Sulfidation properties of austenitic Fe-Mn and Fe-Mn-Al alloys under low sulfur vapor pressure (8 Pa) in the temperature range 873–1173 K

The sulfidation properties of austenitic Fe-Mn and Fe-Mn-Al alloys containing small amounts of carbon have been characterized with respect to the sulfidation kinetics, scale morphological development, structures, and composition of the sulfide phases. The alloys contained 21–40 wt. % Mn and 2.5–8 wt.% Al. The sulfide phase was monosulfide of manganese and iron containing the other metallic elements in solid solution. Two regimes of sulfidation categorized by slow and fast reaction rates were exhibited by all alloys when sulfidized in sulfur vapor at = 8 Pa and over the temperature range 873–1173 K. In the slow regime, a compact duplex -Mn(Fe)S/Fe(Mn)S scale evolved by a classical parabolic law associated with metal diffusion in scale. A porous microcrystalline mixed scale of the above sulfides evolved in the regime of rapid sulfidation by quasilinear kinetics associated with sulfur ingress through the porous scale.