Thermal insulation performance is a measurement of the thermal protection offered by the thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to the substrate, therefore, it is essentially important to compare different double ceramic layer (DCL) TBCs on the premise of the same thermal resistance. In this study, a series of LZO/YSZ DCL-TBCs, with the equivalent thermal insulation to 500 µm thick YSZ TBCs, were prepared, and their lifetimes were evaluated by thermal gradient cyclic test at the top coat surface temperature of 1300°C. Result show that, the lifetime of DCL-TBCs was more than doubled compared to 500 µm thick YSZ TBCs, when 100µm thick YSZ coating was substituted by LZO coating. In addition, the lifetime of DCL-TBCs decreased with the increase of LZO substitutional ratio. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that LZO maintains the pyrochlore structure after thermal cyclic test. Microstructure examination demonstrated that, with the increase of LZO substitutional ratio, the delamination position transferred from near top/bond coating interface to near LZO/YSZ interface and finally to the inside of LZO coating. Therefore, this study would shed light to further coating structure optimization towards the next generation advanced DCL-TBCs.

Thermal cycle lifetime is essentially important to the application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on the premise of the same thermal resistance. In this study, equivalent thermal insulation conception is introduced to the design of dense vertical crack (DVC) structured TBCs and the lamellar structured TBCs, to fairly compare the lifetime of TBCs with different structure. DVC-structured TBCs with the equivalent thermal insulation to lamellar YSZ TBCs were prepared, and their lifetimes were evaluated by thermal gradient cyclic test. Cross-sectional morphology and phase constitution before and after failure were examined by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The failure mode was analysed. This study would shed light to further coating structure optimization.

A method measuring the thermal conductivity and the interfacial thermal resistance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) which consist of metallic bond-coats (BCs) and ceramics top-coats (TCs) on superalloys was newly developed. It was based on the areal heat diffusion time method analysing the heat diffusion across multilayers. The developed method was experimentally verified using the BC and the TBC specimens coated by APS. It was found that there were the interfacial thermal resistance not only between the TC and the BC but also between the BC and the substrate. Furthermore, the thermal conductivities of the BC and the TC obtained from the BC and the TBC specimens by this method considering the interfacial thermal resistance were in good agreement with those measured from the free-standing specimen of each coating. Thus, it was confirmed that the newly developed method is effective to evaluate the thermal conductivity and the interfacial thermal resistance of the TBC.

This paper presents the results of long-term thermal cycling tests on plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings, including coating samples produced with functionally graded materials. The role of oxidation is also considered based on the results of elemental analysis. The authors explain how the coatings were produced and tested and present and analyze the test results. The thermal barrier coatings formed with functionally graded materials were found to be relatively unaffected after the long-term thermal cycling test and showed no signs of oxidation. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

In the case of thermal insulation layers, chipping is often observed at the end of the blade, where the curve radii are very small. This failure is likely to be caused by tensile stresses perpendicular to the interface and by compressive circumferential stresses in convexly curved layers. A finite element method was used to calculate the stresses that build up during a heat cycle. The system examined consisted of a cylindrical substrate, an adhesive layer, and the APS thermal insulation layer. The viscoelastic properties of the materials were taken into account, which lead to stress relaxation of the samples, which is often determined by experiment. Creep data and modulus of elasticity of the thermal insulation layers show a large range of variation. This paper shows the influence of these broad variations on the development of the state of stress in the thermal insulation layers during a single thermal cycle. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

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.%Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 (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.

High temperature thermal fatigue causes the failure of Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) systems. This paper addresses the development of thick TBCs, focusing attention on the microstructure and the porosity of the Yttria Partially Stabilized Zirconia (YPSZ) coating, in relation to its resistance to thermal cycling fatigue. Thick TBCs, with different grade of porosity, were produced by means of a CoNiCrAlY bond coat and Yttria Partially Stabilised Zirconia top coat, both sprayed by Air Plasma Spray. The thermal fatigue resistance of new TBC systems and the evolution of the coatings before and after thermal cycling were evaluated. The limit of thermal fatigue resistance increases with amount of porosity in the top coat. Raman analysis shows that the compressive in-plane stress increases in the TBC systems after thermal cycling, nevertheless the increasing rate has a trend contrary to the porosity level of top coat.

