Research article

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

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  • a Institute of Coating Technology for Hydrogen Gas Turbines, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang 110016, China

    b Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
    c School of Materials, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
    d School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
    e State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China

Received date: 2025-11-21

  Revised date: 2026-03-05

  Accepted date: 2026-03-07

  Online published: 2026-03-12

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 vol.% H2O(g) + 10 vol.% air(g)) at 1500℃ for durations up to 200 hours, with focus on the influence of eutectic structure and RE elements in garnet phases via examining three samples (high-entropy (Y0.2Gd0.2Ho0.2Er0.2Yb0.2)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 hours, 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 marginally lower stability 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℃.

Cite this article

Cui Zhou, Zhilin Tian, Liya Zheng, Sikai Wang, Tiefeng Du, Jiemin Wang, Bin Yang, Min Guo, Luchao Sun, Jingyang Wang . Comparative study of water vapor corrosion resistance in directionally solidified RE3Al5O12/Al2O3 eutectic ceramics at 1500℃: Effect of eutectic structure and rare earth elements[J]. Extreme Materials, 2026 , 2(1) : 58 -68 . DOI: 10.1016/j.exm.2026.100021

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