Thermal cycling behavior and interfacial stability in thick thermal barrier coatings

The thermal cycling behavior of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), which were prepared by two different air-plasma spray (APS) guns of 9 MB and TriplexPro™-200, was investigated to understand the effects of the microstructure on the interfacial stability and fracture behavior of TBCs. The porosities of the top coats could be controlled by changing the gun, showing porosity of about 15% using the 9 MB and 19% using the TriplexPro™-200, which decreased slightly with thermal exposure. Defects, such as interlamellar cracks, vertical cracks, and intrasplat cracks, were freshly produced in both TBCs after thermal exposure, showing delamination in the case of 2000 μm TBCs prepared using the TriplexPro™-200. The adhesive strength values of TBCs with 600 and 2000 μm thicknesses were about 8 and 6 MPa, respectively, indicating that the adhesive strength values of TBCs were affected by the coating thickness, independent of the gun. The hardness values increased after thermal exposure, and the TBCs prepared using the TriplexPro™-200 showed higher values than those prepared using the 9 MB for both thicknesses. The toughness values were not dependent on the gun, only showing an effect from coating thickness. The increase in coating thickness enhanced the densification, resulting in higher hardness and toughness values, and the microstructure could be controlled by changing the gun.     

Evidence of accelerated thermal cycling test schedules influencing the ranking of zirconia-base thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) often encounter temperature cycling in the course of normal operation. In the absence of actual or simulated engine test facilities, accelerated furnace thermal cycling experiments are frequently devised to evaluate the response of various TBCs. This study, which deals with yttria-stabilized and magnesia-stabilized zirconia systems, shows that the performance of a TBC is significantly governed by the severity of the time-temperature schedule employed. More importantly, the ranking of the two zirconia-base TBCs also is influenced by the adopted thermal cycling test schedule. These findings have ramifications in the design of suitable accelerated tests for TBC evaluation.     

铜基材上热障涂层的激光熔敷

采用5kW连续CO2激光热源实现了在铜基材上熔敷热障涂层，得到元孔隙、与基体冶金结合的密实ZrO2陶瓷层。发现在ZrO2／NiCoCrAlY界面上生成了A12O3等氧化物中间层。NiCoCrAlY结合层由胸状晶、胞状枝晶及枝晶组成，其中γ′和β强化相的析出使显微硬度值显著提高。针对TiO2—A1添加剂可以避免裂纹产生，提出陶瓷涂层高温化学反应机制和添加剂中钛在晶界间扩散结合机制。     

Thermal cyclic behavior of air plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings sprayed on stainless steel substrates

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were deposited by an Air Plasma Spraying (APS) technique. The coating comprised of 93 wt.% ZrO₂ and 7 wt.% Y₂O₃ (YSZ); CoNiCrAlY bond coat; and AISI 316L stainless steels substrate. Thermal cyclic lives of the TBC were determined as a function of bond coat surface roughness, thickness of the coating and the final deposition temperature. Two types of thermal shock tests were performed over the specimens, firstly holding of specimens at 1020 °C for 5 min and then water quenching. The other test consisted of holding of specimens at the same temperature for 4 min and then forced air quenching. In both of the cases the samples were directly pushed into the furnace at 1020 °C. It was observed that the final deposition temperature has great impact over the thermal shock life. The results were more prominent in forced air quenching tests, where the lives of the TBCs were observed more than 500 cycles (at 10% spalling). It was noticed that with increase of TBC's thickness the thermal shock life of the specimens significantly decreased. Further, the bond coat surface roughness varied by employing intermediate grit blasting just after the bond coat spray. It was observed that with decrease in bond coat roughness, the thermal shock life decreased slightly. The results are discussed in terms of residual stresses, determined by hole drill method.     

DD90单晶高温合金热障涂层抗氧化及热循环性能

在第3代单晶高温合金DD90上制备热障涂层,采用超音速火焰喷涂(HVOF)制备NiCrAlY+NiCoCrAlTaY双层结构的粘结层,大气等离子喷涂(APS)制备YSZ和MSZ/YSZ结构的陶瓷层。在1150℃抗氧化试验中,YSZ涂层增重量明显高于MSZ涂层。在1200℃热循环250次后,2种涂层没有发生明显相变,MSZ涂层抗烧结性更优异。2种涂层TGO主要由Al₂O₃及少量尖晶石结构的混合氧化物组成。双层粘结层减少了Al元素向基材的扩散,而Cr元素由于浓度梯度扩散导致拓扑密堆(tcp)相的析出及二次反应区(SRZ)深度的增加。     

Non-destructive evaluation of plasma sprayed functionally graded thermal barrier coatings

