Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144

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Surface & Coatings Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/surfcoat

Structure and oxidation behavior of γ-TiAl coating produced by laser

cladding on titanium alloy
Iu.N. Maliutina a,⁎, H. Si-Mohand b, J. Sijobert b, Ph. Bertrand b, D.V. Lazurenko a, I.A. Bataev a
a
Department of Materials Science in Mechanical Engineering, Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 K. Marks, 630073 Novosibirsk, Russia
b
Laboratory of Tribology and Systems Dynamics UMR CNRS 5513, National Engineering School of Saint-Etienne, Lyon University, 74 Rue des Acieries, 42000 Saint-Etienne, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, a laser cladding technique was used to produce a protective TiAl-based coating on TA6Zr4DE near-
Received 11 February 2017 alpha titanium alloy. Ti48Al2Cr2Nb powder was used as a cladding material. The microstructure of samples was
Revised 4 April 2017 characterized using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron mi-
Accepted in revised form 5 April 2017
croscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Fully lamellar microstructure consisting of γ-TiAl (fcc) and α2-
Available online 06 April 2017
Ti3Al (hcp) phases was observed in the coating. Oxidation resistance of substrate and coating was evaluated by
Keywords:
heating the samples in an air atmosphere at 700, 800 and 900 °С during 100 h. The oxidation process of TA6Zr4DE
Laser cladding alloy surface led to a formation of multilayered oxide films as result of repeated growth and peeling. The coated
Aluminides samples showed better oxidation resistance in whole temperature range compared to that of the substrate. This
Oxidation behavior was explained by the composition of the cladded layer. Niobium and chromium contained in the clad-
Microstructure ded powder inhibited the intensive growth of TiO2 (rutile) and contributed to the formation of a protective layer
composed mainly of alumina.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Titanium alloys are widely used for manufacturing of aircraft engines
components (e.g. compressors discs or blades) which operate at elevated
and high temperatures [1,2]. A higher efficiency of engines is achieved at
higher operating temperatures. However, the operating temperature for
titanium alloys is usually limited to 500 °С due to their low long-term
strength and insufficient oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures.
A degradation mechanism of Ti alloys due to oxidation is based on the for-
mation of rapidly growing non-protective oxide scales consisting mainly
of TiO2 which have a tendency to cracking [3–5]. Besides, saturation of
the surface of titanium alloys with oxygen results in embrittlement of
outer layers deteriorating the mechanical properties of alloys. An effective
solution to oxidation problem is a surface modification [6].
Laser cladding is an advanced technology to successfully enhance
the wear and oxidation performance of titanium alloys [7,8]. This meth-
od is widely used in industry for surface modification of metals and al-
loys due to the short processing time, flexibility, and precision in
operation. The local heating effect of the laser beam allows retaining
the properties of the base material.
TiAl-alloys are prospective high-temperature materials that can be
used as heat-resistant coatings. Due to their low density and high specif-
ic strength, these alloys are widely considered in the aerospace and
automotive industries [9–11]. Ti-Al alloys with 40–50 at.% of aluminum
are called γ-TiAl based alloys [12]. Industrial γ-TiAl based alloys typical-
ly contain two phases (γ and α2) and a small amount of reinforcing pre-
cipitations of the third phase [13]. Minor additions of other elements
(e.g. Nb, W, Si, Cr, and Ta) significantly improve the environment resis-
tance and provide long-term protection against oxidation up to 800 °C.
Among the foregoing elements, niobium provides a higher effect on the
oxidation resistance [14–17]. Though the high-temperature behavior of
binary Ti-Al based coatings fabricated on Ti substrates was already re-
ported (e.g. in ref. [18–21]), the oxidation resistance of multicomponent
coatings fabricated using industrial γ-TiAl alloys with high heat-resis-
tance is not extensively studied.
The goal of this study was an investigation of the oxidation resis-
tance of multicomponent coatings obtained on TA6Zr4DE near-alpha ti-
tanium alloy by laser cladding of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy. The structure of
the coatings was thoroughly characterized and the oxidation resistance
of experimental samples was evaluated at 700, 800, and 900 °С and
compared to the properties of the substrates. The surface and cross-sec-
tion of samples after the high-temperature test were analyzed by X-ray
diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dis-
persive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX).
2. Experimental procedures

