Stability and Heat Resistance of Silicide Coatings on Refractory Metals. Part 3. Stability of Silicide Coatings on Niobium Heated in Air at 1500-1800°C

The kinetics of phase redistribution in the (Mo, W)Si₂ Nb system at 1500-1800°C was investigated. The kinetic parameters for growth of the lower silicides (Mo, W, Nb) ₅Si₃ + Nb₅Si₃ and decrease in the layer thickness of the higher silicide (Mo, W)Si₂ as function of the oxidation temperature were determined. It was established that the stability of the multiphase and multicomponent system was more than twice that of the system MoSi₂ Nb, and 15-18 times that of MoSi₂ Mo.     

Complex temperature-resistant protective coatings for carbon-carbon materials

This paper reports on the results of investigations of the development of high-temperature protective coatings on carbon-carbon materials, which are formed through vacuum activated diffusion saturation under conditions of liquid media and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. The results of testing of the protective coatings in air at temperatures in the range 1600–1950°C are presented.     

High-temperature oxidation-resistant coatings on niobium and its alloys

The formation of high-temperature oxidation-resistant coatings on niobium by multicomponent activated diffusion saturation in vacuum is investigated. Thermodynamic calculations of potential chemical reactions that result in anticorrosive protective coatings are performed. Comparative tests of high-temperature oxidation resistance of niobium with protective coatings are conducted at 1700°C in open air.     

Stability and Heat Resistance of Silicide Coatings on Refractory Metals. Part 1. Effect of Subsurface Layer on Process of Phase Redistribution in System WSi2 ― W

The effect of a subsurface layer of metal silicide on the phase composition stability of high-temperature MeSi₂-type coatings on refractory metals was investigated. Using the system WSi₂ W as a prototype it was experimentally determined that a subsurface layer of the tungsten disilicide, and the distribution profile of silicon in the diffusion zone upon high-temperature heating have a substantial effect on the formation of a barrier layer of lower silicide which determines the stability of the system as a whole. It is proposed that the search for more stable silicide coatings on refractory metals should be directed toward the creation of diffusion barriers on not only the inner interface MeSi₂ Me, but also the external surface of the coating. The process of coating formation must be accompanied by the formation of a metal silicide on the external surface with the highest possible concentration of silicon.     

Stability and Heat Resistance of Silicide Coatings on Refractory Metals. Part 2. Stability and Heat Resistance of Silicide Coatings on Tungsten and Molybdenum at 1500-2000°C

The kinetics of diffusion redistribution of phases within the system WSi₂ W on heating tungsten silicide in air in the temperature range 1500-2000°C is studied. The stability and heat resistance of silicide coatings on tungsten is mainly governed by the diffusion of silicon towards the interphase boundaries W W₅Si₃, W₅Si₃ WSi₂, and WSi₂ SiO₂, formation at them of diffusion barriers of lower silicide W₅Si₃, and also a protective SiO₂ film at the outer boundary of the silicide coating. It is established that the transition rate for the higher to the lower tungsten silicide WSi₂ W₅Si₃ is on average four times slower than the transition rate for MoSi₂ Mo₅Si₃. It is shown that an increase in silicon concentration in the WSi₂ surface layer stimulates formation of diffusion barrier compounds at interphase boundaries. This leads to an increase in the stability of the phase composition and heat resistance of a silicide coating on metals. In particular at 1700°C the transition rate for molybdenum silicide on tungsten MoSi₂ (Mo, W)₅Si₃ is about twenty times slower than the transition rate for MoSi₂ Mo₅Si₃, and less by a factor of about eleven than the transition rate for WSi₂ W₅Si₃. Here there is also an increase in the heat resistance of silicide coatings on tungsten and molybdenum. It is shown that the SiO₂ film on tungsten silicide does not lose its protective properties up to 2000°C.