Oxidation of commercial, heat resistant alloys which are widely used in high temperature equipment has been studied for temperatures of 1,400-2,000°F (760-1 ,093°C), times up to one year, and O2 concentrations of 1-100% volume in O2-N2 mixtures at one atmosphere total pressure. The traditional method of reporting oxidation by weight change/area was found to measure only 10-20% of the total metal penetration by oxidation for many alloys. Most of the alloys formed a surface layer rich in Cr2O3 and experienced the majority of metal penetration by internal oxidation or void formation. Surface scale formation with the absence of internal oxidation was otlen observed for alloys which formed scales rich in Al2O3. These alloys tended to undergo very little internal oxidation, except during exposures to conditions of low temperatures and low 02 concentrations. Metal penetration and penetration rate depended upon exposure time with a parabolic time dependence. However, some of the alloys required up to 1,152 hr to approach a parabolic time dependence. The extent of penetration depended on temperature, O2 concentration, alloy, and time.
Keywords: commercial alloys, oxidation, temperature, O2 concentration, time dependence, maximum scaling temperature, internal oxidation