Porosity analysis and oxidation behavior of plasma sprayed YSZ and YSZ/LaPO4 abradable thermal barrier coatings

In this research, the high temperature oxidation behavior, porosity, and microstructure of four abradable thermal barrier coatings (ATBCs) consisting of micro- and nanostructured YSZ, YSZ-10%LaPO₄, and YSZ-20%LaPO₄ coatings produced by atmospheric (APS) method were evaluated. Results show that the volume percentage of porosity in the coatings containing LaPO₄ was higher than the monolithic YSZ sample. It was probably due to less thermal conductivity of LaPO₄ phases. Furthermore, the results showed that the amount of the remaining porosity in the composite coatings was higher than the monolithic YSZ at 1000 °C for 120 h. After 120 h isothermal oxidation, the thickness of thermally growth oxide (TGO) layer in composite coatings was higher than that of YSZ coating due to higher porosity and sintering resistance of composite coatings. Finally, the isothermal oxidation resistance of conventional YSZ and nanostructured YSZ coating was investigated.     

Heat treatment effect on coating shock resistance of thermal barrier coating system with different types of bond coat

The effect of heat treatment, growth of the TGO layer, oxidation of bond coat, and the impact of the presence of two bond coats on the TBC's thermal shock resistance has been investigated experimentally. TGO oxide layers were created with two-time heat treatment of 12 and 24 h at 1000. Then the thermal shock test was performed on the APS/APS and HVOF/APS/APS samples. The results show that the use of two BCs and the presence of a thin TGO layer has a good effect on TBC performance. The presence of two BC layers increased the shock resistance by an average of 37.2%. 12 h heat treatment caused a 14.0% and 17.4% shock resistance increase in samples with the HVOF/APS/APS layer and APS/APS layer, respectively. 24 h heat treatment decreased the samples' performance by 6.7% and 10.2% for samples with two BC and one BC, respectively.     

Effect of functionally graded structure design on durability and thermal insulation capacity of plasma-sprayed thick thermal barrier coating

This paper aimed to design and optimize the structure of a thick thermal barrier coating by adding graded layers to achieve a balance between high thermal insulation capacity and durability. To this end, conventional TBC, conventional TTBC, and functionally graded TTBCs were deposited on the superalloy substrate by air plasma spraying. To determine the quality of the bond strength of the coatings, the bonding strength was measured. The durability of coatings was evaluated by isothermal oxidation and thermal shock tests. Then, at a temperature of 1000 °C, the thermal insulation capacity of the coatings was carried out. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the thickness of the TGO layer formed on the bond coat in the conventional TBC and TTBC under the oxidation test at 1000 °C after 150 h was 2.79 and 2.11 μm, respectively, whereas, in the functionally graded TTBC samples, no continuous TGO layer was observed as a result of internal oxidation. The functionally graded TTBC presented higher durability than conventional TTBC due to improved bonding strength, thermal shock resistance, and the lack of a TGO layer at the bond/top coat interface. Also, the thermal insulation capacity of the functionally graded TTBC (with 1000 μm thickness of YSZ coating) was better than TTBC.     

Thick thermal barrier coatings with different segmentation crack densities: Microstructure analysis and thermal oxidation behavior

Thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBCs) have been developed to increase the lifetime of hot section parts in gas turbines by increasing the thermal insulating function. The premeditated forming of segmentation cracks was found to be a valuable way for such an aim without adding a new layer. The TTBC introduced in the current study are coatings with nominal thickness ranging from 1 to 1.1 consisting of MCrAlY bond coat and 8YSZ top coat deposited by air plasma spray technique (APS). TTBCs with segmented crack densities of 0.65 mm^?1 (type-A) and 1 mm^?1 (type-B) were deposited on a superalloy substrate by adjusting the coating conditions. It was found that the substrate temperature has an influential role in creating the segmentation crack density. The crack density was found to increase with substrate temperature and liquid splat temperature. The two types of coatings (type-A and B) with different densities of segmentation crack were heat-treated at 1000 °C (up to 100 h) and 1100 °C (up to 500 h). The variation of hardness measured by indentation testing indicates a similar trend in both types of coatings after heat treatments at 1000 °C and 1100 °C. Weibull analysis of results demonstrates that higher preheating coating during the deposition results in a denser YSZ coating. The growth rate of TGO for TTBCs was evaluated for cyclic and isothermal oxidation routes at 1000 °C and 1100 °C. The TGO shows the parabolic trend for both two types of coatings. The Kps value for two oxidation types is between 5.84 × 10^?17 m²/s and 6.81 × 10^?17 m²/s. Besides, the type B coating endures a lifetime of more than 40 cycles at thermal cycling at 1000 °C.     

