Simulation of oxidation-nitridation-induced microstructural degradation in a cracked Ni-based superalloy at high temperature

In turbine engines, high temperature components made of superalloys may crack in a creep process during service. With the inward flux of the gases, e.g. oxygen and nitrogen, along those cracks, the microstructure of the superalloy substrate nearby the cracks may degrade by internal oxidation and nitridation. The aim of this study is to investigate and simulate the oxidation-nitridation-induced microstructural degradation in superalloys by taking a variant of Ni-based superalloy IN-792 as a sample. After the creep testing of the superalloy in air, the microstructures on the cross section of the superalloy were analysed in a scanning electron microscope, equipped with energy/wavelength dispersive systems. Internal oxidation and nitridation, presenting by Al/Ti oxides and nitrides, were observed under a porous and even cracked Cr-oxide scale which was formed on the superalloy surface or along the creep cracks connecting the superalloy surface. Meanwhile, the reinforcing γ′ precipitates were depleted. Such oxidation-nitridation-induced microstructural degradation was simulated by using an oxidation-diffusion model, focusing the diffusion of the alloying elements in metallic phases of the superalloy.