Formation of vertical cracks in air plasma sprayed YSZ coatings using unpyrolyzed powder

Thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBCs) with vertical cracks deposited by air plasma spray (APS) and solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) techniques have been widely investigated to achieve good thermal insulation along with reasonable service life. In this study, synthesized unpyrolyzed YSZ powder was air plasma sprayed in order to produce segmentation crack TTBCs. The microstructure and hardness of the deposits were then compared with those of the conventional TTBCs and dense vertically cracked (DVC)TTBCs. In this regard, spraying parameters were optimized to achieve deposits with the appropriate amount of unpyrolyzed particles in them to assist inducing vertical cracks in the deposited layers. The effect of the unpyrolyzed particles on microstructure, porosity, and microhardness of plasma sprayed coatings were also evaluated and compared. The new fabricated coating showed a bimodal structure combining non-molten sub-micron size particles and conventional splats along with segmentation cracks with higher amount of porosity and lower hardness compared to those of the DVC coatings. The results implied that, depositing unpyrolyzed powder by APS, as a new approach for achieving segmentation crack TTBCs, is very promising.     

Atmospheric plasma sprayed 7%-YSZ thick thermal barrier coatings with controlled segmentation crack densities and its thermal cycling behavior

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-coatings are deposited on Ni-based superalloy IN738 by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). For the first time, controlled segmentation crack densities are manually developed in the coatings, even after the APS deposition. This method allows to user to control segmentation densities as well as cracks depth, which could be designed as per coating thickness and required application. Thermal cycling test shows promising strain tolerance behavior for the segmented coatings, whereas coating without segmentation could not sustain even for its first thermal cycle period. Further, microstructural studies reveal that a very thin layer of TGO was formed and obvious no coating failure or spallation was observed after thermal cycling test at 1150 °C for 500 cycles.     

Comparative study on thermal shock behavior of thick thermal barrier coatings fabricated with nano-based YSZ suspension and agglomerated particles

Two kinds of segmentation-crack structured YSZ thick thermal barrier coatings (TTBCs) were deposited by suspension plasma spraying (SPS) and atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) with nano-based suspension and agglomerated particles, respectively. The phase composition, microstructure evolution and failure behavior of both TBCs before and after thermal shock tests were systematically investigated. Microstructure of the APS coating exhibits typical segmentation-crack structure in the through-thickness direction, similar with the SPS coating. The densities of segmentation-crack in APS and SPS coatings were about 3 cracks mm⁻¹ and 4 cracks mm⁻¹_, respectively. The microstructure observation also showed that the columnar and equiaxed grains existed in the SPS coating. As for the thermal shock test, the spallation life of the APS TTBCs was 146 cycles, close to that of the SPS TTBCs (166 cycles). Failure of the APS coating is due to the spallation of fringe segments and splats.     

Optimizing the structure and properties of Y2O3 stabilized zirconia: An atmospheric plasma spray (APS) and solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) based comparative study

The yttria stabilized zirconia (8%YSZ) is widely used to insulate the metallic components of the engine from high temperature and improve the operating temperature of gas turbine engines. With different processing parameters, 8YSZ coatings are prepared by atmospheric plasma spray (APS) and solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) techniques and the microstructural features and thermodynamics properties are compared. The electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis indicate that the substitutional point defects (Zr_0.86Y_0.14O_1.93) in the 8YSZ APS coatings are considerably higher than the corresponding SPPS coatings. The replacement of Zr⁴⁺ by Y³⁺ disturbs the charge neutrality of the system which might be compensated by the creation of oxygen vacancy. Both the substitutional point defects and the oxygen vacancies are the sources of phonon scattering, modifying the thermal conductivity of the coating. Pores and cracks are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed in the microstructure of 8YSZ coatings. Strain tolerant and high thermal cycling life coatings are prepared by SPPS due to the existence of vertical cracks in the microstructure. Comparing the thermal insulation properties of the coatings, the APS coating provided lower thermal conductivities relative to the SPPS coatings which might be due to the high concentration of point defects and low concentration of the mixed oxide phase.     

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.     

