Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) play a vital role in allowing the gas turbine engines to operate at high temperatures. With higher operating temperatures (>1200°C), the standard TBC material, 7-8wt. % Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), is susceptible to CMAS (Calcium Magnesium Alumino Silicates) degradation and undesirable phase transformation. New TBC materials such as gadolinium zirconate (GZ) have shown to be capable of overcoming the challenges faced by YSZ. However, GZ has inferior fracture toughness relative to YSZ. In this work, three double layered TBC variations with different GZ and YSZ thickness respectively (400GZ/100YSZ, 250GZ/250YSZ and 100GZ/400GZ respectively, where the prefix numbers represent thickness in ìm) were produced by suspension plasma spray (SPS) process. In all the three double layered TBC variations, the overall TBC thickness with GZ as the top layer and YSZ as the base layer was kept the same (500 μm). The objective was to investigate the influence of YSZ thickness on the thermal cyclic fatigue performance of GZ/YSZ double layered TBC. The as sprayed TBCs were characterized by SEM, XRD and porosity measurements and later subjected to thermal cyclic fatigue test at 1100°C. It was observed that the GZ/YSZ double layered TBC with lowest YSZ thickness (400GZ/100YSZ) showed higher thermal cyclic lifetime whereas the TBC with thicker YSZ layer (100GZ/400YSZ) showed lowest thermal cyclic fatigue lifetime. The failure analysis of the thermally cycled TBCs revealed similar failure modes, i.e. spallation of the top coat due to horizontal crack propagation within the thermally grown oxide (TGO). Furthermore, the ceramic top coats in all the three TBC variations after failure showed the widening of column gaps.

Fabrication of Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) with higher lifetime and relatively cheaper processes is of particular interest for gas turbine applications. Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) is capable of producing coatings with porous columnar structure, and it is also a much cheaper process compared to the conventionally used Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD). Although TBCs fabricated using SPS have lower thermal conductivity as compared to other commonly used processes, they are still not commercialized due to their poor lifetime expectancy. Lifetime of TBCs is highly influenced by the top coat microstructure. The objective of this work was to study the TBCs produced using axial SPS with different process parameters. The bond coat was deposited using High Velocity Air Fuel (HVAF) spray. Influence of the microstructure on lifetime of the coatings was of particular interest and it was determined by thermal cyclic fatigue testing. Thermal conductivity of the coatings was determined by laser flash analysis. The results show that axial SPS could be a promising method of producing TBCs for high temperature gas turbine applications.

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.