An isothermal oxidation behaviour of atmospheric plasma and high-velocity oxy-fuel sprayed nickel based coating

This paper describes the isothermal oxidation behaviour of NiCrBSiFe coatings on SS 316 L deposited by the atmospheric plasma (APS) and high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) processes. As-sprayed coatings were oxidised isothermally in the air at 900 °C temperature for 1000 h. The thermogravimetric analysis was performed to measure the oxidation rate. The coating and oxide scale characterisation was carried out using SEM, EDAX, XRD, porosity analysis, and nanoindentation. The HVOF sprayed NiCrBSiFe coating shows better oxidation resistance than the APS coating, due to high density, less porosity, and formation of more protective oxide scale.     

Effect of TGO Thickness on Thermal Cyclic Lifetime and Failure Mode of Plasma‐Sprayed TBCs

Gradient thermal cycling test was performed on atmospheric plasma‐sprayed (APS) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with different thermally grown oxide (TGO) thicknesses. The TBCs with a thickness of TGO from 1.3 μm to 7.7 μm were prepared by controlling isothermal oxidation time of cold‐sprayed MCrAlY bond coat. The gradient thermal cycling test was performed at a peak surface temperature of 1150°C with 150°C difference across 250 μm thick YSZ with a duration of 240 s for each cycle. Results indicate that the thermal cyclic lifetime of APS TBCs is significantly influenced by TGO thickness. When initial TGO thickness increases from 1.3 μm to 7.7 μm, the thermal cyclic lifetime decreases following a power functions by a factor of about 20. It was revealed that there exists a critical TGO thickness over which the thermal cyclic lifetime is reduced more significantly with the increase in TGO thickness. Moreover, two typical failure modes were observed. The failure mode changes from the cracking within APS YSZ at a TGO thickness less than the critical value to through YSZ/TGO interface at TGO thickness range higher than the critical value.     

Thermal shock behavior of a 8YSZ/CoCrAlYTaSi thermal sprayed barrier coating on GH202 superalloy

The thermal shock behavior of a thermal barrier coating (TBC) prepared by plasma spraying at 1100 °C was investigated. The TBC consisted of a double layer structure of 8YSZ/CoCrAlYTaSi. The morphology, microstructure, phases and the elemental distribution of the TBCs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA). The characterization results showed that the film consisted primarily of metastable tetragonal phases (t′), and a large number of micro-cracks were present in the 8YSZ crystals. Following eighty-six thermal shock cycles of the specimens a large areal spallation was observed on the 8YSZ coating. The decreased concentration of yttrium at the coating interfaces weakened the inhibition of crystal growth and the phase transition of the Al₂O₃. The growth of TGO (Thermal growth oxide) and the diffusion into the 8YSZ coating produced deformation and stress in the ceramic coating. Tantalum appeared to absorb the oxygen that diffused into the coatings and delayed the growth of TGO in the interface between the CoCrAlYTaSi and substrate, which was beneficial to prolonging the life of the TBC.     

Effect of CeO2 doping on high temperature oxidation resistance of YSZ TBCs

In the present work, YSZ TBCs and 10 wt% CeO₂-doped YSZ thermal barrier coatings (CeYSZ TBCs) were prepared via atmospheric plasma spraying(APS) respectively, whereupon high temperature oxidation experiment was carried out at 1100 °C to compare the high temperature oxidation behavior and mechanism of the two TBCs. The results showed that the doping of CeO₂ reduced the porosity of YSZ TBCs by 23%, resulting in smaller oxidation weight gain and lower TGO growth rates for CeYSZ TBCs. Besides, the TGO generated in CeYSZ TBCs was obviously thinner and there were fewer defects inside it. For YSZ TBCs, as the oxidation process proceeded, Al, Cr, Co and Ni elements in the bonding coating were oxidized successively to form loose and porous spinel type oxides (CS), which was apt to cause the spalling failure of TBCs. While, the Al₂O₃ layer of the TGO generated in CeYSZ TBCs ruptured later than that in YSZ TBCs, which delayed the oxidation of Cr, Co, and Ni elements and the formation of CS accordingly. Therefore, CeO₂ doping can effectively improve the high temperature oxidation resistance of YSZ TBCs.     

