The use of thin layer activation in high-temperature cyclic oxidation studies

Abstract Thin layer activation (TLA) has been applied to a study of the high-temperature cyclic oxidation behaviour of pure and yttrium-implanted chromium, taking advantage of the high area selectivity of the technique. On pure chromium, two different sample areas, i.e. corners and the central part of a large surface area, were selected for activation. Due to this area selectivity, it was possible to distinguish the spallation behaviour of the oxide scale formed on flat from that formed on highly curved surfaces. In particular, the TLA data showed that the oxide scale formed during high-temperature cyclic oxidation near corners and edges was more prone to cracking and spallation. In the case of yttrium-implanted specimens, activation was performed only at the centre of the implanted zone, avoiding the distorting effect of the non-implanted parts of the sample. The area selectivity of TLA made it possible to study more accurately the beneficial effect of ion implantation on the cyclic oxidation behaviour than by conventional thermogravimetry. Due to the complementary character of TLA with respect to the conventional thermogravimetry, a more complete and better understanding of the cyclic oxidation performance of materials can be obtained.