Composition dependence of the kinetics and mechanisms of thermal oxidation of titanium-tantalum alloys

The oxidation behavior of titanium-tantalum alloys was investigated with respective concentrations of each element ranging from 0 to 100 wt.%. Alloys were exposed to argon-20% oxygen at 800 to 1400 C. The slowest oxidation rates were observed in alloys with 5--20% Ta. The oxidation kinetics of alloys containing less than approximately 40% Ta were approximately parabolic. Pure Ta exhibited nearly linear kinetics. Alloys containing 50% or more Ta exhibited paralinear kinetics. The activation energies for oxidation ranged between 232 kJ/mole for pure Ti and 119 kJ/mole for pure Ta, with the activation energies of the alloys falling between these values and generally decreasing with increasing Ta content. The activation energies for oxidation of the end members, Ti and Ta, agree well with published values for the activation energies for diffusion of oxygen in α-Ti and Ta. Scale formation in the alloys was found to be complex exhibiting various layers of Ti-, Ta-, and TiTa-oxides. The outermost layer of the oxidized alloys was predominantly rutile (TiO2). Beneath the TiO2 grew a variety of other oxides with the Ta content generally increasing with proximity to the metal-oxide interface. It was found that the most oxidation-resistant alloys had compositions falling between Ti-5Ta and Ti-15Ta. Although Ta stabilizes the β-phase of Ti, the kinetics of oxidation appeared to be rate limited by oxygen transport through the oxygen-stabilized α-phase. However, the kinetics are complicated by the formation of a complex oxide, which cracks periodically. Tantalum appears to increase the compositional range of oxygen-stabilized α-phase and reduces both the solubility of oxygen and diffusivity of Ti in the α- and β-phases