High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior of Ti6242S Ti-based Alloy

International audienceThe aircraft industry is always looking for improved efficiency through higher in-service engine temperatures and lighter structures. Titanium-based alloys are good candidates for such applications because of their high specific strength. However, when exposed to high-temperature oxidizing environments, a large amount of dissolved oxygen can be found in such alloys beneath the growing oxide scale, possibly leading to embrittlement. Consequently, evaluating the oxidation resistance of these alloys is essential. With this aim, long-term oxidation tests were carried out on Ti6242S alloy between 500 and 650 °C to study the effect of temperature, surface preparation and microstructure on oxide scale and oxygen dissolution. While increasing the temperature from 560 to 625 °C led to accelerated oxidation kinetics, surface preparation had no noticeable effect on mass variations and oxygen diffusion profiles. Regarding microstructure, when comparing Ti6242S samples having similar α-phase fraction but very different microstructures (fineness and morphology), there wasn’t any significant effect found on mass change and oxygen diffusion after 1 kh at 650 °C