Formation and characterization of titanium modified aluminide coatings on IN738LC

Up to now, the alummide coatings used to protect industrial components at high temperature and corrosive environments have been modified by Pt, Cr, Si and Ni. In this investigation, aluminide coatings were modified by titanium and the microstructural feature and formation mechanism were evaluated. The coatings were formed on a Ni-based superalloy(IN738LC) by a two stage process including titanizing at first and aluminizing thereafter. Pack cementation titanizing performed at temperatures 950 degrees C and 1050 degrees C in several mixtures of Ti, Al2O3 and NH4Cl. At the second stage, aluminum diffused into surface of the specimens by an industrial aluminizing process known as Elcoat101(4 hrs at 1050 degrees Q. The modified coatings were characterized by means of standard optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-Ray diffraction methods. The results show that Ti in the coatings is mainly present in the form of TiNi and Al67Cr8Ti25. Titanium modified coatings grew with a mechanism similar to simple aluminizing; this includes inward diffusion of Al from the pack to the substrate and then outward diffusion of Ni from the substrate to the coating. The advantages and characteristics of this two-stage modified coating is discussed and the process parameters are proposed to obtain a coating of optimum microstructure.