In this dissertation, the high temperature oxidation of three hot work tool steels (Dievar, UTOPMO1 and W600) was investigated. These steels are mainly used in the heat-treated conditions; therefore, the high temperature oxidation of these steels was investigated in two thermal conditions, namely, the soft-annealed and the heat-treated. First, calculations of the equilibrium compositions of the oxide layers formed were carried out by thermodynamic modelling using the CALPHAD method. Then, half of the samples were oxidised in a chamber furnace and the rest in a STA device. The samples from the chamber furnace were used for metallographic analysis of the composition, thickness, and other properties of the oxide layers formed. Others were used for analysis of the kinetics of high-temperature oxidation by thermogravimetric analysis. At the same time, we also performed XRD analysis to determine the oxides formed in the oxide layers. Based on all collected results, we created thermodynamic models for each analysed steel at an individual temperature. These models describe the kinetics of high temperature oxidation, which is additionally explained and described using the collected results of other analyses (SEM, XRD, Thermo-Calc, etc.). Since we simulated real conditions, the model consists of two parts, the first reflecting the kinetics of oxidation under heating conditions and the second under isothermal conditions. The kinetics of the studied steels can be described by three mathematical functions, namely: exponential, parabolic, and cubic. However, which function best describes the kinetics depends on the oxidation temperature and the chemical composition of the steel. In fact, it was found that the added alloying elements have a great influence on the oxidation kinetics. At the same time, the heat treatment conditions also affect the kinetics. It also matters whether the heating takes place in a protective atmosphere or not. This is because, as has been shown, the oxide layer formed during heating influences the oxidation kinetics under isothermal conditions.
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