Enhancing the resistance of Ti-alloys against environmental high temperature degradation by a combination of Al-enrichment and F-treatment

Titanium is a widely used structural material due to its low specific weight, mechanical properties and good corrosion resistance at low temperatures. The melting point (1677°C) is much higher than the maximum operating temperature of about 600°C. Because of increased oxidation rate and environmental embrittlement Ti-Alloys can not be used at higher temperatures. The surface treatment with F gives very good results for TiAl-alloys but has only little or no effect on the oxidation resistance of Ti-alloys. Enrichment of the near-surface zone of Ti-alloys with Al leads to an improvement in the oxidation resistance which, however, is insufficient. The combination of Al-enrichment in the surface zone so that a TiAl-layer is formed, and an additional F-treatment gives good results. The fluorine effect on TiAl-alloys leads to the formation of a protective alumina scale. Not only does the scale provide protection against environmental attack, but it also prevents oxygen inward diffusion which causes embrittlement. In this work results of high temperature oxidation tests several Ti-alloys (-Ti, Ti3Al, etc.) are presented without any treatment, single Al-treatment, pure F-treatment and the combination of both. Enrichment with Al has been done by either powder pack process or magnetron sputtering. Fluorine has been introduced using a liquid phase process as well as alternative techniques. Subsequent analyses by SEM and other methods reveal the formation of thinner oxide layer on the combined Al and F treated samples.