The thermal phase stability of plasma sprayed TBC is presented and discussed. TBC phase transformation after various isothermal heat treatment processes was studied via Xray diffraction (XRD) and Raman Spectroscopy methods. The YSZ-Gd-Yb and 20YSZ TBCs demonstrated superior thermal phase stability as compared with the high and standard purity 8YSZ TBCs, although higher purity also helps delay the tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation. The phase transformation appears to be suppressed by cooling at higher rates. This data presents a qualitative phase stability comparison between the various coatings. However, cooling rate has to be taken into consideration in determining the extent of phase instability during the coating design of aero turbine applications.

Zirconia stabilized with a combination of scandia and yttria (ScYSZ) powder for plasma spraying was synthesized by chemical coprecipitation process in the experiment, and the ScYSZ powder contains 7.0mol% scandia and 1.5mol% yttria. The microstructure, phase stability and thermal conductivity of plasma sprayed ScYSZ thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were investigated. The results revealed that the ScYSZ TBCs had excellent stability to retain single metastable tetragonal t′phase even after high temperature (1500 °C) exposure for 300 hours and did not undergo a tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transition upon cooling. Furthermore, the ScYSZ TBCs had lower thermal conductivity than 3.5-4.5mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia TBCs currently used in gas turbine engine industry. ScYSZ TBCs could be developed as a novel TBCs for advanced gas turbine engines.

This study investigates a new zirconia-based ceramic for potential use in thermal barrier coatings. In the experiments, Sc 2 O 3 -Gd 2 O 3 -Yb 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 (SGYZ) powder was synthesized by coprecipitation and calcination, then agglomerated and sintered to facilitate spraying. The structure, morphology, and phase stability of the powder and plasma-sprayed SGYZ coatings were analyzed and thermal conductivity was measured. Test results show that the powders and coatings have good phase stability even after 500 h at 1400 °C and do not undergo tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transition upon cooling. Plasma-sprayed SGYZ also has a lower thermal conductivity than YSZ, which is currently used in gas turbine engines.

Perovskites are considered as potential materials in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for different reasons at different parts of the fuel cells. Perovskites such as La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3 (LSM) and other compositions are electrically conductive which is necessary for SOFC applications. One possible application is protection coating for interconnect plates (bipolar plate) to avoid chromium oxide evaporation from the surface of ferritic stainless steel. Different commercial and experimental perovskite powders were sprayed by plasma and HVOF spraying under different spray conditions. Spraying of pervoskites was found to be challenging and required careful parameter optimization in both spray methods. Microstructure and phase structure of the coatings were investigated. A very fine crack structure, possibly caused by low mechanical strength and low ductility of the compounds, was easily formed in coatings prepared by plasma and HVOF spraying. Spraying method, parameters and spraying atmospheres were found to affect the stability of the perovskite compounds due to low chemical stability at high spray temperatures. Oxygen deficiency or oxygen surplus was concluded to cause distortion of the compounds crystal structure, causing thus shifting of XRD-peaks due to change of lattice parameters. Electric conductivity was affected by the crystal structure.

In this work, one new technique named as supersonic suspension plasma spraying (SSPS) is applied to deposit quasi-columnar scandia-yttria co-doped zirconia (ScYSZ) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The phase composition, microstructural evolution, fracture toughness and failure behavior of both TBCs before and after thermal cycling tests at 1300 °C were systematically studied. It was found that both as-sprayed TBCs were fully non-transformable tetragonal (t’) phase. After the thermal cycling test, tetragonal (t) phase and cubic (c) phase formed for the SSPS-YSZ TBC, while single t’ phase retained for the SSPS-ScYSZ coating. The fracture toughness of the ScYSZ coating was comparable or superior to that of the YSZ coating. As for the thermal cycling behavior, the lifetime of the ScYSZ coating was better than that of the YSZ coating, which confirmed that ScYSZ was a promising alternative material for YSZ.

