As a critical technology, thermal barrier coatings (TBC) have been used in both aero engines and industrial gas turbines for a few decades, however, the most commonly used MCrAlY bond coats which control air plasma sprayed (APS) TBC lifetime are still deposited by the powders developed in 1980s. This motivates a reconsideration of development of MCrAlY at a fundamental level to understand why the huge efforts in the past three decades has so little impact on industrial application of MCrAlY alloys. Detailed examination of crack trajectories of thermally cycled samples and statistic image analyses of fracture surface of APS TBCs confirmed that APS TBCs predominately fails in top coat. Cracks initiate and propagate along splat boundaries next to interface area. TBC lifetime can be increased by either increasing top coat fracture strength (strain tolerance) or reducing the tensile stress in top coat or both. By focusing on the reduction of tensile stress in top coats, three new bond coat alloys have been designed and developed, and the significant progress in TBC lifetime have been achieved by using new alloys. Extremely high thermal cycle lifetime is attributed to the unique properties of new alloys, such as remarkably lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and weight fraction of β phase, absence of mixed / spinel oxides, and TGO self repair ability, which cannot be achieved by the existed MCrAlY alloys.

Because of their high specific strength, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are widely used in the aerospace industry. Metallization of CFRP by cold spraying as a surface modification method can improve the low thermal resistance and electrical conductivity of CFRP without the need for high heat input. Herein, we cold spray a Sn coating on cured CFRP substrates and examine the Sn/epoxy interface. The results suggest that the Sn coatings are successfully obtained at a gas temperature of 473 K and indicate no severe damage to the CFRP substrates. The stress and plastic strain distributions at the cross-section of the Sn/CFRP interface when a Sn particle is impacted onto the CFRP substrate are obtained using the finite element method.

The product quality of selective laser melting (SLM) is closely related to the alloy powder characteristics, including the size distribution and the oxygen content. In this work, the 316L stainless steel powder was prepared by a vacuum atomization furnace and sieved into a normal-sized distribution range from 15 to 53 μm with a median diameter of 37.4 μm, and a fine-sized distribution range from 10 to 38 μm with a median diameter of 18.9 μm. Then they were mixed with each other in different proportions. The results show that, under the condition of the same SLM parameters, the SLM part, with adding a large amount of fine-sized powder, has a lower density and strength, as well as more holes and spheroidized particles, compared with the SLM part with adding a small amount of finer-sized powder. Furthermore, the 316L stainless steel powder with a high oxygen content was prepared by a non-vacuum atomization furnace. Although the 316L stainless steel powder with a high oxygen content can be evenly spread in the SLM process, the surface layer of the powder is easy to form an oxide film during the cooling and solidification of powder inside the molten pool. Under the action of thermal stress, the small crack forms and expands along the oxide film, eventually leading to large cracks inside the melt channel.

In this investigation, thermally sprayed cylindrical specimens are machined by turning with different cutting speeds. To ensure that process-induced shearing loads do not cause delamination, a fine helical dovetail structure is cut into the substrate before it is coated with FeCrNi alloy by air plasma spraying. Dovetail structures with different geometries were produced and their effectiveness is compared. The finish-machined surfaces of the FeCrNi coatings were examined and characterized with respect to feed marks, cracks, open pores, pull outs, and residual stresses. It is shown that surface roughness and the number of pull outs decrease with increasing cutting speed while residual stresses remain relatively unchanged, except for the orientation of the first principal stress.

In recent studies, crack formation was observed in oxidized areas of wire-arc sprayed Zn-Al coatings. As corrosion tests show, these cracks allow electrolyte to penetrate the coating, reducing effective service lifetime. Wire-arc sprayed coatings usually exhibit tensile residual stresses with the potential to cause such cracking. To determine the extent of that potential, the stress state of Zn-Al coatings was measured and correlated with corrosion test results. Residual stress was obtained using the sin2ψ method based on XRD analysis and the results are combined with those of previous studies, forming a hypothesis for the root cause of crack formation in wire-arc sprayed Zn-Al coatings, its effects, and its control.

Nondestructive Evaluation and Testing (NDE&T) techniques have been played vital roles in property characterization, process development and quality control of various thermal spray coatings. Besides conventional NDE&T lab methods such as eddy current test (ECT) for thickness measurement and fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI) for cracking detection, some latest NDE techniques have been developed, demonstrated and applied to evaluate and characterize thermal sprayed coatings recently. The improved and innovative NDE methods provide more capable and accurate measurement to inspect on surface morphology, 2D and 3D coating porosity, oxide content, interface debonding, as well as other types of coating features, defects or specific properties. In this work, some non-contact NDE techniques and their applications were investigated and discussed based on several case studies of thermal sprayed coatings. Laser confocal microscopy had been used for characterizing surface morphologies and roughness profiles of HVOF WC-based coatings with 2D and 3D mapping methods. In particular, thermal wave imaging and ultrasonic micro imaging methods were used to detect the suspicious existence of lateral coating separation within or at the MCrAlY coating-substrate interfaces. Laser dimension sensoring method exhibited the extended capability of in-situ coating thickening measurements on turbine blade and vane. The latest non-contact NDE techniques demonstrated their unique and strong capability for in-situ and ex-situ coating characterization, process and quality control and coating failure analysis.

