Some observations on the high temperature oxidation behaviour of plasma sprayed Ni3Al coatings

High temperature oxidation resistance of the superalloys can be greatly enhanced by plasma sprayed coatings and this is a growing industry of considerable economic importance. The purpose of these coatings is to form long-lasting oxidation protective scales. In the current investigation, Ni3Al powder was prepared by mechanical mixing of pure nickel and aluminium powders in a ball mill. Subsequently Ni3Al powder was deposited on three Ni-base superalloys: Superni 600, Superni 601 and Superni 718 and, one Fe-base superalloy, Superfer 800H by shrouded plasma spray process. Oxidation studies were conducted on the coated superalloys in air at 900 °C under cyclic conditions for 50 cycles. Each cycle consisted of 1 h heating followed by 20 min of cooling in air. The thermogravimetric technique was used to approximate the kinetics of oxidation. All the coated superalloys nearly followed parabolic rate law of oxidation. X-ray diffraction, SEM/EDAX and EPMA techniques were used to analyse the oxidation products. The Ni3Al coating was found to be successful in maintaining its adherence to the superalloy substrates in all the cases. The oxide scales formed on the oxidised coated superalloys were found to be intact and spallation-free. XRD analysis revealed the presence of phases like NiO, Al2O3 and NiAl2O4 in the oxide scales, which are reported as protective oxides against high temperature oxidation. The XRD results were further supported by SEM/EDAX and EPMA.