Isothermal Oxidation Behavior of Gd2Zr2O7/YSZ Multilayered Thermal Barrier Coatings

Efficiency of a gas turbine can be increased by increasing the operating temperature. Yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the standard thermal barrier coating (TBC) material used in gas turbine applications. However, above 1200°C, YSZ undergoes significant sintering and CMAS (calcium magnesium alumino silicate) infiltration. New ceramic materials of rare earth zirconate composition such as gadolinium zirconate (GZ) are promising candidates for thermal barrier coating applications (TBC) above 1200°C. Suspension plasma spray of single‐layer YSZ, double‐layer GZ/YSZ, and a triple‐layer TBC comprising denser GZ on top of GZ/YSZ TBC was attempted. The overall coating thickness in all three TBCs was kept the same. Isothermal oxidation performance of the three TBCs along with bare substrate and bond‐coated substrate was investigated for time intervals of 10 h, 50 h, and 100 h at 1150°C in air environment. Weight gain/loss analysis was carried out by sensitive weighing balance. Microstructural analysis was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As‐sprayed single‐layer YSZ and double‐layer GZ/YSZ showed columnar microstructure, whereas the denser layer in the triple‐layer TBC was not columnar. Phase analysis of the top surface of as‐sprayed TBCs was carried out using XRD. Porosity measurements were made by water intrusion method. In the weight gain analysis and SEM analysis, multilayered TBCs showed lower weight gain and lower TGO thickness compared to single‐layer YSZ.     

Evaluation of mechanical properties of YSZ TBCs doped by different ratios of Eu3+ ions after isothermal oxidation

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are essential to improve the thermal insulation performance of high-temperature components. Rare earth element (Eu³⁺) doped yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs have been proved to be an ideal solution for non-destructive testing of internal damages. Based on this theory, two types of coatings deposited by air plasma spray (APS) on Hastelloy-X were investigated: (1) Eu³⁺ doped YSZ (dopant ratios 1 mol%, 2 mol%, 4 mol%, respectively), (2) traditional undoped 8YSZ. Isothermal oxidation treatment at 1100 °C, in increments of 10h until the failure of the coatings are conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of different coatings. The microscopic morphology and phase of the coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, respectively. The indentation testing methods were used to study the apparent interfacial fracture toughness and the hardness of the ceramic top coat. Results show that the Vickers hardness of the top coat increases with the decrease of porosity in the early stage and then decreases with the heat treatment time increasing in the long-term stage. Simultaneously, compared with the undoped 8YSZ coating, the fracture toughness increased with the dopant of Eu³⁺ ions increasing, from 1 mol% to 2 mol%, nevertheless, that of 4 mol% Eu³⁺ doped YSZ decreased compared with in the undoped 8 YSZ. For all types of specimens, the interfacial fracture toughness decreases with the increase of isothermal oxidation time. Results also indicate that the content of Eu³⁺ doping does not affect the microstructure and interfacial morphology of the YSZ coating as well as the growth law of thermally grown oxides (TGO). Furthermore, EDS detection found that the Eu³⁺ ions almost do not diffuse inside the TBCs system after isothermal oxidation treatment.     

Oxidation kinetics of atmospheric plasma sprayed environmental barrier coatings

Three different Si/Yb-silicate environmental barrier coating systems (EBCs) were atmospheric plasma sprayed using various spray currents (275, 325, 375 A) for Yb-silicate deposition. The EBCs were thermally cycled between room temperature and 1300 °C up to 1000 h in air. Additionally, bare Si coatings were tested under isothermal and thermal cycling conditions in the as-sprayed state and after polishing at 1300 °C in air. Parabolic oxidation kinetics were observed and oxidation protection provided by Yb-silicate was found to be influenced by the spray conditions, i.e. only at 325 A, Yb-silicate was effectively protecting the bond coat. The controlling mechanism was attributed to densification in the Yb-silicate layer during thermal cycling, which was quantified via image analysis. The surface finish of the Si coating was also found to be influencing the oxidation rate. The TGO was thinner and less cracked on polished APS Si coating in comparison with the as-sprayed Si coating surface.     