Functionally graded thermal barrier coatings (FG-TBCs) with a gradual composition change from the MCrAlY bond coat (BC) layer to the yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBC layer is one way to decrease the residual stresses at the BC/TBC interface during a thermal cycling process. At high temperatures, the oxidation resistance of TBCs is also important which would affect the cyclic life of the coatings. In this paper, two YSZ materials were used to make FG-TBCs and conventional duplex TBCs by applying air-plasma spray (APS) technique. The coated samples were thermal cycled with 24-hours heating at 1100 °C followed by air cooling. The results showed that the FG-TBCs performed earlier failure than the duplex ones. Microstructure study indicated that the poor oxidation resistance of the graded mixed layer was responsible for the coating failure. In addition, the influence of spraying parameters on the coating life was discussed.

This study investigates the correlation between thermal barrier coating (TBC) lifetime and thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer thickness. YSZ TBCs were deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying on Ni-base substrates and subjected to burner cycling tests with a thermal gradient and isothermal furnace testing. Both tests revealed that thermal cycling lifetime decreases with increasing TGO thickness, following a power law function, and for a critical TGO thickness of 5-6 μm, the failure mode changes from cracking within the YSZ layer to interface cracking around the TGO. Although either test can be used to evaluate TBC performance, burner cycling tests are better suited for evaluating ceramic topcoats, while furnace cycling test results integrate the effects of bond coat properties, especially oxidation resistance, as well as ceramic topcoat cracking resistance. The two tests can thus be used together to assess the factors that control TBC failure.

This work assesses the behavior of thermally sprayed corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) coatings in an aqueous solution containing supercritical CO 2 . 316L stainless, Ti, alloy 625, and alloy C-276 powders were sprayed on carbon steel using a HVOF torch and 8 mm holidays were drilled in the coatings to expose the substrate. The samples were divided into two sets and placed in autoclaves for 30 days, where they were exposed to a salt solution, bubbled with 10 MPa CO 2 , at temperatures of 40 and 80 °C. Sample cross-sections showed that wherever the coating was intact, it protected the substrate from CO 2 corrosion, but in holiday regions, where bare steel was exposed, a siderite scale had formed and severe undercutting occurred, possibly due to galvanic interactions with the CRA coating.

This work investigates the fundamental mechanical properties of SPS and APS thermal barrier coatings. SPS YSZ coatings had lower Young’s modulus values and higher interfacial toughness than APS deposited layers. The low stiffness of SPS coatings limits the elastic energy that can be stored in ceramic layers. This coupled with good interfacial toughness might make SPS deposited thermal barrier coatings less prone to delamination due to thermal cycling.

Failure is an inevitable consequence with thermal barrier coatings and failure modes are complicated due to irregular microstructure in the coating layers and wide range of external conditions. In this study, three-point bend tests are used to monitor damage evolution in YSZ-CoNiCrAlY TBCs on superalloy and stainless steel substrates. Coating samples, consisting of the bond coat and topcoat, were deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying on test specimens measuring 80 x 6 x 4 mm. The long, narrow specimens were subjected to three-point bend testing, using acoustic emission sensors to detect the formation and propagation of cracks in the coatings and plastic deformation in the substrates. The investigation results indicate that variations in acoustic emission signals correspond well with changes observed in the stress-strain curves of the coatings and substrates and that failure mechanisms can be systematically analyzed based on the amplitude, frequency, and energy of the acoustic emission signals. A detailed description of the actual failure process is provided.

This paper aims to clarify the development and characterization of cold-sprayed aluminum coatings on a non-regular medium-carbon steel surface. The work is carried out with a two-fold purpose: to optimize the deposition process and coating thickness and to learn how substrate defects and imperfections influence coating performance and the corrosion resistance of the coated material.

In this investigation, an air plasma sprayed TBC system consisting of a CoNiCrAlY bond coat (BC) and a YSZ topcoat (TC) is produced with a PVD AlOx interlayer in order to study its effect on thermally grown oxides. For comparative purposes, a reference TBC without the AlOx interlayer was also prepared and studied. A cyclic thermal load was applied to both systems and the coatings were examined after 6, 12, 24, 40, and 80 cycles. Crack lengths were measured in the YSZ layer and TGO thicknesses were assessed at the BC-TC interface. An examination of coating microstructures revealed the expected mixed-mode failure in both TBCs. In comparison to the reference TBC, the system with the AlOx interlayer showed reduced crack formation in the TC and slowed TGO formation at the BC-TC interface both during and after thermal treatment.

