the Al content at the coating surface was not significant after extended diffusion times ({le} 5,000h) at temperatures {le} 700 C. More interdiffusion occurred at 800 C in coatings on both Fe- 9Cr-1Mo and 304L alloys; a two-phase microstructure was formed in the outer coating layer on 304L after interdiffusion of 2,000h at 800 C. The interdiffusion behavior was simulated using a computer model COSIM (Coating Oxidation and Substrate Interdiffusion Model), which was originally developed for MCrAlY overlay coatings by NASA. Complimentary modeling work using a mathematic model from Heckel et al. also was conducted. Reasonable agreement was observed between the simulated and experimental composition profiles, particularly for aluminide coatings on Fe-9Cr-1Mo ferritic steels. In Task II, the research focused on the CVD aluminide bond coats for thermal barrier coatings (TBC). The martensitic phase transformation in single-phase {beta}-NiAl and (Ni,Pt)Al coatings was studied and compared. After isothermal exposure to 1150 C for 100 hours, the {beta} phase in both types of coatings was transformed to a martensite phase during cooling to room temperature. Martensitic transformation also was observed in the (Ni,Pt)Al bond coat with and without the ceramic top layer after thermal cycling at 1150 C (700 1-h cycles). Such transformation resulted from Al depletion in the coating due to the formation of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} scale on coating surface and interdiffusion between the coating and superalloy substrate. The volume changes associated with the martensitic transformation could affect the coating surface stability (''rumpling'') and thus contributing to TBC failure. To elucidate the effect of Hf levels in the superalloy substrate on the oxidation performance, directionally-solidified Rene 142 superalloys containing three different Hf contents with and without aluminide coatings were cyclically oxidized at 1100 and 1150 C in air. Poor scale adhesion was observed for all bare and NiAl-coated Rene 142 superalloys, as compared with single-crystal superalloys such as Rene N5. Spallation occurred at relatively early stages disregarding the Hf contents in the superalloys. Finally, a platinum plating system has been set up at Tennessee Technological University to carefully control the Pt plating process for synthesizing (Ni,Pt)Al and other Pt-containing coatings. The effects of the Pt electroplating parameters such as plating current density on Pt adhesion and uniformity were examined. The plating rate increased nearly linearly with the increased current density from 0.2 to 0.6A/dm{sup 2}. More Pt was built up near the specimen edges/corners than on the flat surface at high current density; the thicker Pt near specimen edges/corners over the flat surfaces led to localized spallation of the Pt layer in these areas.