Anisotropic mechanical properties and contact damage in air-plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings with bond coating nature and thermal exposure condition

The anisotropic mechanical properties and contact damage of air-plasma-sprayed (APS) zirconia-based thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been investigated using Vickers and Hertzian indentation tests as functions of the nature of the bond coating and the degree of thermal exposure. The hardness values of the TBC systems are dependent on the applied load at relatively low loads, and became saturated at a load of 30 N, independent of the nature of the bond coating or the degree of exposure. The values of the top coating obtained on the top surface from the Vickers indentation tests were higher than those on the sectional plane, indicating that there is an anisotropic strain behavior due to the microstructure. The regions near to the interface of the top coating and the thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer show higher values after thermal exposure, whereas the values of the APS bond coating increased and the indentation values of the high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) sprayed bond coating slightly decreased after thermal exposure, owing to resintering and element deficiency during thermal exposure, respectively. In contact damage tests, the TBC system with the HVOF bond coating showed less damage than the TBC system with the APS bond coating. The shape of the damage was different between the two systems. After thermal exposure, the damage was reduced in both TBC systems, and the cracking or delamination formed at the regions near to the interface of the top coating and the TGO layer in both TBC systems.     

Effect of segmented cracks on TGO growth and life of thick thermal barrier coating under isothermal oxidation conditions

This paper is devoted to a comparative study on the isothermal oxidation of thick thermal barrier coating (TTBC) with and without segmented cracks produced by atmospheric plasma spray (APS) process. Accordingly, the growth of thermally grown oxide (TGO) and its effect on the degradation of the coating were investigated. Thick top coat in both segmented crack and conventional thick TBC reduced the double layered TGO growth rate slightly. The segmented crack thick TBC demonstrated longer isothermal oxidation life in comparison with that of the conventional thick TBC at 1100 °C. The dominant failure mechanism was spallation due to lateral cracking within the TGO and/or within TBC near the TGO layer, called mixed failure. Stress, and consequently strain, induced on the TTBC due to progressive TGO growth, seems to be primarily responsible for the crack initiation and propagation leading to the coating failure. Increment of elastic energy stored within the top coat due to the increasing of TGO thickness, finally causes thick thermal barrier coating failure in high temperature isothermal oxidation.     

Structural characteristics and high-temperature oxidation behaviour of nano-HfO2-doped thermal barrier coatings

The uneven growth of thermally grown oxides (TGOs) in thermal barrier coating systems is an important cause of cracking failure at the coating interface in high-temperature environments. The doping of rare earth elements in the bonding layer can effectively inhibit the formation of spinel oxides in the TGO and improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating. However, a single rare earth element has a limited effect on inhibiting TGO failure. In this study, a NiCoCrAlYHf coating was prepared using a supersonic flame spraying (HVOF) technique. The effects of HfO₂ doping on the high-temperature oxidation behaviour of the coatings and diffusion behaviour of metallic elements in the coatings were investigated at 1100 °C. The results showed that the nano-sized HfO₂ filled the pores between the powder particles and improved the hardness of the coating. During the high-temperature oxidation process, the oxides formed by Hf and Y had a large size and low solubility, which effectively blocked the diffusion of Al. This slowed the generation of spinel oxides, effectively inhibited the growth of the TGO, it inhibits the initiation and propagation of cracks within the coating, reduces damage to the coating from tensile and compressive stresses at the interface, and improved the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating.     

Local residual stress evolution of highly irregular thermally grown oxide layer in thermal barrier coatings

Local residual stress in thermally grown oxide (TGO) layers is the primary cause of failure of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems, especially TBCs prepared by air plasma spray (APS) with a highly irregular TGO. Herein, the distribution of residual stress and the evolution of the irregular TGO layer in APS TBCs were investigated as a function of oxidation time. The stress was measured from cross-sectional micrographs and converted to the actual stress inside the coatings before sectioning. The TGO exhibited significant inhomogeneity at different locations. Stress conversion occurred across the TGO thickness; the layer near the yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) component exhibited compressive stress, whereas that along the bond coat was under tensile stress. The evolution of the compressive stress is also discussed. These analyses may provide a better understanding of the mechanism of APS TBCs.     

Experimental and numerical life evaluation of TBCs with different BC and diffusion coating under cyclic thermal loading

This paper experimentally and numerically investigates the thermally grown oxide (TGO), lifetime, and stress values in thermal barrier coatings with different bond coat (BC), without top coat (TC), and diffusion coating under cyclic thermal loading. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis shows that the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) and high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) fabricated sample has the highest and lowest TGO thickness and growth rate, respectively. The new coating with two BCs has a maximum lifetime of 102 cycles. After that, the lifetime of the coatings with HVOF-BC, diffusion coating, and APS-BC reach 84, 56, and 44 cycles, respectively. The diffusion coating does not have much effect on the TGO thickness; however, it delays the Al interdiffusion to the substrate. In the sample without the TC layer, oxygen contact with the BC layer has increased, leading to a rise in the BC oxidation rate. The numerical analysis of the stress values based on SEM images shows that the more intense TGO layer growth in APS coating caused an increase in TC layer stress values. Furthermore, the results show that the new coating with two-layer BC has the lowest stress values. The TC absence causes the loss of compressive stresses caused by TC on TGO and increases the tensile stress values in this layer.     