Nanostructured YSZ is expected to exhibit a high strain tolerability due to its low Young’s modulus and consequently high durability. In this study, a porous YSZ as the thermal barrier coating was deposited by plasma spraying using an agglomerated nanostructured YSZ powder on a Ni-based superalloy Inconel 738 substrate with a cold-sprayed nanostructured NiCrAlY as the bond coat. The heat treatment in Ar atmosphere was applied to the cold-sprayed bond coat before deposition of YSZ. The isothermal oxidation and thermal cycling tests were applied to examine failure modes of plasma-sprayed nanostructured YSZ. The results showed that YSZ coating was deposited by partially melted YSZ particles. The nonmelted fraction of spray particles retains the porous nanostructure of the starting powder into the deposit. YSZ coating exhibits a bimodal microstructure consisting of nanosized particles retained from the powder and micro-columnar grains formed through the solidification of the melted fraction in spray particles. The oxidation of the bond coat occurs during the heat treatment in Ar atmosphere. The uniform oxide at the interface between the bond coat and YSZ can be formed during isothermal test. The cracks were observed at the interface between TGO/BC or TGO/YSZ after thermal cyclic test. However, the failure of TBCs mainly occurred through spalling of YSZ within YSZ coating. The failure characteristics of plasma-sprayed nanostructured YSZ are discussed based on the coating microstructure and formation of TGO on the bond coat surface.

One major shortcoming of thermal barrier coatings applied to gas turbine components is the spallation of the ceramic coating under mechanical stress developing during thermal cycling environments. In order to study the evolution of failure and the expectancy of lifetime under realistic conditions cycling burner rig tests are a well established matter of choice. In the same way the techniques of acoustic emission (AE) testing and infrared (IR) thermography have been widely proofed to provide insight to microscopic crack formation and localization of hidden delaminations, respectively. Both techniques can be utilized to record the evolution of microscopic and macroscopic defects in advance to the apparent failure. Indirectly, this knowledge allows to verify and to improve lifetime models. The aim of this study is to expand the use of AE and IR testing as a rugged in-situ monitoring tools for combustion driven cycling rigs and to provide spatial resolved information on thermal load and failure evolution of the TBC in those tests. For a successful application to an experiment using a gas fired and air cooled burner rig some it is necessary to overcome some limitations which are mainly due to the high level of interfering signals under those experimental conditions.

An in-house Extended Finite Element code is employed to simulate the effect of cracks within a TBC system with a YSZ top coat and a mullite intermediate layer deposited onto a SiC substrate. Microstructural level analysis consists in decomposition of a micrograph into an image showing the crack structure and then image capturing the distribution of pores and coating materials. This later image is used to generate the adaptive Finite Element (FE) mesh while the first image defines a discontinuous enrichment of the FE approximation of the displacement field. This analysis process is versatile and takes into account the presence of the cracks within the coating so that the fracture behavior can be estimated. Stress intensity factors of selected through-thickness cracks were calculated from a domain form of the interaction integral. The concept of XFEM is also extended to thermal analysis. Again, the FE approximation is enriched in a way similar to the previous case; however the weak form is modified to enforce proper temperature changes across the crack width. The cracks are modeled as thermal insulating layers with resistance determined from the kinetic theory of gases. The effective thermal conductivity of the coating is, thereby, predicted.