Phase stability of the thermal barrier deposits made from yttria-partially-stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) is a requirement for extended service lifetime. The response of Y-PSZ plasma-sprayed deposits to annealing at 1000 °C, 1200 °C, and 1400 °C with times from 1 to 1000 hours has been evaluated using Rietveld analysis of neutron diffraction data. Results show that yttria concentration of the as-sprayed tetragonal zirconia component generally decreased with increasing annealing temperature and time. As the yttria content in the tetragonal phase approached a limiting concentration, the tetragonal phase transformed into monoclinic phase on cooling. An increase in monoclinic phase content was clearly observable after annealing 24 hours at 1400 °C and was nearly 35 % after 100 hours at 1400 °C. A similar trend was observed at 1200 °C for longer annealing times, with monoclinic phase formation beginning after 400 hours. At 1000 °C experimental times were not sufficient for monoclinic phase to form although a decrease in the yttria concentration in the tetragonal phase was observed. Keywords: neutron scattering, yttria-stabilized zirconia, phase composition, Rietveld analysis

The phase composition of plasma sprayed (8wt%) YSZ was studied using neutron and X-ray scattering. Comparison shows that neutron scattering is superior for analysis of the phase composition as well as for the analysis of the yttria content of the tetragonal phase. The presence of large amounts of the cubic phase are probably often neglected in standard XRD analysis due to scattering-related limitations and the inherent difficulty of the analysis. The importance of this fact needs to be addressed in future studies. The amount of monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic phases was determined for as-sprayed deposits and for samples annealed at various temperatures. The as-sprayed deposit was composed of metastable phases, and the phase composition on annealing did not change significantly until 1400 °C for one hour. This indicates the relative stability of the phase composition. The influence of the spray distance is not clear, but the resultant phase composition may be related to the deposition temperature.

This study investigates the phase stability and thermophysical properties of Y 2 O 3 and Yb 2 O 3 co-doped SrHfO 3 (SHYY) powder and bulk material along with the phase stability and microstructure evolution of as-sprayed SHYY coatings during annealing. The powder was synthesized by a solid-state reaction at 1450 °C, showing good phase stability up to 1400 °C. Dilatometry measurements revealed no abnormal changes in the coefficient of thermal expansion over a temperature range of 200-1300 °C. The thermal conductivity of the bulk material was found to be 16% lower than that of SrHfO 3 . Free-standing SHYY coatings deposited by air plasma spraying were also tested. The coatings consisted of SHYY and a minor amount of secondary phase Yb 2 O 3 and exhibited good phase stability during heat treatment at 1400 °C for 288 h. Coating samples examined after 216 h still exhibited a columnar microstructure.

Advanced ceramic materials with perovskite structure have been developed for potential applications in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems in an effort to overcome the properties of the pre-existing ones like 8wt% yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ). Y 2 O 3 and Yb 2 O 3 co-doped strontium zirconate with chemistry of Sr(Zr 0.9 Y 0.05 Yb 0.05 )O 2.95 (SZYY) was synthesized using ball milling prior to solid-state sintering, and had a minor second phase of Yb 2 O 3 . The SZYY showed good phase stability not only from room temperature to 1400°C, but also at high temperature of 1450°C for a long period, analyzed by thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) of the sintered bulk SZYY were recorded by a high-temperature dilatometer and revealed a positive influence on phase transitions of SrZrO 3 by codoping Y 2 O 3 and Yb 2 O 3 . The thermal conductivities of SZYY were at least ~30% lower in contrast to that of SrZrO 3 and 8YSZ in the whole tested temperature range. The good chemical compatibility was observed for SZYY with 8YSZ or Al 2 O 3 powders after 24 h heat treatment at 1250°C. The phase stability and the microstructure evolution of the as-sprayed SZYY coating during annealing at 1400°C were also investigated in this work.

In previous works, laser irradiation was associated to thermal spraying in the so-called MELTPRO process to improve the performance and the durability of TBCs. This study aims at presenting results concerning the thermal behavior of TBC's manufactured according to this process. Two types of severized thermal cycling were implemented: (i) “oxidizing” test: isothermal shocks were performed at different temperatures, ranging from 900°C to 1050°C down to 0°C; (ii) “quite non-oxidizing” test: thermal shocks were implemented from a temperature of 1100°C down to 50°C. Moreover, thermal annealing at 1100°C were performed to compare sintering phenomenon. TBC microstructure and its evolution during heat treating were characterized using image analysis, Knoop micro-indentation and XRD analysis. MELTPRO process was shown to increase twofold the lifetime of TBCs during isothermal shock tests. This is attributed to the fact that the columnar structure and the pore-crack architecture of remelted coatings improve the compliance property and decrease the permeability of TBCs. XRD analyses show that, in the Y-PSZ TBCs, the main phase is the metastable tetragonal (t’) phase both for as-sprayed and MELTPRO processed coatings. Moreover, remelted TBCs show a higher phase stability than as-sprayed TBCs during thermal shock tests: it seems that the remelted coatings have higher phase stability thanks to their pore architecture, which lead to a better compliance in relation to the thermo mechanical stresses, and so to a decrease in the stress variations undergone by the structure during the thermal cycles. During thermal annealing, it seems that MELTPRO processed coatings are less affected by sintering than as-sprayed coatings. Sintering phenomenon primarily concerns inter-lamellar cracks of non remelted areas. Besides, whatever the coating manufacturing process, the main remaining phase is the metastable tetragonal phase whatever the heat treating duration.

