Microstructure and Thermal Cycling Behaviors of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Near-α Titanium Alloy

Two kinds of thermal barrier coatings with NiCoCrAlY bond coatings (BCs) deposited by electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) and high velocity oxy-fuel thermal spraying (HVOF), respectively, as well as their top 8wt.%Y₂O₃-ZrO₂ (YSZ) ceramic layers deposited in one batch by EB-PVD were prepared on near-α titanium alloys. The field emission scanning electronic microscopy and microhardness indentation are used in comparatively study of microstructures, microhardness of samples. Cracking modes and crack characteristics in TBCs are investigated after thermal cycling in atmosphere, along with the discussion of roles of residual stresses, bonding strengths and mechanical properties of bond coatings in different failure extents. It is found that morphologies of BCs deposited by different methods (EB-PVD and HVOF) result in the different microstructures and microhardness of their upper YSZ. The denser and more homogeneous BC prepared by EB-PVD leads to the YSZ with finer and denser columnar clusters and higher microhardness, and the inhomogeneous and porous latter results in the upper YSZ with coarser and loosely bonded columnar grains and lower microhardness, and the TBC with BC deposited by EB-PVD is more protective, which is synthetically induced by residual stresses, bonding strengths and mechanical properties of bond coatings.