Slurry Aluminizing Mechanisms of Nickel-Based Superalloy and Applicability for the Manufacturing of Platinum-Modified Aluminide Coatings

The slurry aluminizing process is widely employed to enhance the oxidation and corrosion resistance of nickel-based superalloys used in high-temperature environments such as gas turbines and aerospace engines. This study investigates the effects of the concentration of Al vapors in the reactor chamber and the initial slurry layer thickness on the microstructure, chemical composition, and phase composition of aluminide coatings. Coatings were manufactured on Ni-based superalloy substrates using CrAl powders as an aluminum source and chloride- and fluoride-based activator salts. The effect of the initial thickness of the slurry layer was studied by varying the amount of deposited slurry in terms of mgslurry/cm2sample (with constant mgslurry/cm3chamber). The microstructure and phase composition of the produced aluminide coatings were evaluated by SEM, EDS, and XRD analysis. Slurry thickness can affect concentration gradients during diffusion, and the best results were obtained with an initial slurry amount of 100 mgslurry/cm2sample. The effect of the Al vapor phase in the reaction chamber was then investigated by varying the mgslurry/cm3chamber ratio while keeping the slurry layer thickness constant at 100 mgslurry/cm2sample. This parameter influences the amount of Al at the substrate surface before the onset of solid-state diffusion, and the best results were obtained for a 6.50 mgslurry/cm3chamber ratio with the formation of 80 µm coatings (excluding the interdiffusion zone) with a β-NiAl phase throughout the thickness. To validate process flexibility, the same parameters were successfully applied to produce platinum-modified aluminides with a bi-phasic ζ-PtAl2 and β-(Ni,Pt)Al microstructure.