Hot corrosion behavior and near-surface microstructure of a “low-temperature high-activity Cr-aluminide” coating on inconel 738LC exposed to Na2SO4, Na2SO4 + V2O5 and Na2SO4 + V2O5 + NaCl at 900 °C

Hot corrosion is a serious problem in gas turbines due to poor quality fuels which contain Na, V, S and Cl. To resolve the problem, Cr-aluminide was coated on IN-738LC superalloy with a two steps pack cementation process. Oxidation behavior and near-surface microstructure of the coating showed consecutive increase in destruction by exposition to Na2SO4, 75Na2SO4 + 25 V2O5 and 70Na2SO4 + 25 V2O5 + 5NaCl (wt.%). Kinetic studies indicated parabolic corrosion rate in salt-less samples due to diffusion. Similar expression for salt-covered samples was assessed for oxide dissolution. Plate-like, broken-plate-like and cauliflower-like morphologies attributed to the corrosion products were observed after exposition to above three salts, respectively.