High temperature behavior of B2-based ruthenium aluminide systems

Ru-modified NiAl-based bond coats have the potential to improve the durability of Superalloy-Thermal Barrier Coating systems (TBCs) for advanced gas turbine engines. A fundamental understanding of the high temperature mechanical behavior across the Ni-Al-Ru B2 phase field can provide direction for the development of these new bond coats for TBCs. The purpose of this study has been to describe the fundamental processes of creep deformation in single phase B2 Ru-Al-Ni ternary alloys which would form the basis for the bond coats. To accomplish this, five ternary alloys with compositions located within the B2 field across the NiAl-RuAl phase region were fabricated and investigated. Special emphasis was placed on characterizing creep deformation and describing the operative creep mechanisms in these alloys. At room temperature, brittle failure was observed in the Ni-rich alloys in compression, while improved strength and ductility were displayed in two Ru-rich ternary alloys at temperatures up to 700°C. Exceptional creep strength was observed in these alloys, as compared to other high melting temperature B2 intermetallics. A continuous increase of the melting temperature and creep resistance with the increasing of the Ru/Ni ratio in these alloys was observed. Post-creep dislocation analyses identified the presence of <100> and <110> edge dislocations in the Ni-rich alloys, while uniformly distributed jogged <100> screw dislocations predominated in the Ru-rich ternary alloys. A transition of the creep mechanism from viscous glide controlled to jogged screw motion in these Ru-Al-Ni ternary B2 alloys with increasing Ru/Ni ratio is demonstrated by the characteristics of the creep deformation process, stress change creep tests, post-creep dislocation analyses, and numerical modeling.; Additionally, the knowledge of the cyclic oxidation behavior of ruthenium aluminide-based alloy is essential, as many high-temperature applications for which this intermetallic might be utilized undergo repeated severe thermal cycling. Thus the second portion of this thesis focuses on the characterization of the cyclic oxidation properties of RuAl-based alloys. The cyclic oxidation behavior of six RuAl-based alloys was studied in air over the temperature range of 1000°C to 1300°C. Oxidation kinetics have been shown to be influenced by microstructure as well as the addition of platinum.