Comparative study of water vapor corrosion resistance in directionally solidified RE3Al5O12/Al2O3 eutectic ceramics at 1500&#x000B0;C: Effect of eutectic structure and rare earth elements

Cui Zhou; Zhilin Tian; Liya Zheng; Sikai Wang; Tiefeng Du; Jiemin Wang; Bin Yang; Min Guo; Luchao Sun; Jingyang Wang

doi:10.1016/j.exm.2026.100021

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Extreme Materials ›› 2026, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (1) : 58-68. DOI: 10.1016/j.exm.2026.100021

Comparative study of water vapor corrosion resistance in directionally solidified RE₃Al₅O₁₂/Al₂O₃ eutectic ceramics at 1500°C: Effect of eutectic structure and rare earth elements

Cui Zhou ^a^,^b ,
Zhilin Tian ^c ,
Liya Zheng ^c ,
Sikai Wang ^b^,^d ,
Tiefeng Du ^b ,
Jiemin Wang ^b ,
Bin Yang ^b ,
Min Guo ^e ,
Luchao Sun ^b^,^* ,
Jingyang Wang ^b^,^*

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Abstract

Al₂O₃-based directionally solidified eutectic (DSE) ceramics are recognized as promising candidates for high-temperature structural materials in advanced aeroengines. Nevertheless, their corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures continues to pose a critical challenge, limiting broader application in hot-section components. This study investigates corrosion behavior of RE₃Al₅O₁₂ (REAG)/Al₂O₃ (RE = rare earth) DSE ceramics in water vapor atmosphere (90 H₂O(g) + 10 vol% air(g)) at 1500°C for durations up to 200 h, with focus on the influence of eutectic structure and RE elements in garnet phases via examining three samples (high-entropy (Y_0.2Gd_0.2Ho_0.2Er_0.2Yb_0.2)₃Al₅O₁₂ DSEs fabricated at 10 and 300 mm/h and YAG/Al₂O₃ DSE grown at 10 mm/h). The results indicate that REAG/Al₂O₃ DSE ceramics exhibit excellent water vapor corrosion resistance at 1500°C for up to 200 h, with mass loss values ranging from −0.00757 to −0.00708 mg·cm⁻²·mg⁻¹. During corrosion, Al₂O₃ phase acts as corrosion-susceptible component compared to REAG phase, with corrosion depth showing a nearly linear relationship with the average Al₂O₃ lamellar width. In addition, garnet phases experience slight grain growth, reducing the contact area between water vapor and Al₂O₃ phase; Gd demonstrates the slowest diffusion rate when compared to other RE elements. Despite these changes, all samples maintain their preferred crystallographic orientations, confirming the structural stability of REAG/Al₂O₃ DSEs under water vapor atmosphere at 1500°C.

Key words

Water vapor corrosion / RE₃Al₅O₁₂/Al₂O₃ / Eutectic ceramic / Directional solidification

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Cui Zhou , Zhilin Tian , Liya Zheng , et al . Comparative study of water vapor corrosion resistance in directionally solidified RE₃Al₅O₁₂/Al₂O₃ eutectic ceramics at 1500°C: Effect of eutectic structure and rare earth elements[J]. Extreme Materials. 2026, 2(1): 58-68 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exm.2026.100021

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Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

Thanks for supports from the National Key R&D Program of China (2024YFB3714504); National Natural Science Foundation of China (52130204, U21A2063); LiaoNing Revitalization Talents Program (XLYC2203090); International Partnership Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (172GJHZ2022094FN).