Effects of yttrium on wettability and interactions between molten superalloy and SiO₂-based ceramic core

In order to obtain high-quality superalloy castings, the wettability and interactions between superalloy melts with various Y contents and SiO₂-based ceramic cores were investigated at 1823 K. The results indicated that the wettability and interface reactions were affected by the content of Y in the alloy. For the alloys with Y content less than 0.011 wt%, no Y-oxide was found at the interface, but HfO₂, Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ phases were formed, and the wetting angle dropped slightly. However, different Y-oxides precipitated at the alloy-ceramic interface for the alloys with Y content more than 0.017 wt%, and the wetting angle dropped sharply. When the content of Y was 0.017 and 0.025 wt%, Al₂O₃, Y₃Al₂(AlO₄)₃, HfO₂ and ZrO₂ phases were formed at the interface. When the content of Y was 0.1 wt%, YAlO₃, Y₃Al₅O₁₂, Y₄Al₂O₉, HfO₂ and ZrO₂ phases were formed. The formation of different reaction products was mainly caused by the change of Y activity (a_Y) in the alloy. The reaction between Y and SiO₂ could improve the wettability of the system apparently.