Oxidation behavior of molybdenum silicides and their composites

A key materials issue associated with the future of high-temperature structural silicides is the resistance of these materials to oxidation at low temperatures. Oxidation tests were conducted on Mo-based silicides over a wide temperature range to evaluate the effects of alloy composition and temperature on the protective scaling characteristics and pesting regime for the materials. The study included Mo5Si3 alloys that contained several concentrations of B. In addition, oxidation characteristics of MoSi2–Si3N4 composites that contained 20–80 vol.% Si3N4 were evaluated at 500–1400°C.