High temperature oxidation behavior of Ni-based superalloy GH202

• Isothermal oxidation kinetic of GH202 obeys a parabolic law from 800 °C to 1100 °C.
• The activation energy of GH202 is closed to the diffusion activation of Cr3 +.
• The evolution process of oxide scales from 800 °C to 1100 °C is displayed by EPMA.
• The oxidation behavior of GH202 is mainly controlled by Cr3 + and Ti4 +.

The isothermal oxidation kinetic and oxidation behavior of Ni-based superalloy GH202 were investigated at temperatures from 800 °C to 1100 °C. The microstructure of GH202 was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). The composition and morphologies of oxide scales of the surface and cross-section samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and SEM combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the growth of the oxide scales on GH202 obeyed a parabolic law with an activation energy of 247.8 KJ·mol− 1 from 800 °C to 1100 °C. The continuous and dense oxide scales that formed at 800 °C and 900 °C were composed of Cr2O3, NiCr2O4 and a small amount of TiO2. Beneath the oxide scales, aluminum-rich oxides formed along the grain boundaries due to internal oxidation. After treatment at 1000 °C for 150 h, the oxide scale was separated into two layers, the outer layer with sparse holes that was mainly composed of Cr2O3 and TiO2 and an inner layer of dense Cr2O3. At 1100 °C for 100 h the outer layer was spalled, due to the looser oxide scale with large blocks of TiO2 and NiCr2O4 which provided channels for oxygen diffusion.