Studies on nanotribological and oxidation resistance properties of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), alumina (Al2O3) based thin films developed by pulsed laser deposition

The present study aims at a detailed evaluation of mechanical, tribological, and high temperature oxidation resistance (at 1000 °C under isothermal condition) properties of YSZ, and Al₂O₃ based thin films developed by pulsed laser deposition technique. The mechanical and tribological properties of YSZ and Al₂O₃ thin films showed significant improvement with increasing the deposition temperature during pulsed laser deposition process. The kinetics of oxidation was reduced due to pulsed laser deposition and Al₂O₃ coating offered a superior oxidation resistance property as compared to YSZ coating. However, the deposition temperature has no significant effect in reducing the TGO growth rate of the pulsed laser deposited thin films.     

CMAS corrosion of YSZ thermal barrier coatings obtained by different thermal spray processes

Degradation of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layers by molten CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (CMAS)-based deposits is an important failure mode of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems in modern gas turbines. The present work aimed to understand how the chemical purity and microstructure of plasma-sprayed YSZ layers affect their response to CMAS corrosion. To this end, isothermal corrosion tests (1 h at 1250 °C) were performed on four different kinds of YSZ coatings: atmospheric plasma-sprayed (APS) layers obtained from standard- and high-purity feedstock powders, a dense – vertically cracked (DVC) layer, and a suspension plasma sprayed (SPS) one. Characterization of corroded and non-corroded samples by FEG-SEM, EBSD and micro-Raman spectroscopy techniques reveals that, whilst all YSZ samples suffered grain-boundary corrosion by molten CMAS, its extent could vary considerably. High chemical purity limits the extent of grain-boundary dissolution by molten CMAS, whereas high porosity and/or fine crystalline grain structure lead to more severe degradation.     

Microstructure evolution of Al-modified 7YSZ PS-PVD TBCs in thermal cycle

The PS-PVD method was used to prepare 7YSZ thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and NiCrAlY bond coatings on a DZ40 M substrate. To prevent oxidation of the coating, magnetron sputtering was used to modify the surface of TBCs with an Al film. To explore the stability of TBCs during thermal cycling, water quenching was performed at 1100 °C, and ultralong air cooling for 16,000 cycles was performed. The results showed that before water quenching and air cooling, the top surface structure of the 7YSZ TBCs changed. After water quenching, the surface of the Al film was scoured and broken, the surface peeled off layer-by-layer, and cracks formed at the interface between the thermally grown oxide and NiCrAlY. During air cooling of the thermal cycle, the Al film reacted with O₂ in the air to form a dense Al₂O₃ top layer that coated the cauliflower-like 7YSZ surface and maintained the feather-like shape. At the same time, the TGO layer between 7YSZ and NiCrAlY grew and cracked. The two thermal cycles of water quenching and air cooling led to different failure mechanisms of TBCs. Water quenching failure was caused by layer-by-layer failure of the 7YSZ top coat, while air cooling failure occurred due to the internal cracking of the TGO layer at the 7YSZ/NiCrAlY interface and the failure of the TGO/NiCrAlY interface.     

Preoxidation of bond coat in IN-738LC/NiCrAlY/LaMgAl11O19 thermal barrier coating system

The low thickness of thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer and presence of amorphous phase in the as-sprayed LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ (LaMA) coating reduce the thermal cycling lifetime of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). In the present study, the as-sprayed Ni-22Cr-10Al-1.0Y bond coat was preoxidized at 1060?°C to produce a continuous oxide scale prior to subsequent deposition of the ceramic top coat. The optimum time of peroxidation treatment and thickness of the continuous aluminum oxide layer were estimated 15?h and 2?µm respectively. The oxidized layer due to the preoxidation treatment of bond coating reduces the amorphous phase in as-sprayed LaMA coating and increases the microhardness of LaMA coating from approximately 600 to 900HV. Also, preoxidation of the NiCrAlY bond coating increases adhesion strength of the LaMA top coating, even slightly more than the adhesion strength of the as-spray 8YSZ coating. The LaMA coatings have a lower hardness in compared with the 8YSZ coating (~ 1010Hv), which results a better elastic behavior.