⁎ Corresponding author. Cylindrical billets of 35 mm in diameter and 10 mm in thickness of

E-mail address: romashova@corp.nstu.ru (I.N. Maliutina). TA6Zr4DE (Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo) titanium alloy produced by Aubert &

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.04.008
0257-8972/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144
Fig. 1. The microstructure of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy.
Duval company were used as substrates. Before the cladding, TA6Zr4DE
alloy had a lamellar α + β structure with well-defined α grain bound-
aries (Fig. 1). Substrates were pre-sand blasted and subsequently
cleaned in acetone to remove contaminants from the surfaces. Before
the cladding, the substrates were preheated to 300 °С to reduce the
temperature gradient between the substrate and the cladded layer. Dur-
ing the cladding process, the substrates' temperature was maintained at
this level by a heating plate which was located below the samples.
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb globular shape powder obtained by gas atomization
was used as the cladding material. An average size of the powder parti-
cles was 160 μm. Before the experiment, the powder was dried in a lab-
oratory furnace at 60° С for 1.5 h. The chemical compositions of the
substrate and the cladded powder are listed in Table 1 [22,23].
Laser cladding of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb powder on TA6Zr4DE substrates
was carried out using LASMA 1054 TRUMPF machine (in National Engi-
neering School of Saint-Etienne, France). The selection of cladding re-
gimes was based on results of the previously published study [24]: the
laser power was 750 W, the scanning speed of nozzle was
100 mm/min, and the powder feed rate was 3 g/min. The laser spot di-
ameter was 6 mm. Single-layer coatings were formed by the laser beam
in a circumferential direction passing from the central to the border part
of substrates. An overlapping factor was 29%.
Samples for microstructural characterization were prepared by
grinding followed by polishing using fine dispersive suspension of silica
with 0.05 μm, and then chemically etched with Kroll's reagent. The mi-
crostructure of the cladded layers and heat affected zones was analyzed
by optical microscopy in the differential interference contrast mode
(OM, Carl Zeiss Axio Observer Z1m), SEM (Carl Zeiss EVO 50 XVP) and
TEM (FEI Tecnai G2 200 kV).
The coatings obtained by laser cladding were cut off from the sub-
strate by wire electrical discharge machining. Thus, it was possible to
carry out oxidation resistance tests of coatings and substrates indepen-
dently. The samples had disk geometry with the size of 35 × 0.5 mm2.
Before the test, all samples were mechanically ground with 1000 grit
SiC paper, followed by cleaning in ethanol. Oxidation resistance tests
were conducted in the furnace at 700, 800, and 900 °С in air. A total test-
ing time was 100 h. The samples were held at the desired temperature
for 5 h, then removed and air-cooled to room temperature. During the
oxidation test, all samples were placed in a corundum crucible. Thus, ex-
foliated oxides were collected and their mass was taken into account.
Mass change of all samples was measured using a laboratory balance
Table 1
Compositions of TA6Zr4DE alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb powder (wt%).
C Ti Al
TA6Zr4DE [22] Bal. 5.5–6.5
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb [23] Bal. 30.05–35.05
137
Fig. 2. OM image of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating on TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy substrate.
with a sensitivity of 10−4 g. The mass gain Δm for substrate and coating
after oxidation test was calculated as following:
Δw
Δm ¼ ð1Þ
s
where Δw is the weight increase of TA6Zr4DE or Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloys
(in mg); s is the area of TA6Zr4DE or Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloys (in cm2).
The phase composition of oxide layers was determined by ARL X'TRA
X-ray diffractometer. A Cu Kα1, 2 radiation was used in experiments.
