The Influence of the Microstructure of Thermal Barrier Coating Systems on Sintering and Other Properties

This paper investigates the influence of microstructure on the sintering behavior of thermal barrier coatings. A significant difference is observed between coatings with typical microcracks and those with segmentation cracks. Segmented coatings showed a lower sintering rate and little change in pore size distribution after heat treatment. Conventional coatings, on the other hand, showed an increase in pore diameter and in more porous areas, sintering was more pronounced. All coatings had an elastic modulus in the range of 15-20 GPa, which more than doubled after a 10-h heat treatment at 1200 °C. Paper includes a German-language abstract.