The Influence of Cr Evaporation on Long Term Cr Depletion Rates in Ferritic Stainless Steels

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2015

It is shown that well defined flow rates are an essential parameter in oxidation experiments influenced by scale volatilisation. The 22 % Cr ferritic steel Sanergy HT, intended for use as an SOFC interconnect material, was exposed discontinuously over 3100 h at 850 °C in air + 3 % H 2 O @ 6000 sml min−1 (27 cm s−1) and stagnant conditions in a tubular reactor. Time resolved isothermal Cr evaporation measurements over 1000 h were also performed in the 6000 sml min−1 case while the stagnant exposure environment was saturated in Cr(VI) species to suppress any evaporation reactions. Mass balances based on oxidation and evaporation data were in good agreement with SEM/EDX bulk Cr concentration measurements. The time to a bulk concentration of 15 wt% Cr increased by ≈2× from ≈3000 to ≈5500 h when evaporation was suppressed. Further, it was established that a suppressed evaporation reaction affected not just the magnitude of Cr depletion in the steel but even its long term depletion rate.