Registration of diffraction patterns was performed with a step size of
0.05° and dwell time of 5 s per point. Scanning angle during exposure
changed in the range from 25° to 80°.
The morphology and microstructure of the oxide scales formed on
the surface of samples were analyzed using Carl Zeiss EVO 50 XVP scan-
ning electron microscope equipped with Oxford Instruments X-ACT de-
tector for energy dispersive analysis.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Structural analysis of laser cladded layer
Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional OM image of laser cladded
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating on TA6Zr4DE alloy substrate. The average thick-
ness of the coating was 0.6 mm. The microstructure of coating was ho-
mogeneous and the bonding to the substrate had a high metallurgical
quality, which was evidenced by a thin transition layer formed between
the coating and the substrate (Fig. 2). The structure and chemical com-
position of this layer were discussed earlier [24]. No microcracks and
pores were observed in the coating suggesting that optimal laser clad-
ding regimes were used during experiments.
Fig. 3a–d show high magnification SEM and TEM images of the
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating and heat affected TA6Zr4DE substrate. Fully la-
mellar microstructure consisting of γ-TiAl (fcc) and α2-Ti3Al (hcp)
phases was observed in the cladded layer. Fig. 3b shows a bright field
TEM image and the corresponding diffraction pattern of the specimen
prepared from a horizontal (plane) slice of the coating. Formation of
such structure is associated with a rapid cooling in the process of laser
cladding, which is the result of α/γ phase to α2/γ phase transformation
[25]. Deformation microtwins and areas with a relatively high
Zr Sn Mo Nb Cr
3.6–4.4 1.8–2.2 1.8–2.2 – –
– – – 3.15–5.30 1.95–2.85
138 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144
Fig. 3. The microstructure of coating (a, b) and adjacent heat affected substrate (c, d): a, c – SEM images; b, d – TEM images.
dislocations' density which also indicate rapid cooling associated with
laser cladding were observed in lamellas of TiAl-phase.
А typical microstructure of heat affected TA6Zr4DE substrate close to
the interface with the coating is shown in Fig. 3c, d. In this zone, titani-
um alloy consisted of martensitic plates that contained high dislocation
density, microtwins, and stacking faults. At high cooling rates, taking
place during laser cladding process, the β (bcc) phase partially trans-
formed into the α″ (hcp) phase by a diffusionless transformation
process.
3.2. Cyclic oxidation kinetics
The results of oxidation test at various temperatures of TA6Zr4DE
alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating are presented in Fig. 4a and b respec-
tively. At 700 °С no significant mass gain in the coating as compared
to the initial samples was observed. For the substrate mass gain at this
temperature after 100 h was 0.3 mg/cm2. The increase of mass gain
for both the substrate and the coating was observed at 800 °С. The coat-
ing mass gain at this temperature after 100 h experiment was
0.8 mg/cm2, which is 6 times less than that of TA6Zr4DE titanium
alloy (4.8 mg/cm2). The intensive of oxidation processes on the surface
of analyzed materials was observed at 900 °С. The mass gain in
TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating after 100 h of expo-
sure was 31.4 and 3.5 mg/cm2, respectively.
The growth of oxide films that took place in the oxidation process of
titanium alloy and TiAl-based coating can be described by reaction rate
equation [26]:
ðΔmÞn ¼ kp t
where kp is the oxidation rate constant, n is the rate exponent, and t is
the oxidation time. The rate exponent n for each temperature can be
easily found from the plot of the mass gain per surface area versus the
square of oxidation time. The values of n, obtained for all reactions
were close to 2. Thus, it is obvious that the kinetics of oxidation for all
samples exposed at 700, 800, and 900 °С proceeded in accordance
with a parabolic law equation.
To find kp an Arrhenius relationship was used:
 
