Systematic Assessment of the Influence of Mo Concentration on the Oxygen Ingress in Ti–Mo System During High Temperature Oxidation

To understand the role of composition in the oxidation behavior of Ti–Mo system and to evaluate the extent of oxygen ingress into the metal substrate during high temperature exposure, a compositionally graded Ti–xMo specimen (0 ≤ x ≤ 12 wt% Mo) was prepared using an additive manufacturing technique, solutionized and then subjected to oxidation tests at 650 °C for different exposure times. The depth of oxygen diffusion, across the composition range, was assessed via change in the local hardness and the results were coupled with quantitative measurement of the oxygen concentration. The concentration of O in the α phase was reduced by 90 % after a short distance of 16 μm from the metal/oxide interface while it remained more or less the same in β phase. The solubility of Mo in α phase also approached zero near the surface as O changed the partition coefficient of this element between α and β phases. It was shown that the addition of Mo reduces the solubility of O in the metal substrate which in turn retards the transition point from parabolic to the linear oxidation stage.