Suspension Plasma Spraying is a relatively new thermal spaying technique to produce advanced thermal barrier coatings. This technique enables the production of a variety of structures from highly dense, highly porous, segmented or columnar coatings. In this work a comparative study is performed on six different suspension plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings which were produced using axial injection and different process parameters. The influence of coating morphology and porosity on thermal properties was of specific interest. Tests carried out include microstructural analysis with SEM, phase analysis using XRD, porosity calculation using Archimedes experimental setup, pore distribution analysis using mercury infiltration technique and thermal diffusivity/conductivity measurements using laser flash analysis. The results showed that columnar and cauliflower type coatings were produced by axial suspension plasma spraying process. Better performance coatings were produced with relatively higher overall energy input given during spraying. Coatings with higher energy input, lower thickness and wider range of submicron and nanometer sized pores distribution showed lower thermal diffusivity and hence lower thermal conductivity. Also, in-situ heat treatment did not show dramatic increase in thermal properties.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with different types of microstructures were produced with the atmospheric plasma-spraying (APS) process. The investigation includes a variation of the micro-crack density and of the porosity level. In addition, also segmented TBCs were produced. Finally, also PVD-TBC systems have added to the investigation. The different TBC systems were cycled in a natural gas/oxygen burner rig with a surface temperature of about 1250°C and a bond coat temperature of about 1100°C or below. The use of relatively low surface temperature guarantees a failure mode close to the bond coat promoted by the growth of the thermally grown oxide (TGO). After failure, metallographic inspection was made to determine the thickness of the TGO layer and the β-phase depleted zone. In addition, the crack path was analyzed and compared for the different microstructures.

The Young's modulus of the ceramic top coat of a plasma sprayed thermal barrier coating (TBC) has been reported to vary by as much as a factor of three with changes in processing parameters and by as much as a factor of four due to prolonged thermal exposure. Since the residual stress is expected to vary directly with the modulus of the ceramic layer, it follows that a change in modulus will change the residual stresses in the ceramic layer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the modulus of plasma sprayed coatings as a function of thermal cycle exposure and silica content of the ceramic. The study employed the Cantilever Beam Bending Method to examine Young's modulus for an yttria stabilized zirconia TBC applied by plasma spraying, for zero and ten thermal cycles and for silica contents of 0.1% and 1.0%. Results are discussed in terms of mechanisms that may affect modulus and the effect of modulus variations on residual stresses.

The erosion behavior of yttria stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings is investigated with respect to powder particle size. Solid particle erosion experiments were conducted at room temperature to determine the mechanism of erosion for ceramic thermal spray coatings. Testing was carried out on as-sprayed as well as thermally cycled specimens. Porosity and bend testing measurements indicate that a decrease in porosity and an increase in inter-lamellar strength leads to an increase in the erosion resistance of ceramic thermal spray coatings.

To determine the effect of bond coat oxidation on the coating life, thermal shock testing were performed, using three different thermal cycles. The failure mode and crack paths were investigated in scanning electron microscope. A finite element model was developed to simulate the thermal shock tests. First, transient temperature fields during the thermal cycling were calculated. Second, stresses and strains evolving in the coatings due to thermal expansion mismatches and temperature gradients during the cycling were computed. The stress concentration at the interface due to the roughness of the bond coat was accounted for by using an ideal sinusoidal interface in the model. By adding an oxide layer with and without residual stresses to the model, the influence of the bond coat oxidation was determined. Both the experimental and numerical results revealed that the TBC failed by crack initiating in the ceramic top coat very close to the grown oxide layer at the interface followed by coating fatigue failure. Numerical simulation indicated that bond coat oxidation led to stress concentration at the peak of the asperity of the interface proceeding crack growth. It also showed that bond coat inelasticity and ceramic creep might further enhance the crack growth. There was little effect on coating behavior due to the residual stresses in the oxide layer.

Thermal barrier coatings have been extensively used in several industrial segments. The material used as an insulator in such systems has been partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) plasma sprayed over a metallic bond coat layer. The ceramic layer is usually porous, thus improving insulation properties. The porosity also increases gas permeability and, therefore, reduces oxidation resistance of the coating. Post-treatments have been applied to reduce the open porosity and improve oxidation resistance. In this work thermal barrier coatings were applied on low carbon steel substrates using two sets of bond coat, i.e., metallic and metal-ceramic. The metallic bond coat was NiCrAlY. The metal-ceramic bond coat was a mixture of NiCrAlY and 8% yttria partially stabilized zirconia, which were applied by simultaneous feeding to the plasma torch from two powder feeders. A sol-gel method was employed to impregnate the porous ceramic top coat with alumina or zirconia. The samples in the as-sprayed and post-treated condition were characterized using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), thermal conductivity. KEY WORDS: Thermal Conductivity, TBCs, Sol-Gel.