Fracture toughness and phase stability are crucial properties of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) during highly loaded thermomechanical operations in gas turbines. While several alternative TBC materials have exhibited excellent thermal resistance, their potential applicability has been limited due to poor endurance to cyclic stresses. The addition of TiO 2 to the non-transformable tetragonal t´-YSZ has been found to effectively enhance the fracture toughness and phase stability of YSZ at high temperature exposures. Thermal cycling tests in a burner rig were conducted on TBCs prepared from atmospheric plasma sprayed titania-doped YSZ to verify this phenomena. Exposure temperature was 1400°C at the surface and thermal gradient across the sample was provided by simultaneous back-cooling treatment. Cycling tests reveal that the slight increase in the tetragonality of the deposited coatings with increasing amount of dopant did not cause a significant effect to the lifetime of the TBCs. Moreover, increasing amount of Ti-substitution did not influence the fracture toughness of the bulk YSZ.

It was found that the content of impurity oxides in 7YSZ, such as SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 , has a significant effect on the coating sintering resistance and phase stability of 7YSZ thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The reduction of the impurity content will significantly improve the sintering resistance and phase stability of 7YSZ TBCs and thus allow the 7YSZ TBCs to be used at higher temperatures.

Multi-layered thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are deposited on gas-turbine metallic components to protect them against high temperatures, oxidation, and corrosion. However, TBCs have limited working temperatures and lifetimes due to their material properties. Several approaches are being tested to increase TBC topcoats' phase stability and properties. Increasing entropy to stabilize phases is a concept introduced in 2004 and required decreasing the Gibbs free energy. Many high-entropy ceramics are being developed for structural and functional applications, and high-entropy oxides (HEOs) are promising TBC ceramics due to their unique characteristics. HEOs are single-phase solid solutions that contain five or more cations, usually a mixture of transition metals and rare earths. Due to the cocktail effect, the final material has a different behavior from its constituents, making it a viable method to improve the properties of traditional materials. Generally, high entropy materials are characterized by three additional phenomena: sluggish diffusion, severe lattice distortion, and high entropy. A review of possible improvements in the lifetime of TBC topcoats using different HEOs in terms of their composition, properties, and stability are presented here. Different HEOs are then examined and various thermophysical properties, high-temperature stability, and sintering resistance are discussed.

ZrOCl 2 •8H 2 O and NH 4 OH were regarded as original materials to prepare zirconia sol by co-precipitation, and nano-zirconia coatings were prepared by sol plasma spraying. The structure of the coatings was analyzed by SEM, XRD, and influence of power and stabilizer, concentration and dispersed phase on the coatings was investigated primarily. The result showed that the sol was non-crystal structure after spontaneously dried, the coatings were mixed of nanostructure of monoclinic and cubic phase after plasma jet heated. Increasing power decreased the content of non-crystal phase, adulterating yttria had good crystal phase stabilization, and the content of monoclinic phase decreased greatly. Coatings were denser when higher concentration and ethanol qua dispersed phase were used. Porosity of coatings decreased prior and increased later along with concentration increasing.

This work focuses on the processing and deposit by suspension plasma spraying (SPS) of ZrO 2 -based ceramic materials for Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC's) applications. The system of interest is ZrO 2 -16mol%Y 2 O 3 -16mol%Ta 2 O 5 (16YTZ). This ceramic has been reported to keep a non-transformable tetragonal phase (t'-phase), suitable to overcome the thermodynamic limits of the mostly used conventional 7-8wt.% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The research consists into evaluate the t'-phase stability and performance of the 16YTZ SPS coating. Synthesis of 16YTZ and, the evolution of the resulting microstructure in the dense ceramic and in the coating are a central part of the study. Sintering behavior in dense ceramics prepared from both precursor derived and milled powders is evaluated. Microstructural characterization by XRD, SEM and RAMAN spectroscopy of the as-deposited ceramic coating is presented and discussed.