Comparison of temperature dependent deformation mechanisms of 8YSZ thermal barrier coatings prepared by air-plasma-spray and D-gun thermal spray: An in situ study

8 weight percent yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) has gained widespread use in thermal barrier coatings for the hot sections of aero and power generation turbines due to its superb thermal and mechanical properties. In this study, in situ microcompression tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical performance of 8YSZ coatings with dense vertically cracked (DVC) microstructures produced by detonation gun thermal spray to those deposited by air plasma spray (APS). At room temperature, the APS coatings showed high variability in fracture strength resulting from cracks and pores in the coating. DVC coatings, conversely, exhibited fracture strengths ranging from 3.9 to 6.6 GPa and less variability in fracture strength attributed to the relatively dense and less defective microstructure. At 500 °C, both coatings showed better consistency of fracture strength and enhanced deformability owing to deformable pores, ferroelastic domain switching, and dislocation activities.     

Sintering resistance of suspension plasma sprayed 7YSZ TBC under isothermal and cyclic oxidation

This study examines sintering resistance of a thermal barrier coating (TBC), composed of a 7YSZ suspension plasma sprayed (SPS) top coat (TC), an air plasma sprayed (APS) NiCoCrAl bond coat (BC), and an INCONEL 625 substrate, under isothermal and cyclic conditions with a peak temperature of 1080 °C for 400, 800, and 1300 h/cycles. Microstructure, phase composition and microstrain were examined using SEM and XRD. Mechanical properties of fracture toughness, hardness and elastic modulus were obtained using nano-indentation. Samples under cyclic conditions presented faster sintering rate than under isothermal condition due to larger compressive strain and frequent heating and cooling cycles. Faster degradation of mechanical properties due to sintering leads to shorter lifetime of SPS coating under cyclic conditions. Moreover, vertical cracks within SPS coatings reduces compressive stress leading to a greater lifetime as compared to APS coatings exposed to similar conditions.     

Introducing segmentation cracks in air plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings by controlling residual stress

Segmentation cracks are crucial for enhancing the strain tolerance and decreasing the propensity of delamination for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). In this study, segmentation cracks were prepared in air plasma-sprayed TBCs by controlling the residual stress. The evolution of the stress in the coating was characterized via photoluminescence piezospectroscopy using trace α-Al₂O₃ impurities as stress sensor. Tensile stress (~170 MPa) formed in the as-deposited coating was converted into compressive stress through further thermal exposure. The relationship between the formation of the segmentation cracks and stress in the coating was investigated. It was demonstrated that the segmentation cracks could be formed when a critical coating thickness is achieved. The critical coating thickness and spacing of the segmentation cracks dependent on the tensile stress in the as-deposited coating, and they could be manipulated by controlling the deposition and substrate temperatures. In addition, the evolution of the microstructure and phase composition of the yttria-stabilized zirconia coating was examined.     

3D characterization of porosity in an air plasma‐sprayed thermal barrier coating and its effect on thermal conductivity

Air plasma spray (APS) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) contain pores, cracks and splat interfaces that are preferentially aligned normal to the heat flux direction. These significantly reduce (by as much as 50%) the thermal conductivity over a fully dense coating. Here the microstructures of APS thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been characterized in 3D using X‐ray microcomputed tomography (μ‐CT). Pores larger than 2.8 μm³ are resolved and their contribution to thermal conductivity reduction is evaluated using image‐based microstructurally realistic numerical models. However, the models overestimate (by almost 50%) the measured thermal conductivity of the as‐deposited TBC sample. It is shown that this discrepancy is due to very fine (micrometer and submicrometer) cracks which readily sinter after short‐term exposure to temperatures representative of TBC operating conditions causing the measured thermal conductivity to rise to within 15% of that predicted. This suggests that under the realistic service conditions, the 3D image‐based models based on CT images provide a good indicator of the likely long‐term TBC performance. Virtual experiments showed that for the retained pores, the larger pores which are flatter and more oriented in the plane of the APS splats, contribute disproportionately to the beneficial reduction in thermal conductivity. Our results demonstrate that X‐ray imaging is a useful tool in establishing APS process conditions that give rise to a beneficial distribution of such pores.     

