Alloys typically rely on the formation of an external scale for protection against high temperature aggressive environments. Furthermore, metallic components requiring an appreciable service life (e.g.
thousands of hours) in an oxidizing atmosphere at operating temperatures above approximately 700°C, typically contain sufficient additions of Cr, AI, and/or Si such that a protective Cr2O3, Al2O3, and/or
SiO2 scale forms on the component during operation. The vast majority of high temperature alloys are Cr2O3 formers which requires the diffusion of Cr to the alloy/scale interface to support the continued growth of the scale. The subsequent depletion of Cr in the alloy can be measured with various types of analytical equipment (e.g. an electron microprobe) and plotted as a function of distance from the alloy/scale interface; thereby producing a concentration profile. In this work, the depletion of Cr was
studied in six different high temperature alloys after exposure to laboratory air at 1050°C for 30 days (720 hours). The concentration profiles were determined and used to calculate an average effective
interdiffusion coefficient for Cr in each alloy. The characteristics of these profiles and the corresponding diffusion parameters are discussed in terms of alloy composition and oxidation kinetics.