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.

The impact and solidification history of individual YSZ particles has been the subject of many experimental and theoretical studies. Yet it is customary to assume that solidification occurs at the equilibrium temperature. Furthermore, the diffusion of the solute (yttria) in the liquid phase during solidification of a splat has not been considered. Using our model, we study non-equilibrium effects during the rapid solidification of a molten YSZ particle, by solving the so-called hyperbolic equations for heat and mass transfer. The hyperbolic model predicts the interface undercooling (due to thermal and solutal effects) and velocity as a function of time, as well as the yttria redistribution within the solid phase. Results are then compared to corresponding ones that we obtained from a parabolic model, in order to assess the extent to which YSZ solidification is influenced by non-equilibrium effects. Results indicate that these effects are limited to the early part of the solidification process when undercooling is most significant. At this stage, the interface velocity is unsteady, and solute redistribution is most evident. As solidification decelerates, the non-equilibrium effects wane and solidification can then be properly modeled as an equilibrium process.