Thermal shock resistance of thermal barrier coating with different bondcoat types and diffusion pre-coating

This paper investigates the resistance of two types of thermal barrier coatings and compares their behavior with common coatings. Coatings’ layers in the first and second target sample were fabricated as HVOF/APS/APS (two bondcoats and one topcoat) and APS/APS (one bondcoat and topcoat) with diffusion pre-coating, respectively. Also, to accurately compare the behavior of these two types of coatings with conventional coatings used in gas turbines, this paper explored the resistance of three types of coatings applied as APS/APS, HVOF/APS, and HVOF coatings against thermal shock. In order to create shock loading, five types of laboratory samples were heated under regular cycles and cooled down with water. During the experiment, the sample changes caused by thermal shock loading were investigated through visual inspections. Then, after the experiment, the SEM images were leveraged to inspect the changes. In addition, changes in the structure of coating layers and their degradation process were studied. The results show that using two bond layers increases the resistance and life of the coating against heat shock by up to 1.40 times. Among the samples with one band coat, the sample with a diffusion coating applied under the BC showed the best performance. The sample life increased by 1.25 times compared to the common APS/PAS coating.     

Thermal shock resistance and mechanical properties of La2Ce2O7 thermal barrier coatings with segmented structure

La₂Ce₂O₇ (LCO) is a promising candidate material for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) application because of its higher temperature capability and better thermal insulation property relative to yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). In this work, La₂Ce₂O₇ TBC with segmentation crack structure was produced by atmospheric plasma spray (APS). The mechanical properties of the sprayed coatings at room temperature including microhardness, Young's modulus, fracture toughness and tensile strength were evaluated. The Young's modulus and microhardness of the segmented coating were measured to be about 25 and 5 GPa, relatively higher than those of the non-segmented coating, respectively. The fracture toughness of the LCO coating is in a range of 1.3–1.5 MPa m^1/2, about 40% lower than that of the YSZ coating. The segmented TBC had a lifetime of more than 700 cycles, improving the lifetime by nearly two times as compared to the non-segmented TBC. The failure of the segmented coating occurred by chipping spallation and delamination cracking within the coating.     

Microstructural Properties of Air Plasma Sprayed Coating Consisting of Tungsten Carbide and Yttria‐Stabilized Zirconia

Thermal Spraying technologies are proven to be capable of producing composite materials and structures. In the present work, an innovative composite coating was produced to achieve high wear and thermal resistant properties in a single‐step process using air plasma spraying (APS) technique. Tungsten carbide has shown high wear resistance and zirconia coatings exhibited excellent tribological and insulation properties. It is speculated that a composite material consisting of zirconia and tungsten carbide exhibits excellent thermomechanical properties. A powder mixture of 50wt% WC‐10wt% Ni (WC‐Ni) and 50wt% ZrO₂‐8wt% Y₂O₃ (YPSZ) was deposited on a low carbon steel substrate using APS technique. Important microstructural properties of WC‐Ni/YPSZ coating such as splat boundaries, pore and grain morphology, microcracks, phase composition, elemental distribution of coatings, and lattice parameters of the crystals were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDS), and X‐ray diffractometry (XRD). A good adhesion was observed between different phases in tungsten carbide mixed with zirconia coatings. Decarburization process which occurred during APS process resulted in formation of tungsten hemi‐carbide (W₂C) phase in plasma sprayed samples. The calculated crystal size for APS‐deposited coating was smaller than those of feedstock powder.     

Molten silicate interactions with plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings: Role of materials and microstructure

