The role of thermal shock in cyclic oxidation

The effect of thermal shock on the spalling of oxides from the surfaces of several commercial alloys was determined. The average cooling rate was varied from approximately 240 C/sec to less than 1.0 C/sec during cyclic oxidation tests in air. The tests consisted of one hundred cycles of one hour at the maximum temperature (1100 or 1200 C). The alloys were HOS-875, TD-Ni, TD-NiCrAl, IN-601, IN-702, and B-1900 plus Hf. Thermal shock resulted in deformation of the metal which in turn resulted, in most cases, in changing the oxide failure mode from compressive to tensile. Tensile failures were characterized by cracking of the oxide and little loss, while compressive failures were characterized by explosive loss of platelets of oxide. The thermally shocked oxides spalled less than the slow cooled samples with the exception of TD-NiCrAl. This material failed in a brittle manner rather than by plastic deformation. The HOS-875 and the TD-Ni did not spall during either type of cooling. Thus, the effect of thermal shock on spalling is determined, in large part, by the mechanical properties of the metal.