High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior of Cu-Si-Y Alloys

The effect of rare-earth element Y on high-temperature oxidation behavior of Cu-Si alloys at 973 and 1073 K in 0.1 MPa flowing pure O2 has been investigated. Results show at the two temperatures the mass gain of the alloys with different compositions follows the following sequence, Cu-3Si-1.0Y > Cu-3Si-0Y > Cu-3Si-0.5Y alloy. As the Y content increases, the grain size of the alloys decreases, which accelerates the diffusion rate of the alloying elements in the alloys and oxygen under the experimental conditions, increases the ratio of short-path diffusion, and promotes the formation of SiO2 and Y2O3. The three alloys do not form continuous oxide scales of SiO2 or Y2O3, but their rapid formation and dispersed distribution due to the grain-size reduction may also hinder the diffusion of alloying elements and oxygen, which is beneficial to improve the oxidation resistance of the Y-containing alloys. Thereby, the Cu-3Si-0.5Y alloy has good oxidation resistance. The Cu-3Si-1.0Y alloy exhibits largest mass gain among the three alloys, which is due to the fact that in the alloy with higher Y contend and finer grain size, more amount of Y2O3 is more quickly formed, whose mass occupy a more proportion in the whole mass gain of the alloy.