−Q eff
kp ¼ k0 exp ð3Þ
RT
where Qeff is an effective activation energy for oxidation, k0 a constant
for a given material (or pre-exponential factor), T is the absolute tem-
perature and R is the universal gas constant.
Obtained values of oxidation rate constant lnkp as a function of 1/T
are presented in Fig. 5. It is clear from the plots that the oxidation rate
of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloys is lower than that of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy.
The values of effective energy activation were 191 and 251 kJ/mol for ti-
tanium alloy and TiAl-based coating, respectively. These activation en-
ergies are in good correspondence with those reported in the
literature for the oxidation of (α + β) titanium alloys as well as TiAl
+ Ti3Al alloys [3,27].
3.3. Characterization of the oxidized specimens
XRD studies of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating
after 100 h of oxidation experiment are presented in Fig. 6. Since the
oxide layer on the samples subjected to oxidation at 700 °С was rather
thin, XRD patterns of these samples contained peaks of substrate mate-
rials as well as of oxidation products. α-Ti phase and a mixture of γ-TiAl
ð2Þ and α2-Ti3Al phases were observed for TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy and
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb sample respectively. At 800 and 900 °C, the peaks of the
base materials were not detected at X-ray diffraction patterns due to
the thick layer of scale. The main oxidation product at 700 °C for both
materials was TiO2 (rutile) phase. After oxidation at 800 °C for 100 h
 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144
Fig. 4. Mass gain curves for the TA6Zr4DE (a) and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb (b) alloys exposed at
various testing temperatures.
on the outer layer of the oxide films formed on the surface of TA6Zr4DE
titanium alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating were found rutile phase and
the minor amount of alumina Al2O3. Weak peaks corresponding to
ZrO2 phase were found on the surface of titanium alloy subjected to ox-
idation at 800 °С and 900 °С. The heterogeneous composition of the
oxide film with different volume ratios of TiO2 and Al2O3 phases
Fig. 5. Arrhenius plots of the parabolic rate constant of oxidation process.
139
Fig. 6. X-ray diffraction patterns for the oxides formed on TA6Zr4DE (a) and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb
(b) alloys exposed at various testing temperatures for 100 h.
enhances diffusion processes in the film and increases the oxidation
rate of titanium alloy. The surfaces of the samples oxidized at 900 °C
for 100 h mainly consisted of two phases: TiO2 (rutile) and Al2O3.
The surface morphology of TA6Zr4DE and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloys after
oxidation at 700, 800, and 900 °С for 100 h is shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
On the surface of TA6Zr4DE titanium and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloys after
700 °С for 100 h signs after preliminary mechanical grinding were ob-
served (Figs. 7a, b and 8a, b). Despite of non-visible changes on surfaces
morphology, the electron microprobe analysis showed that on average
42 and 35 wt% of oxygen was accumulated by the surfaces of the sub-
strate and the coating respectively.
On the surface of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy coarse easily exfoliated
oxides flakes (Fig. 7c) were formed during oxidation at 800 °C. More de-
tailed studies of the surface of these flakes revealed that oxides were
coated with small particles having substantially cubic morphology
(Fig. 7d). With the increase in testing temperature to 900 °С the
particle's size increased significantly but their morphology remained
the same (Fig. 7e, f). Oxide scales on the surface of TA6Zr4DE titanium
alloy had high hardness and brittleness, as evidenced by flat particles
boundaries caused by exfoliation and spallation. According to the elec-
tron microprobe analysis, it was found that by increasing the tempera-
ture from 800 to 900 °С the oxygen concentration increased from 50
to 60 wt%. X-ray phase analysis showed that oxide particles covering
the surface of substrate consisted mainly of TiO2 (rutile) and a small
amount of Al2O3 phase. Unlike the aluminum oxides, the titanium
140 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144

