Oxidation Resistance of the Aluminide Coating Formed on Carbon Steels

Low and medium carbon steels were aluminized by the pack aluminizing technique using halideactivated pure-Al and Fe-Al packs. The effect of mixture composition, aluminizing temperatureand time and C content of the steel substrate on the structure and thickness of the aluminidelayer, and on the oxidation resistance was investigated. The optimum oxidation resistance canbe achieved with a low carbon steel substrate when the intermetallic phases Fe3Al and FeAlform the surface of the aluminide layer. In this case, the Al concentration at the surface of thealuminide coating is at least ≥15 wt pct. Formation of high Al concentration phases (FeAl3 andFe2Al5) during aluminizing should be avoided as they tend to embrittle the aluminide layer andreduce its oxidation resistance.