Review
Environmental embrittlement of iron aluminides

https://doi.org/10.1016/0966-9795(94)90001-9Get rights and content

Abstract

The effects of gaseous and liquid environments on the fracture behavior of Fe3Al and FeAl are reviewed. The influence of variables such as composition, microstructure, loading rate and temperature are described. It is shown that the iron iluminides, when tested in dry environments (oxygen, dry air, vacuum) are inherently ductile, but that the presence of very small levels of moisture is sufficient to cause severe embrittlement. Hydrogen, whether released from water vapor or directly in contact with the iron aluminides, is the agent of embrittlement. A detailed discussion of the mechanism of embrittlement is included. Alleviation of embrittlement by such techniques as alloying, surface protection and control of microstructure is outlined. Finally, the environmental embrittlement of iron aluminides is contrasted to that of other aluminides; the major difference is shown to be the propensity for cleavage fractures in FeAl and Fe3Al, compared to intergranular fracture in Ll2 polycrystals.

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      The use of Fe-Al alloys conserves the use of costly and rare elements like Ni, Cr, and Mo in materials for high-temperature structural applications. However, limited room-temperature ductility, related to hydrogen embrittlement by reaction with water (vapour) [6], difficult fabrication requiring casting and forming processing [3], and low strength and poor creep resistance at temperatures above 600 °C [11,12] are the major shortcomings restricting the industrial take-up of these alloys so far. Engineering ductility of Fe3Al-based alloys at ambient temperature could be remarkably improved by control of composition and microstructure [13].

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    This research was sponsored by the Division of Materials Sciences, US Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. and by Fossil Energy Program, US Department of Energy, under subcontract 19X-SF521C with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.

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