Oxidation mechanism of three Fe-Al alloys with and without addition of 0.1 at% yttrium at 800 °C

The isothermal oxidation behavior of Fe-10Al, Fe-15Al, Fe-20Al alloys with and without the addition of 0.1 at% Y was studied at 800 °C under 1 × 105 Pa of flowing pure O2 for 24 h. The oxidation of three Fe-Al alloys can be divided into transient state and steady state oxidation stages. The oxidation of each stage is approximately in accordance with the parabolic law. The addition of 0.1 at% Y changes the oxidation behavior obviously and leads to a significant increase of the weight gain of Fe-10Al and Fe-15Al. The scale grown on Fe-10Al is much thicker and more complicated than that grown on Fe-20Al, which is composed of an exclusive thin layer of Al2O3 protective film. Due to the formation of a large number of nodules, the scales grown on Fe-15Al cannot provide full protection for the alloy. Scale microstructure of the three Fe-Al-0.1Y alloys is similar to their corresponding Fe-Al alloys. However, nodules with very small size still appear on the surface of Fe-20Al-0.1Y alloy. The critical Al concentration to form an exclusive Al2O3 protective layer for Fe-Al binary alloy is on the borderline between 15 at%–20 at%. For Fe-Al-0.1Y alloy, the presence of 20 at% Al is not enough to inhibit the growth of nodules.