Oxide Layer Evolution of Cast Fe24Cr12NiXNb Heat-Resistant Cast Steels at 900°C in Atmospheric Air

The austenitic stainless steels are a group of alloys normally used under high mechanical and thermal requests, in which high temperature oxidation is normally present due to oxygen presence. This study examines the oxide layer evolution for Fe24Cr12NiXNb modified austenitic stainless steel A297 HH with 0,09%Nb and 0,77%Nb content at 900°C under atmospheric air and isothermal oxidation. The modifiers elements such as Mo, Co and Ti, added to provide high mechanical strength, varied due to the casting procedure, however main elements such as Cr, Ni, Mn and Si were kept at balanced levels to avoid microstructure changing. The oxide layer analysis was performed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The elemental analysis of the different phases was measured with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The Nb-alloyed steel generated a thicker Cr oxide layer. Generally elemental Nb did not provide any noticeable difference in oxide scale growth, for the specific range of Nb amount and temperature studied. High temperature oxidation up to 120h was characterized by protective Cr oxidation, after this period a non-protective Fe-based oxidation took place. Cr, Fe and Ni oxides were observed in the multilayer oxide scale.