Investigation of wetting behavior of Cr–Mn–Ni steels on hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrate

• Published in: Ceramics international 2022-02, Vol.48 (3), p.3771-3778
• Main Authors: Chebykin, Dmitry, Dubberstein, Tobias, Heller, Hans-Peter, Fabrichnaya, Olga, Volkova, Olena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Contact angle; Reactive system; Thermodynamics; TRIP/TWIP; Wetting behavior
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.10.160

The present study investigates the wetting behavior of Cr–Mn–Ni-alloys with TRIP/TWIP-effects on the hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrate using the sessile drop method. The wetting behavior was studied in a 90 vol% N2/10 vol% H2 atmosphere in the temperature range of 1500 °C–1600 °C. Experiments were conducted in the reactive steel/ceramic system. Results demonstrate the effect of the nickel and the sulfur content on the contact angle between hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrates and Cr–Mn–Ni-alloys. The increase in the nickel content from 3 to 9 mass% caused the increase of the contact angle from 129 to 138° at 1600 °C. Whereas, the increase in the sulfur content caused the decrease of the contact angle. The contact angle of the melts alloyed with the sulfur increases as the temperature rises. The increase in the contact angle was related to the evaporation of the manganese. In addition, the study discusses the chemical reaction between the hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrate and Cr–Mn–Ni-alloys through (i) SEM-EDX investigations and (ii) thermodynamic calculations. The SEM-EDX analysis of the steel/ceramic interface shows the chemical degradation of the hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrate. As a result of the reaction, a transition layer with a thickness of around 0.7 mm was formed in the hBN-SiC-ZrO2-substrate. To characterize the chemical reaction, thermodynamic calculations were conducted using the Thermo-Calc software. Results show that the chemical reaction was caused by the chemical instability of the SiC with regard to elements in Cr–Mn–Ni-alloys.