Acoustic emission (AE) as a non-destructive evaluation technique has recently been used in a number of studies to investigate the performance and failure behavior of plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings. The mechanism of coating failure is complex, especially when considering the composite nature of the coating. In the present paper, the thermal shock tests with in situ acoustic emission are used to study the cracking behavior of plasma sprayed functionally graded thermal barrier coatings. Each thermal cycle consists of 8 min heating in the furnace at 1000°C and 8 min cooling from 1000°C to the room temperature by a compressed air jet. The AE signals are recorded during the quench stage. Three, four and five layer functionally graded coatings have been tested. The results show that the five layer functionally graded coatings appear to have the best thermal shock resistance in the specimens tested, because of the gradual changes in material properties. Higher AE energy counts and cumulative counts recorded by the tests are associated with the macro-crack initiation and growth. On the other hand, micro cracking and phase transformation only give rise to lower AE signals.     

Influence of thermal shock on insulation effect of nano-multilayer thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with nano-multilayer structure were investigated by thermal shock test. The change of insulation effect during thermal shock test was studied by in-situ temperature monitor with a thermal couple set into the substrate. Microstructure and electrical properties of TBCs were characterized by SEM and Impedance Spectroscopy, respectively. Initial increase in insulation effect was observed and related to the formation and growth of perpendicular microcracks in top coat and transversal microcracks in TGO. With thermal shock, the insulation effect decreased due to the further growth of microcracks in top coat and TGO which induced the failure of TBCs.     

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy for contamination removal on engine-run thermal barrier coatings

A method for cleaning thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) contaminated during engine operation has been developed using laser ablation. Surface contamination on the turbine blades hinders nondestructive remaining life evaluation using photoluminescence piezospectroscopy (PLPS). Real time monitoring of the removed material is employed to prevent damage to the underlying coating. This method relies on laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to compute the cross correlation coefficient between the spectral emissions of a sample TBC that is contaminated and a reference clean TBC. The ablation process is stopped when the LIBS signal indicates the presence of the underlying TBC. It is shown that it is possible to remove targeted contaminants and cease ablation at top surface of the TBC. Subsequent microscopy images and PLPS measurements indicate that the integrity of the TBC has been maintained during the removal of surface contaminants.     

无冷却喷涂工艺对其制备的热障涂层的裂纹系统和寿命的影响

无冷却喷涂形成的热障涂层裂纹体系,可提高陶瓷顶层应变容限.但目前缺乏对裂纹体系的系统研究,特别是横向分叉裂纹.因此,文中研究送粉率和基体预热温度对陶瓷顶层裂纹系统的定量影响,并比较不同裂纹系统的热循环寿命.结果表明,增加送粉率,垂直裂纹密度和横向分叉裂纹长度均呈现先大后小的趋势.预热温度的提高可增加涂层中垂直裂纹数量,但横向分叉裂纹长度呈现先增后降的趋势.热循环试验表明,维持一定垂直裂纹的同时,降低横向分叉裂纹可提高涂层热循环寿命.     

Overview of thermal barrier coatings in diesel engines

An understanding of delamination mechanisms in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) has been developed for diesel engine applications through rig tests, structural analysis modeling, nondestructive evaluation, and engine evaluation of various TBCs. This knowledge has resulted in improved TBCs that survive se-vere cyclic fatigue tests in high-output diesel engines. Although much conflicting literature now exists regarding the impact of TBCs on engine performance and fuel consumption, changes in fuel consumption appear to be less than a few percent and can be nega-tive for state-of-the-art diesel engines. The ability of the TBC to improve fuel economy depends on a num-ber of factors, including the fuel injection system, combustion chamber design, and initial engine fuel economy. Limited investigations on state-of-the-art diesel engines have indicated that surface- connected porosity and coating surface roughness may influence engine fuel economy. Current research efforts on TBCs are primarily directed at reduction of in-cylinder heat rejection, ther-mal fatigue protection of underlying metal surfaces, and possible reduction of diesel engine emissions. Significant efforts are still required to improve the plasma spray processing capability and the economics for complex-geometry diesel engine components.     

Thermal cycling resistance of modified thick thermal barrier coatings

The thermal cycling properties of several modified thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBC) were studied in three test series in which the maximum coating temperature was fixed to 1000, 1150 and 1300 °C. The modified coating structures were all segmentation-cracked coatings and some of these coatings were surface-sealed. The segmentation-cracked coatings were produced by laser glazing or by using appropriate plasma spray parameters. The sealing treatments were made by using aluminium phosphate or sol–gel-based sealant. In this paper, it was demonstrated that regardless of whether the segmentation-cracked TTBCs were made by using specific plasma spray parameters or by laser glazing, the strain tolerance of the coating improved significantly. Instead, both sealing treatments reduced the thermal cycling resistance of the TTBCs to some degree, especially in the case of aluminium phosphate sealing. Coating microstructures, their mechanical and elastic properties and residual stresses were taken into consideration when estimating the thermal cycling properties and failure modes of the coatings.     

