Application of combinatorial materials science methods to model alloys for the understanding of phase stabilities, oxidation behavior and atomic mobility in Ni- and Co-base superalloys

This dissertation deals with superalloys. Due to the complex chemical composition, the development of new superalloys using conventional methods is time-consuming and cost-intensive. Here, the methods of combinatorial materials science enable the development effort to be reduced by efficiently investigating large compositional ranges in multicomponent alloy systems. Combinatorial materials science methods have been used to investigate phase stabilities, oxidation properties, as well as atomic mobilities in superalloy model systems. In several cases, it was shown that findings from thin film experiments are transferable to bulk alloys. Previously unknown compositional ranges were explored. New in-situ methods led to a better understanding of diffusion behavior and diffusion-induced phase formation in superalloy subsystems.