This study assesses the corrosion performance of aluminum-manganese (Al-Mn) coatings deposited on 42CrMo4 steel by atmospheric plasma spraying and (APS). Al-Mn alloy powder containing 25 at% Mn was gas atomized under nitrogen atmosphere using pure Al and Mn as starting materials. The powder was characterized by laser granulometry and SEM-EDX analysis. A fraction with particle sizes ranging from 10 to 60 μm was used as the feedstock powder. The APS coatings were characterized by optical image analysis, Vickers hardness measurements, and salt-spray testing. The Al-Mn coatings exhibited significantly higher hardness in comparison to pure aluminum. Red rust appeared after 240 h of salt-spray testing, leading to local coating detachment after 1000 h. The corrosion attack starts at coating defects such as microcracks, which can be attributed to the brittleness and nonuniform melting behavior of the powder and possibly inhomogeneities in the spraying process.

This study evaluates the effect of hammer peening on the wear behavior of cermet coatings. WC-FeCMnSi coatings were produced by twin wire arc spraying and post-treated on a five-axis machining center equipped with pneumatic peen. The surface topography of the peened coatings was examined and compared to as-sprayed and polished samples. Dry sliding friction and abrasive wear tests showed that the treated coatings had lower friction coefficients, but were less wear resistant than non-treated samples. Likewise, strain hardening effects revealed by nanoindentation testing were offset by process-induced cracking of embedded carbides, which contributes to break-outs and third-body wear.

Different thermal spray technologies were used to apply CoNiCrAlY bond coats to Inconel substrates. Powder compositions were the same in all cases and particle size recommendations were followed for each torch. YSZ topcoats were deposited via APS on bond coat samples selected based on roughness, porosity, residual stress, oxidation, and isothermal TGO growth. The TBCs were furnace cycle tested for 10-1400 cycles as well as to failure and changes in bond strength and TGO thickness were recorded. It was observed that bond strength values, which are relatively stable during thermal cycling, decrease significantly just before failure brought on by topcoat spall off.

This study demonstrates the use of bulge testing to evaluate fuel plates for high-performance nuclear reactors. Uranium-molybdenum alloy substrates were plasma sprayed with zirconium and clad between aluminum sheets by hot isostatic pressing. The coated-and-clad samples were cut into disks, the top cladding was thinned, and a small hole was milled through the bottom cladding. The samples were then placed in a pressure cell and a syringe pump was used to inject distilled water through the hole in the bottom Al sheet. Two cameras measured bulge height while fluid pressure was simultaneously recorded. Test results show that all failures occurred at the plasma-sprayed Zr/U-Mo interface rather than the HIP-bonded Zr/Al interface. It is also shown that the use of transferred arc (TA) cleaning prior to spraying improves both failure pressure and initiation fracture toughness, especially under high ac current. TA cleaning facilitates the formation of strong diffusion bonds by removing oxide from the substrate and increasing interface temperature.

The aim of this study is to better understand the formation of nonbonded splat-to-splat interfaces in thermally sprayed ceramic coatings. To that end, the surfaces between splats in plasma-sprayed La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 (LSCO) coatings were examined and compared to free splat surfaces. The results show that free splat surfaces are relatively smooth, while adjacent surfaces at intersplat interfaces are quite rough. The observation implies that nonbonded splat-to-splat interfaces were never bonded, having fractured due to interface shear stress generated during splat cooling.

The aim of this work is to cold spray a metal coating with sound mechanical properties and good electrical and thermal conductivity on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) substrates. Copper, aluminum, and tin were used as the coating materials and different gas pressure and preheating temperature combinations were employed during spraying. Erosion was found to be the key obstacle to develop continuous coatings, although embedded particles were observed in the residual epoxy.

This study assesses the strength and adherence of VPS titanium coatings on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) substrates. Four-point bend tests show the existence of a critical tensile strain of 1% corresponding to the onset of cracking. For strains up to 6%, crack density increases with no observed debonding. Fatigue tests over 106 cycles reveal that the coating remains uncracked at a strain of 1% and stays in a stable cracked state without debonding as strain is increased to approximately 6%. A laser shock test developed specifically for titanium-polymer interfaces revealed the existence of a debonding threshold corresponding to the adhesion strength. The results serve as a guide for the design of orthopedic implants on which VPS titanium coatings are used and, more generally, open the way for systematic measurement of adhesion between metallic coatings and polymer substrates.