Oxidation of iron at 600 °C – experiments and simulations

Pure iron has been oxidized at 600 °C and 1 bar in dry O2 (oxygen partial pressure 0.05, bal. N2) and the mass gain as well as the thicknesses of the individual oxide phases have been measured. The oxidation process has been simulated using a modified version of the homogenization model as implemented in Dictra; this has helped to rationalize the kinetics of oxide scale formation and in particular the evolution of the hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and wustite (FeO) which form. Independently assessed thermodynamic and kinetic Calphad databases are needed for the calculations; details of these are given. Reasonable agreement between simulation results and experimental data is obtained, though it is concluded that the large influence of grain boundary diffusion on the oxidation rate needs further consideration.