A Study of the Effects of Hf and Sn on the Microstructure, Hardness and Oxidation of Nb-18Si Silicide-Based Alloys-RM(Nb)ICs with Ti Addition and Comparison with Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys (RCCAs)

On the Stability of Complex Concentrated (CC)/High Entropy (HE) Solid Solutions and the Contamination with Oxygen of Solid Solutions in Refractory Metal Intermetallic Composites (RM(Nb)ICs) and Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys (RCCAs)

In as-cast (AC) or heat-treated (HT) metallic ultra-high temperature materials often "conventional" and complex-concentrated (CC) or high-entropy (HE) solid solutions (sss) are observed. Refractory metal containing bcc sss also are contaminated with oxygen. This paper studied the stability of CC/HE Nb_ss and the contamination with oxygen of Nb_ss in RM(INb)ICs, RM(Nb)ICs/RCCAs and RM(Nb)ICs/RHEAs. "Conventional" and CC/HE Nb_ss were compared. "Conventional" Nb_ss can be Ti-rich only in AC alloys. Ti-rich Nb_ss is not observed in HT alloys. In B containing alloys the Ti-rich Nb_ss is usually CC/HE. The CC/HE Nb_ss is stable in HT alloys with simultaneous addition of Mo, W with Hf, Ge+Sn. The implications for alloy design of correlations between the parameter δ of "conventional" and CC/HE Nb_ss with the B or the Ge+Sn concentration in the Nb_ss and of relationships of other solutes with the B or Ge+Sn content are discussed. The CC/HE Nb_ss has low Δχ, VEC and Ω and high ΔS_mix, |ΔH_mix| and δ parameters, and is formed in alloys that have high entropy of mixing. These parameters are compared with those of single-phase bcc ss HEAs and differences in ΔH_mix, δ, Δχ and Ω, and similarities in ΔS_mix and VEC are discussed. Relationships between the parameters of alloy and "conventional" Nb_ss also apply for CC/HE Nb_ss. The parameters δ_ss and Ω_ss, and VEC_ss and VEC_alloy can differentiate between types of alloying additions and their concentrations and are key regarding the formation or not of CC/HE Nb_ss. After isothermal oxidation at a pest temperature (800 ^oC/100 h) the contaminated with oxygen Nb_ss in the diffusion zone is CC/HE Nb_ss, whereas the Nb_ss in the bulk can be "conventional" Nb_ss or CC/HE Nb_ss. The parameters of "uncontaminated" and contaminated with oxygen sss are linked with linear relationships. There are correlations between the oxygen concentration in contaminated sss in the diffusion zone and the bulk of alloys with the parameters Δχ_Nbss, δ_Nbss and VEC_Nbss, the values of which increase with increasing oxygen concentration in the ss. The effects of contamination with oxygen of the near surface areas of a HT RM(Nb)IC with Al, Cr, Hf, Si, Sn, Ti and V additions and a high vol.% Nb_ss on the hardness and Young's modulus of the Nb_ss, and contributions to the hardness of the Nb_ss in B free or B containing alloys are discussed. The hardness and Young's modulus of the bcc ss increased linearly with its oxygen concentration and the change in hardness and Young's modulus due to contamination increased linearly with [O]^2/3.

The Effect of Fe Addition in the RM(Nb)IC Alloy Nb-30Ti-10Si-2Al-5Cr-3Fe-5Sn-2Hf (at.%) on Its Microstructure, Complex Concentrated and High Entropy Phases, Pest Oxidation, Strength and Contamination with Oxygen, and a Comparison with Other RM(Nb)ICs, Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys (RCCAs) and Refractory High Entropy Alloys (RHEAs)

In this work, the RM(Nb)IC alloy Nb−30Ti−10Si−5Cr−5Sn−3Fe−2Al−2Hf (NV2) was studied in the as-cast and heat-treated conditions; its isothermal oxidation at 700, 800 and 900 °C and its room temperature hardness and specific strength were compared with other Sn-containing RM(Nb)ICs—in particular, the alloy Nb−24Ti−18Si−5Cr−5Fe−5Sn (NV5)—and with RCCAs and RHEAs. The addition of Fe (a) stabilised Nbss; A15−Nb3X (X = Al, Si and Sn) and Nb3Si; metastable Nb3Si-m’ and Nb5Si3 silicides; (b) supported the formation of eutectic Nbss + Nb5Si3; (c) suppressed pest oxidation at all three temperatures and (d) stabilised a Cr- and Fe-rich phase instead of a C14−Nb(Cr,Fe)2 Laves phase. Complex concentrated (or compositionally complex) and/or high entropy phases co-existed with “conventional” phases in all conditions and after oxidation at 800 °C. In NV2, the macrosegregation of Si decreased but liquation occurred at T >1200 °C. A solid solution free of Si and rich in Cr and Ti was stable after the heat treatments. The relationships between solutes in the various phases, between solutes and alloy parameters and between alloy hardness or specific strength and the alloy parameters were established (parameters δ, Δχ and VEC). The oxidation of NV2 at 700 °C was better than the other Sn-containing RM(Nb)ICs with/without Fe addition, even better than RM(Nb)IC alloys with lower vol.% Nbss. At 800 °C, the mass change of NV2 was slightly higher than that of NV5, and at 900 °C, both alloys showed scale spallation. At 800 °C, both alloys formed a more or less continuous layer of A15−Nb3X below the oxide scale, but in NV5, this compound was Sn-rich and severely oxidised. At 800 °C, in the diffusion zone (DZ) and the bulk of NV2, Nbss was more severely contaminated with oxygen than Nb5Si3, and the contamination of A15−Nb3X was in-between these phases. The contamination of all three phases was more severe in the DZ. The contamination of all three phases in the bulk of NV5 was more severe compared with NV2. The specific strength of NV2 was comparable with that of RCCAs and RHEAs, and its oxidation at all three temperatures was significantly better than RHEAs and RCCAs.