Fig. 7. Surface morphologies of oxides formed on the TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy exposed at 700 °C (a, b), 800 °C (c, d) and 900 °C (e, f) for 100 h.

oxides rapidly grow in the oxidation process, due to the highest affinity
of titanium to oxygen, and provide only a limited protection of the sam-
ples surfaces. It is known that 33 at.% of oxygen can be easily dissolved
in titanium (so-called “α case”) leading to intensive embrittlement of
surface [28]. In turn, this causes a severe degradation of mechanical
properties and limits the application of such materials. For this reason,
in accordance with the data obtained in research, the resistance of
TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy did not exceed 700 °С.
After 800 °С tests Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy samples were partially cov-
ered with the oxide layer (Fig. 8c). Oxidation at 900 °С resulted in a uni-
form distribution and filling of the entire surface of the coating with
oxides. Partial exfoliation of brittle oxides (Fig. 8e) was observed at
low magnification images. The morphology of oxides shown in Fig. 8c
was similar to the morphology of exfoliated oxides formed in oxidation
experiments of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy. For instance, fine cubic crystal-
lites were also observed on the surface of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb samples sub-
jected to oxidation at high temperatures (Fig. 8f).
3.4. Cross-sectional observations of the oxidized specimens
The maximum thicknesses of the oxide scales formed on the surfaces
of TA6Zr4DE alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating exposed to 100 h oxida-
tion at various temperatures are listed in Table 2. SEM study of samples
subjected to 700 °C oxidation tests did not allow measuring correctly
the thickness of the oxide scales. One can notice the significant increase
in oxide layer growth rate with the temperature increase. The oxide
layer thickness increased 10 and 7.5 times for TA6Zr4DE titanium
alloy and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating respectively when the temperature in-
creased from 800 °C to 900 °C. This indicates lower oxides' growth rate
on the coated samples in comparison to the uncoated substrates.
Fig. 9 shows oxide layers and their corresponding compositional
profiles in the cross section of the samples exposed to 100 h at 900 °C.
For TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy the thickness of oxide layer varied in differ-
ent areas of material. The maximum thickness of oxide scale of analyzed
 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144 141

Fig. 8. Surface morphologies of oxides formed on the Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy exposed at 700 °C (a, b), 800 °C (c, d) and 900 °C (e, f) for 100 h.

samples was 200 μm. The structure of the surface oxides shown in Fig. dark layers of aluminum oxides (Fig. 9a, c). Herein, the volume fraction
9a indicates that they were formed by multi-repeated layer build-up of titanium oxide in the layer was dominated, which was also confirmed
and its easy exfoliation, due to its high hardness and brittleness. As re- by XRD analysis. Lower oxide layers that were located directly at the
sult of such mechanism of growth, the multilayer composition was border to the substrate had a porous structure and were identified as
formed consisting of alternating light layers of titanium oxides and TiO2 and Al2O3 mixture based on results of the XRD analysis in Fig. 6a
and the compositional profiles in Fig. 9e. It should be noted that each
layer, regardless of its distance from the surface of TA6Zr4DE substrate,
Table 2
The maximum thickness of oxide scales formed on the surface of analyzed materials ex- had the similar structure. Fig. 9b shows the structure of one of the oxide
posed to 100 h oxidation test at various testing temperature. layers. An adhesive strength of oxide layers having high hardness and
brittleness with the surface of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy was low. This
Temperature, °C Thickness of oxide scales, μm
led to its easy spallation during exposure of material at high tempera-
TA6Zr4DE Ti48Al2Cr2Nb
ture. Another reason of oxide scales delamination or its continuous
700 – – spallation was thermal stresses developed between the oxide layers
800 20 2 and the substrate, deteriorating the oxidation behavior of TA6Zr4DE ti-
900 200 15
tanium alloy at temperatures above 700 °С.
142 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144

Fig. 9. Cross-sectional SEM micrographs and element distributions of oxide scales formed on TA6Zr4DE (a, c, e) and Ti48Al2Cr2Nb (b, d, f) alloys exposed at 900 °C for 100 h.

