The present work is focused on the consequences of oxidation at 950°C on the nature of a chromium-depleted area in Ni-based alloys. Two classes of alloys were analysed : low chromium Ni-Cr alloys and a typical chromia-former Ni-16Cr-9Fe.A complete description of the mechanisms of nodular oxidation is obtained from the development of both the Wagner’s analytical model of internal oxidation and the Feulvarch’s numerical model. These models describe the evolution of nodular oxidation up to the transition between internal to external oxidation which happens at around 11 wt%Cr.Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) measurements on a model Ni-16Cr-9Fe alloy oxidised at 950°C during 10 hours has allowed a detailed analysis in the immediate vicinity of the oxide/alloy interface and resulted in a very low Cr content in first 20 nm of the subsurface layer. This result is in agreement with Wagner’s theory of external oxidation of binary alloys. Higher oxidation times, from 100h to 5000h, have resulted in extensive cavitation and chromium depletion, both quantified respectively by image analysis and EDX. These profiles appear to be strongly correlated (same parabolic constant). Higher oxidation times result in an inflection point on chromium depletion profile and higher Cr interface content, which are due to the increased chromium diffusivity. The overall results are interpreted in the frame of a new analytical model based on the assumption of Kirkendall vacancy injection at the inflection point.