Based on the specific structure of tubular solid oxide fuel cell stacks, a good chemical, microstructural and phase stability for the protective coating are required in both the oxidizing and reducing environments. In this work, MnCO 2 O 4 coatings of approximately 150 µm were deposited onto porous Ni50Cr50-Al 2 O 3 substrate by atmospheric plasma spray (APS) process. The coated samples were tested at 800°C with the coating exposed in air environment and the substrate in H 2 environment. Reducing and pre-oxidizing treatments were performed prior to the stability test. Then the tested coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results elucidated that the tested coating had a high structural stability on the upper layer, while presented a reducing microstructure on the substrate side. The surface morphology of 100 hours tested coating indicated that the spinel granules still arranged closely with small particle size of ~ 250 nm and no obvious grain enlargement was observed. According to the cross-section, the upper layer kept stable and dense. While at the underneath region, the microstructure presented to be rather porous. However, the resistance presented a decreasing trend with the extension of exposure duration. After exposure for 95 h, the ASR decreased to 18.5 mΩ·cm 2 although a substantial Cr diffusion from the substrate was detected.

Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) are required to protect SiC based composites in high temperature, steam containing combustion environments found in the latest generation of high efficiency gas turbine aeroengines. Ytterbium disilicate has shown promise as an environmental barrier coating, showing excellent phase stability at high temperature and a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of SiC; however, its performance is dependent on the conditions under which the coating was deposited. In this work, a parametric study was undertaken to demonstrate how processing parameters using a widely used Praxair SG-100 atmospheric plasma spraying torch affect the phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of ytterbium disilicate environmental barrier coatings. Ytterbium disilicate coatings were deposited using 5 sets of spray parameters, varying arc current and secondary gas flow. The phases present in these coatings were quantified using X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, and the level of porosity was measured. Using this data, the relationship between processing parameters and phase composition and microstructure was examined. Abradable coatings are used throughout gas turbine engines to increase efficiency in the compression and combustion phases of the turbine. Abradable coatings are soft enough to be worn away by turbine blade tips (without damaging the tip itself), allowing for tighter clearances to be used, limiting leakages and increasing efficiency. Using the optimum process parameter window determined in this work, a low density abradable Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 layer will be deposited in future research.

In this work, CeO 2 -G d2 O 3 co-stabilized ZrO 2 (CGZ) thermal barrier coatings are deposited by solution precursor plasma spraying and the microstructure, phase stability, thermophysical properties, and thermal cycling behaviors of the resulting coatings are investigated and discussed in comparison to conventional 8YSZ coatings.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) represent a new class of advanced metallic alloys that have gained significant interest. They offer a unique combination of mechanical, thermal, and functional properties, making HEAs ideal for various industrial applications. One such alloy is the recently developed equiatomic body-centred cubic phase AlCoCrFeMo. In particular, thermally sprayed AlCoCrFeMo coatings have gained wide interest due to their exceptional mechanical properties compared to common industrial steel. In the current study, the effect of Mo concentrations on the strength of single crystal AlCoCrFeMo HEA was investigated using molecular dynamics simulation and the phase stability of the alloy was studied using polyhedral template matching. Our results indicate that the local lattice distortion of the alloy is not significantly related to Mo concentration. The yield strength of AlCoCrFeMo HEA obtained through tensile loading, was found to increase with Mo concentration, at a molar ratio of Mo higher than 0.5. Investigation of the deformation behavior of the HEA revealed that bands with high shear strains evolved during plastic deformation. The formation of shear bands after the yield point elucidated the softening exhibited by the material due to localized deformation. These findings provide guidance for tailoring the mechanical properties of AlCoCrFeMo HEA by adjusting Mo concentrations, offering new avenues for designing functional coating materials.

High-purity nanocrystallized YSZ powders were used to manufacture thermal barrier coatings by air plasma spraying. After spraying, the coating samples were aged at temperatures of 1200, 1300, and 1400 °C. Coating samples made from ordinary YSZ powders were aged at the same temperatures. XRD analysis shows significant tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation in the reference coatings after 100 h at 1400 °C in contrast to the phase stability exhibited by high-purity YSZ. The sintering behavior of the YSZ coatings was also examined along with the influence of MCrAlY oxidation.