In the Brite Euram Project COMBCOAT Thermal Barrier Coatings for improved thermal protection with a thickness up to 2 mm have been developed for combustor applications. As a typical experiment to evaluate the quality of the coatings, life cycles to spallation by means of thermal cycling tests have been determined at ANSALDO Ricerche, BMW Rolls- Royce and Volvo Aero Corporation. To ensure that the ranking on the different cycling experiments are equivalent and to compare cycles to spallation reached in the different rigs, a comparison of 6 different coatings, highly porous as well as segmented ones, has been performed on the three different rigs. Results of the different tests demonstrated that a direct comparison of the result is not possible. The ranking and the number of cycles to spallation have been inconsistent for different specimen and rigs. Detailed simulation of experiments need to be performed to understand the differences between results.

Residual stresses are inherent in thermal barrier coatings (TBC's) and can influence in-service performance and life of the coatings. Therefore, the effective design and processing of TBC's requires knowledge about residual stress generation and the effect of residual stresses on TEC life. Understanding residual stress generation and the effects on thermal barrier coating life are formidable tasks that have received little attention in the literature. This work addresses the first task. Specifically, the objectives of this work were to better understand how processing and post-processing residual stresses are generated in TBC's. The approach was to evaluate the effect of substrate temperature during processing and the effect of post-processing thermal cycling on the generation of coating residual stresses. Residual stress measurements were conducted using an experimental residual stress evaluation technique called the "Modified Layer Removal Method." Results showed residual stresses could be changed both by controlling the substrate temperature during processing and by thermal cycling after processing. Residual stresses in specimens with a higher substrate temperature during processing were found to be more compressive than residual stresses in specimens with a lower processing substrate temperature. Post-processing thermal cycling caused the residual stresses to become more compressive for specimens with both the higher and lower substrate processing temperatures. Residual stresses for one and ten post-processing thermal cycles were evaluated. For both substrate processing temperatures, the change in TBC compressive residual stresses for the first cycle was more than three times the total residual stress change that occurred in cycles two through ten. Interestingly, the increase in residual stresses in cycles two through ten for the higher substrate processing temperature was greater than that for the lower processing substrate temperature. In other words, based on results obtained here, compressive residual stresses generated during thermal cycling appear to depend on the existing processing residual stress. For these conditions, higher processing compressive residual stresses lead to higher post-processing changes in compressive stresses per thermal cycle.

Thermal barriers made up by a ceramic top coating and a metallic bond coating are subjected to thermal cycles in service. The thermal stresses vary during the cycles and the residual stresses change as a result of plastic flow and creep. The stress state in thermal barrier coatings during a thermal cycle has been examined with a finite element method using temperature dependent material data. The calculated results were verified by measurements of the residual stresses with the layer removal technique before and after cycling of specimens heated in furnace with air environment. According to the simulation of a thermal cycle to 700 ° C, using a finite element method, the bond coat is approximately stress free after 1 hour dwell time. Thus, the residual stresses after a thermal cycle is a result of thermal expansion mismatch and temperature drop.

The thermal shock resistance of thermal barrier coating depends strongly on the shear stress generated by the thermal expansion mismatch between the ceramic and bond coat layer. Applying a functionally graded structure composing of NiCoCrAlY and YSZ along the coating can mitigate this effect. The paper studied the improvement of thermal shock properties with different number of intermediate layers (2 - 4) added over the temperature cooling range 900 - 30 °C. Acoustic emission (AE) technique was utilised to determine the moment of occurrence of damage within the coatings, and thus help to identify the corresponding failure mechanisms. Cross section analysis of the coatings after thermal shock tests revealed that the coatings generally failed by two mechanisms: edge delamination and segmentation of zirconia topcoat. Failures in the coatings with 2 and 3 intermediate layers (total of 3 and 4 layers respectively in the overall coating) were dominated by edge delamination while the coating with 4 intermediate layers exhibited only segmentation of the top zirconia layer. This points to the fact that interfacial stresses were not critically affecting the integrity of the 5-layer coating (4 intermediate layers plus the ceramic top layer). The cumulative and rate energy results showed that the energy released by the coatings during the thermal shock tests were in the order of 3-layer coating > 4-layer coating > 5-layer coating. The 5-layer coating had demonstrated the best thermal shock resistance among the four coatings.