Finite element simulation of thermal barrier coating performance under thermal cycling

In this paper, a numerical simulation of stress development within the air plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating system incorporating nonlinear behavior under compression for the top coat ceramic layer is presented. The nonlinear behavior as well as its evolution with sintering at high temperature is simulated using a microstructure based model. The simulation results indicate that this nonlinearity has a significant role on distribution of the residual stresses in this layer resulting from the thermal cycling. A parametric study is carried out to investigate the effects of the microstructural features of the top coat ceramic layer on residual stress distribution. It is revealed from the simulation results that the variation of porosity has only a negligible effect on the residual stress distribution. In addition, the stresses accountable for the crack growth can be lowered by changing the microcrack densities of the top coat layer within a specified range.     

Mechanical property variations within thermal barrier coatings

The mechanical properties of nanostructured yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings were investigated using an instrumented indentation technique. Coatings were produced using the Triple-Torch Plasma Reactor (TTPR) where three plasma jet plumes converge to form a single jet where powder is injected axially. Partially fused clusters of sub-micron particles are characteristic for the coating microstructure. Flattened particles, termed as splats that are typical for conventional YSZ coatings were not observed.The microstructure exhibits a low isotropy that is related to variations in mechanical properties that are measured in directions parallel (normal to the coating plane) and perpendicular to the spray direction (in the plane of the coating). The microstructure of the nanostructured coating, which is different from a conventional coating, has a significant effect on the anisotropy of the mechanical properties. The in-plane elastic modulus of the nanostructured coating is lower than the normal modulus, as opposed to a conventional YSZ coating where the ratio is inversed. Multiple indentations arranged in arrays were used to map the variation in mechanical properties. Indentation results obtained using spherical and Vickers indenters are compared.     

Characterization of modified thick thermal barrier coatings

In gas turbines and diesel engines, there is a demand for thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBCs) due to the increased process combustion temperatures. Unfortunately, the increased thickness of plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) normally leads to a reduced coating lifetime. For that reason, the coating structures have to be modified. When modifying the structure of TTBCs, the focus is normally on elastic modulus reduction of the thick coating to improve the coating strain tolerance. On the other hand, coating structural modification procedures, such as sealing treatments, can be performed when increased hot-corrosion resistance or better mechanical properties are needed. In this article, several modified zirconia-based TTBC structures with specific microstructural properties are discussed. Coating surface sealing procedures such as phosphate sealing, laser glazing, and sol-gel impregnation were studied as potential methods for increasing the hot-corrosion and erosion resistance of TTBCs. Some microstructural modifications also were made by introducing segmentation cracks into the coating structures by laser glazing and by using special spraying parameters. These last two methods were studied to increase the strain tolerance of TTBCs. The coating microstructures were characterized by optical microscopy, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of sealing procedures on the basic thermal and mechanical properties of the coatings was studied. In addition, some correlations between the coating properties and microstructures are also presented, and the advantages and drawbacks of each modification procedure are discussed.     

Mechanical properties of solution-precursor plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings

The microstructure of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) of 7 wt.% Y₂O₃ stabilized ZrO₂ (7YSZ) deposited using the solution-precursor plasma spray (SPPS) method has: (i) controlled porosity, (ii) vertical cracks, and (iii) lack of large-scale “splat” boundaries. An unusual feature of such SPPS TBCs is that they are well-adherent in ultra-thick forms (~ 4 mm thickness), where most other types of ultra-thick ceramic coatings fail spontaneously. Here a quantitative explanation is provided as to why as-deposited ultra-thick SPPS TBCs are so well-adherent. The mode II toughness of thin (0.2 mm) SPPS TBCs has been measured using the “barb” shear test, which is found to be 66 J m^− 2. Residual stresses in SPPS TBCs of thickness 0.2, 1.5, and 4.0 mm have been estimated using a microstructure-based object-oriented finite element (OOF) method. These stresses are found to be low, as a result of the strain-tolerant microstructure of the SPPS TBCs. The corresponding strain energy release rates that drive mode II cracks in the three different thickness SPPS TBCs have been found to be less than the mode II toughness.     

