Effects of defects on the thermal fatigue behavior of detonation-gun sprayed thermal barrier coatings

The effects of coating defects, such as pores and cracks, on the thermal fatigue behavior of zirconia based thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been investigated. Duplex TBCs, which are composed of an 8 wt.% Y₂O₃ stabilized ZrO₂ (YSZ) layer on top of a NiCrAlY bond layer were produced by detonation gun spraying. Thermal fatigue tests were conducted on three different TBC specimens, the YSZ layers of which were varied in terms of porosity and crack morphology, and failure analyses were subsequently carried out on the tested specimens. From these results, the roles of the defects on the thermal and mechanical degradation behavior of the TBCs were investigated.