Isothermal oxidation behavior of plasma-sprayed Mo-Si-B intermetallic coatings on plain steel

In this study, Mo-14Si-10B and Mo-57Si-10B (at%) elemental powders were separately milled using an attritor mill.Mechanically alloyed powders were agglomerated and annealed. Then, powders of Mo-Si-B as alloyed (with composites) and agglomerated (without composites) were plasma sprayed onto plain carbon steels. The samples, both coated and noncoated,were subjected to isothermal oxidation tests. Metallurgical characteristics of powders and coatings were evaluated by SEM and XRD. Plasma-sprayed Mo-Si-B coatings (with phases of MoSi2, Mo5Si3, MoB and Mo5SiB2) greatly improved the oxidation resistance of the plain steel substrates, but plasma-sprayed Mo-Si-B coatings (without any phases) did notsignificantly improve the oxidation rate of substrates. Also, the kinetics and composition of the oxide-scale have been found to depend on the alloy composition.