High-temperature corrosion of Ti and Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Pure titanium and Ti-6Al-4V were exposed at 750°C in an H₂/H₂O/H₂S P_O210^–18 Pa and P_S210^–1 Pa), H₂/H₂O (P_O210^–18 Pa) and air environments for up to 240 hr. The corrosion kinetics, obtained by the discontinuous gravimetric method, showed that the sulfidation/oxidation kinetics were linear for Ti and linear-parabolic for Ti-6Al-4V in the H₂/H₂O/H₂S environment. Both materials obeyed parabolic rate laws in the H₂/H₂O atmosphere after a transient period, and linear-parabolic rate laws in air. After exposure to the H₂/H₂O/H₂S atmosphere, the titanium specimen displayed a double scale of TiO₂ with an intervening TiS₂ film between the double-layered scale of TiO₂ and the substrate. Ti-6Al-4V also contained a double layer of TiO₂ together with a stratum consisting of Al₂S₃, TiS₂ and vanadium sulfide at the junction of the inner TiO₂ layer and substrate. Some Al₂O₃ precipitated in the external portion of the outer TiO₂ layer. Following oxidation in the low-P_O2 atmosphere a double-layered oxide of TiO₂ scale formed on both Ti and Ti-6Al-4V. The scale on Ti-6Al-4V also contained an -Al₂O₃ film situated between the outer and inner (TiO₂) layers. For both materials, multilayered-scale formation characterized air oxidation. In detail a multilayered oxide scale of TiO₂ formed on the air-oxidized Ti, while a multilayered oxide scale with alternating layers of Al₂O₃/TiO₂ developed on Ti-6Al-4V oxidized in air.