The maximum thickness of oxide scale formed on the surface of

Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy was 15 μm. Unlike in oxidized specimens of
TA6Zr4DE alloy, no multilayered oxide structures were observed in
this case. The oxide layer formed on the surface of coating had a high
density and compactness (Fig. 9d). The adhesion between the oxide
layer and surface was quite high. Cracking and continuous spallation
of oxides during oxidation did not occur. A thin white layer was detect-
ed between the oxide layer and the surface of the coating (Fig. 9d). Ac-
cording to EDX analysis, this layer was identified as a layer enriched
with niobium and chromium (Fig. 9f). Many studies pointed out the
positive effect of niobium and chromium on the oxidation behavior of
Ti-Al intermetallic alloys [14,15,29–35]. There is the following explana-
tion of this effect in the case of niobium [30]. During alloying, niobium
substitute titanium atoms in the crystal structure. Rutile grows mainly
due to oxygen diffusion via the vacancy mechanism. Substitution of tita-
nium with niobium, having a greater valence (valences of titanium and
Fig. 10. Mass gain of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coating produced in this study in comparison with the
niobium are + 4 and + 5, respectively), reduces the concentration of ox- mass gain of same composition alloys produced by other methods. These data correspond
ygen vacancies, thus, suppressing the growth of rutile. Thus, the to oxidation tests at 800 °C for 100 h.
 I.N. Maliutina et al. / Surface & Coatings Technology 319 (2017) 136–144
addition of niobium inhibits the transport of oxygen, increases of alumi-
num activity relative to titanium, and, consequently, improves the oxi-
dation behavior of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy.
Results of oxidation resistance test of coatings are in good agreement
with data from studies carried out by other authors [14,36–38] in the
similar conditions. Fig. 10 shows the values of mass gain for materials
with the same composition but produced by laser cladding (our results),
vacuum arc melting [36] and subsequent hot forging [37], hot isostatic
pressing [38]. It may be noticed, that there exist the limited amount of
data on oxidation behavior of this alloy at 900 °С. For this reason, the
samples tested at 800 °С for 100 h were used for comparison. The dia-
gram clearly shows that oxidation behavior of the samples, produced
by laser cladding in this study is on the same level or frequently is
even better than that, observed in other studies.
Thus, based on results of conducted researches it was determined that
Ti6242 titanium alloy was not oxidation-resistant higher than 700 °C due
to the limited Al content in the alloy. This led to the formation of the
mixture consisting mainly of TiO2 but no protective Al2O3 scale during
oxidation. Oxygen diffused into the alloy through the surface scale
that resulted in embrittlement of formed multilayered oxide scale and
leads to its decohesion and spallation. Repeated spallation and growth
of the oxide scale deteriorated the oxidation behavior of Ti6242 alloy
at 800 °C and higher.
Compared to the titanium alloy, Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coatings have shown
better oxidation behavior. During oxidation at 700–900 °C for 100 h on
the surface of the coating was formed dense Al-rich oxides. Inhibition of
TiO2 growth in Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy was due to the presence of niobium
and chromium enhancing its oxidation resistance. During laser cladding
coatings were well adherent to the Ti6242 alloy and as a consequence
obtained coating provided excellent oxidation protection on the titani-
um alloys at 800–900 °C for 100 h. Therefore, Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coatings
are very promising as high-temperature oxidation-resistant coatings
for titanium alloy.
4. Conclusions
In this study, Ti48Al2Cr2Nb coatings on TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy
substrates were successfully produced by laser cladding. Fully lamellar
microstructure consisting of γ-TiAl and α2-Ti3Al phases was observed
in the coating by TEM. In the same time, α″-Ti was observed in the
heat affected zone of the substrate due to the quenching caused by
rapid cooling of the material. The oxidation behavior at 700, 800, and
900 °С during 100 h was investigated for the samples. The following re-
sults were summarized. TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy showed a high ten-
dency to oxidation at temperatures above 700 °С. Oxide films of 200
μm thick consisted of TiO2 (mostly), Al2O3, and ZrO2 (in the small
amount) were formed at 800 and 900 °С on the surface of this alloy.
Multilayered brittle oxide scales prone to spallation were formed on
the surface of the alloy during oxidation. Multi-repeated layering and
intensive growth of the oxide layers consisting predominantly of titani-
um oxides (rutile) deteriorated the oxidation behavior of TA6Zr4DE
titanium alloy. Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy used as coating showed better oxida-
tion behavior compared to that of titanium alloy at 800 and 900 °С tests.
Oxide film of 15 μm in thickness formed after 100 h at 900 °С contained
TiO2 (rutile) and Al2O3. Mass gain of TA6Zr4DE titanium alloy exposed
to 100 h oxidation at 900 °С was 10 times higher than that of
Ti48Al2Cr2Nb alloy. The presence of the alloying element (particularly
niobium) suppresses the oxygen diffusion and had the positive effect
on the formation of more preferred alumina layers. The application of
γ-TiAl-based intermetallic coatings containing a small amount of
niobium and chromium has a potential for improvement of service life
and operation temperatures of titanium alloys.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
143
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by RFBR, research project No. 15-
38-20776 mol_a_ved.
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