Thermal fracture of zirconia-mullite composite thermal barrier coatings under thermal shock: An experimental study

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are used in applications that involve high temperatures and severe temperature gradients in order to improve product performance. The understanding of the mechanisms resulting in coating delamination allows the development of materials that can prolong component life. The goal of this study was to demonstrate that single layer mullite-YSZ composites resulted in reduced interface fracture under the application of a thermal shock. This was accomplished by comparing the thermal shock behavior of three coating architectures: monolithic YSZ, monolithic mullite and a mullite-YSZ composite. The coating architectures were chosen to optimize material properties to reduce the driving force for coating failure. It was found that under thermal loads that result in similar surface temperatures, the mullite-YSZ composite developed shorter multiple surface cracks along with shorter horizontal cracks compared to the monolithic YSZ. The composite coating was able to combine advantageous material properties from both the constituent ceramics.     

Sealing procedures for thick thermal barrier coatings

Zirconia-based 8Y₂O₃-ZrO₂ and 22MgO-ZrO₂ thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBC, 1000 μm), were studied with different sealing methods for diesel engine applications. The aim of the sealing procedure was to improve hot corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of porous TBC coatings. The surface of TTBCs was sealed with three different methods: (1) impregnation with phosphate-based sealant, (2) surface melting by laser glazing, and (3) spraying of dense top coating with a detonation gun. The thicknesses of the densified top layers were 50–400 μm, depending on the sealing procedure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed some minor phase changes and reaction products caused by phosphate-based sealing treatment and some crystal orientation changes and phase changes in laser-glazed coatings. The porosity of the outer layer of the sealed coating decreased in all cases, which led to increased microhardness values. The hot corrosion resistance of TTBCs against 60Na₂SO₄-40V₂O₅ deposit was determined in isothermal exposure at 650 °C for 200 h. Corrosion products and phase changes were studied with XRD after the test. A short-term engine test was performed for the reference coatings (8Y₂O₃-ZrO₂ and 22MgO-ZrO₂) and for the phosphate-sealed coatings. Engine tests, duration of 3 h, were performed at the maximum load of the engine and were intended to evaluate the thermal cycling resistance of the sealed coatings. All of the coatings passed the engine test, but some vertical cracks were detected in the phosphate-sealed coatings.     

Life time dependency on the pre-coating treatment of a thermal barrier coating under thermal cycling

A thermal barrier coating system consisting of the single crystalline Ni-based superalloy CMSX 4, a Pt aluminide bond coat and an EB-PVD processed ceramic top coat was thermally cycled in order to study the influence of three different treatments prior the deposition of the ceramic top coat. Besides the standard treatment, one type of treatment was annealing in vacuum, while the other was annealing in an O containing ArH atmosphere; in both cases for 4 h at 1080 °C.Compared to the standard treatment, annealing in vacuum almost doubled and annealing in ArH atmosphere almost tripled the cyclic life time of the ceramic coating. The improvement was related to the creation of a defined alumina scale before and during TBC deposition.     

Overview on advanced thermal barrier coatings

During the last decade a number of ceramic materials, mostly oxides have been suggested as new thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials. These new compositions have to compete with the state-of-the-art TBC material yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which turns out to be difficult due to its unique properties. On the other hand YSZ has certain shortcomings especially its limited temperature capability above 1200 °C which necessitates its substitution in advanced gas turbines.In the paper an overview is tried on different new materials covering especially doped zirconia, pyrochlores, perovskites, and aluminates. Literature results and also results from our own investigations will be presented and compared to the requirements. Finally, the double-layer concept, a method to overcome the limited toughness of new TBC materials, will be discussed.     

Thermal shock testing of thermal barrier coating/bondcoat systems

Various methods of thermal shock testing are used by aircraft and industrial gas turbine engine (IGT) manufacturers to characterize new thermal barrier coating systems in the development stage as well as for quality control. The cyclic furnace oxidation test (FCT), widely used in aircraft applications, stresses the ceramic/bondcoat interface, predominantly through thermally grown oxide (TGO) growth stress. The jet engine thermal shock (JETS) test, derived from a burner rig test, creates a large thermal gradient across the thermal barrier coating (TBC), as well as thermomechanical stress at the interface. For IGT applications with long high-temperature exposure times, a combination of isothermal preoxidation and thermal shock testing in a fluidized bed reactor may better represent the actual engine conditions while both types of stress are present. A comparative evaluation of FCT, JETS, and a combined isothermal oxidation and fluidized bed thermal shock test has been conducted for selected ceramic/bondcoat systems. The results and the failure mechanisms as they relate to the TBC system are discussed. A recommendation on the test method of choice providing best discrimination between the thermal shock resistance of the ceramic layer, the ceramic/bondcoat interface, and even substrate related effects, is given. This paper was presented at the 2nd International Surface Engineering Congress sponsored by ASM International, on September 15–17, 2003, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and appeared on pp. 520–29.