Ingestion of siliceous particulate debris into both propulsion and energy turbines has introduced significant challenges in harnessing the benefits of enhanced operation efficiencies through the use of higher temperatures and thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The so-called CMAS (for calcium-magnesium alumino-silicate) particles can melt in the gas path at temperatures greater than 1200C, where they will subsequently impact the coating surface and infiltrate through the carefully engineered porosity or cracks in a TBC. Ultimately, this CMAS attack causes premature spallation through its solidification and stiffening the ceramic during cooling. It has been noted in recent years, that TBCs based on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) are completely non-resistant to CMAS attack due to their lack of reactivity with infiltrant liquid. New TBC ceramics such as Gadolinium Zirconate (GZO) show promise of CMAS resistance through rapid reaction-induced crystallization and solidification of the infiltrant, leading to its arrested infiltration. In both situations, the microstructure (porosity, micro and macro cracks) can be important differentiators in terms of the infiltration and subsequent failure mechanisms. This paper seeks to examine the interplay among microstructure, material, and CMAS attack in different scenarios. To do so, different types of YSZ & GZO single and multilayer coatings were fabricated using Air Plasma Spray (APS) and exposed to CMAS through isothermal and gradient mechanisms. In each of the cases, beyond their unique interactions with CMAS, it was observed the inherent microstructure and character of the porosity of the coating will have an additional role on the movement of the melt. For instance, vertical cracks can provide pathways for accelerated capillaric flow of the melt into both YSZ and GZO coatings. Based on these observations multilayer coatings have been proposed and realized toward potentially reducing complete coating failure and supporting multiple CMAS attack scenarios.     

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.     

Mechanical properties and thermal stability of ambient-cured thick polysiloxane coatings prepared by a sol–gel process of organoalkoxysilanes

Ambient-curable polysiloxane coatings were prepared by pre-hydrolysis/condensation of phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS) in the presence of ammonia solution and subsequently mixing with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS). The mechanical properties of coatings were thoroughly examined at both macro- and micro-level and the thermal stability of coatings was characterized by thermogravimetic analysis, both of which were correlated with coating composition and the hydrolysis/condensation degree of polysiloxane oligomer. It was found that pro-hydrolysis step is essential for fabrication of thick crack-free coatings (18–35 μm). Higher DMDMS molar ratio, more APS dosage and lower hydrolysis/condensation degree of polysiloxane oligomer favor enhancing the hardness. Excellent impact resistance (50 cm kg) of coatings was obtained at 5% and 10% APS dosage, despite of the type and structure of polysiloxane oligomer. Whatever, the best scratch resistance of coatings was attained using the polysiloxane oligomer, prepared at PTMS-to-DMDMS molar ratio of 2:8 and water-to-precursor molar ratio of 1:1, and 5% APS dosage. The polysiloxane coatings exhibit high thermal stability, however, which strongly depends on the coating composition.     

Study on gradient structure and interface mechanical properties of n–8YSZ/AlCoCrFeNi high–entropy coatings

In this study, gradient and double-layer coatings were prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) with nano ZrO₂–8%Y₂O₃(n–8YSZ)/AlCoCrFeNi high–entropy powder. The microhardness of the gradient coating changed in a manner consistent with the microstructure, and the average bond strength of the gradient coating was 2.50 times higher than that of the double-layer coating, indicating that the gradient structure of the coating can improve the sharp interface of the coating, and play a significant role in dispersion toughening to improve the bond strength of the coating. After 450 thermal cycles, the double-layer coating exhibited transverse propagation cracks accompanying coating spalling. In contrast, vertical cracks occurred inside the gradient coating, effectively increasing the coating strain tolerance and improving the coating life. Simultaneously, internal oxidation and cracks appeared in the substrate during cycles, the cracks were more obvious, and bridging occurred in the substrate of the double-layer coating, the substrate under the protection of the gradient coating produced microcracks that were discontinuous, indicating that the design of the gradient structure of the coating can effectively release the internal stress and improve the thermal shock resistance of the coating.     

Gradient MoSi2-borosilicate glass high emissivity coating with enhanced contact and impact damage resistance

High emissivity coatings on fibrous insulation tiles played an important role in thermal protection systems and thereby intrigued many researchers; however, there was little emphasis on the mechanical properties of the coatings. In this study, a gradient MoSi₂-borosilicate glass coating with a dense surface layer and a porous interlayer was designed for mullite fibrous ceramics. Mechanical properties and structure parameters of the coating layers and the substrate were studied. The gradient coating was compared with a monolayer dense coating of the same composition and same surface density in contact damage resistance, impact resistance and emissivity. Compared with monolayer dense coating coated substrates, the gradient coating coated ones exhibited two times higher load bearing capacity in Hertzian indentation test at the same displacement of 1?mm; they appeared to be stiffer and harder at constant load of 20?N, and showed better impact resistance at impact energy range of 0.25–0.75?J in the falling weight test; besides, fatal radial cracks were not observed in gradient coatings after the tests. In addition, the gradient coating had higher emissivity (0.838) than the monolayer dense coating (0.816) because of the significant absorptivity increase and reflectivity decrease by small gradual slopes in the rough surface.     

