High Temperature Corrosion Evaluation of Porous Hastelloy X Alloy in Air and Humidified Hydrogen Atmospheres

In this work a commercially available porous Hastelloy X alloy is characterized in terms of high temperature corrosion resistance. The alloy was oxidized in the temperature range from 500°C to 900°C in air and humidified hydrogen for 100 hours. Corrosion rates and porosity changes were measured. Microstructural characterization was performed using X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Results show that porous alloys oxidize rapidly even for the relatively short time of the study. Long term operation in fuel cell conditions seems feasible especially in hydrogen atmosphere at temperatures preferably not exceeding 700°C.