Abstract
In this study, a ZrO2 – 7 % Y2O3 (YSZ) powder (-90 +16 µm) was nanostructured by high energy ball milling and sprayed using a modern three-cathode plasma generator TriplexPro- 210 as well as a conventional plasma generator F4MB-XL. The parameters were varied in order to investigate their influence on build-up, microstructure and properties of the thermal barrier coatings (TBC). Powders and coatings were characterized in terms of their morphology, microstructure and phase composition by means of light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray analysis (XRD). Thermo-shock behavior of TBC was evaluated using thermal cyclic tests at 1300 °C and 1150 °C. The results show that the milled powder contained nano-sized particles. TBC from the nanostructured powder by TriplexPro-210 had high porosities and numerous fine pores, leading to lower microhardness and higher thermos-shock resistance than the reference TBC.