Molten salt attack on multilayer and functionally-graded YSZ coatings

Thermal barrier coatings have been extensively studied in the last years in order to increase the operational temperature of the current gas turbines as well as to improve the coating lifetime. Many coating characteristics must be met to achieve these requirements (low thermal conductivity, high thermal fatigue resistance…); therefore, complex systems have been engineered for these purposes. One of the possibilities to optimise the different properties deals with the design of multilayer or functionally-graded coatings where various types of microstructures with different characteristics are combined.One of the most important cause of gas turbines degradation relates to the attack of different type of particles which are suspended in the atmosphere (sand, fly ash…). These solid particles are molten at the operational temperatures and then, the molten salts chemically react with the coating. For this reason, the present research was focused on this type of attack.In the present work, the molten salt attack of various YSZ coatings with multilayer and functionally-graded design was addressed. Two different type of microstructures were specifically combined for this design: the APS coating microstructure obtained from conventional (microstructured) powder and a bimodal structure with nanozones obtained from nanostructured feedstock. Besides, different salts were used to simulate different attack environments (desert sand and volcanic fly ash). Findings show that nanozones act as barrier against the penetration of molten salts toward deeper layer. However, a layer formed by nanozones can detach when the salt attack is too aggressive. Hence, functionally-graded coatings, where two types of microstructures are combined through the whole coating, become ideal to diminish the molten salt attack.     

3D numerical reconstruction and microstructure regulation of thermal barrier coatings for high temperature components of gas turbine

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are being widely used in the high temperature components of gas turbine to protect the metal from high temperature damage and prolong the service life of gas turbine. The preparation process of TBCs is complex, and many control parameters will affect the microstructure of TBCs. Inhomogeneous microstructure changes caused by defects (such as cracks, erosion and corrosion pits) will occur under tough service conditions. In order to study the effect of the microstructure change on the thermal insulation and failure mechanism, it is necessary to construct the microstructure of TBCs under various working conditions. In this work, a new numerical pore-crack-particle microstructure reconstruction method (PCPMR) for porous media is proposed and used to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) microstructure of TBCs. In this method, characteristic parameters were extracted from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and the shape constraint factors of defects and the crack deformation rate as well as the particle deformation rate are introduced to control the morphologies of defects in porous TBCs. Then coatings with pores after preparation and coatings with defects during long-term services were reconstructed respectively. The features of coating microstructures reconstructed by this method are in good agreement with the real model obtained by SEM images. At the same time, the effective thermal conductivity of the coating with different porosities and segmentation cracks as well as the temperature distribution of the coating surface under different crack scales were analyzed in the reconstructed 3D TBCs samples. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured data in the published literatures, which justify the reliability of the proposed PCPMR method.     

Thermal Stability of Air Plasma Spray and Solution Precursor Plasma Spray Thermal Barrier Coatings

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (7YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were produced by conventional air plasma spray (APS) and solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) processes. Both TBCs were isothermally heat treated from 1200° to 1500°C for 100 h. Changes in the phase content, microstructure, and hardness were investigated. The nontransformable tetragonal ( t ') phase is the predominant phase in both the as-sprayed APS and SPPS TBCs. APS and SPPS coatings exhibit similar thermal stability behavior such as densification rate, hardness increase, and grain coarsening rate. Both the as-received and heat-treated APS and SPPS TBCs show a bimodal pore size distribution with nano- and micro-size pores. After 1400°C/100 h heat treatment, equiaxed grains replace the columnar structure in APS TBCs and the splat structure disappears. Vertical cracks remain after the 1500°C/100 h exposure in SPPS TBCs. The monoclinic phase appears in APS TBCs after a 1400°C/100 h exposure and in SPPS coatings after a 1500°C/100 h exposure.