Cold gas dynamic spray (CGDS) utilizes a supersonic gas jet to accelerate fine solid powders above a critical velocity at which particles impact, deform plastically, and bond to the substrate material in the ambient environment. This process is potentially beneficial for thermal barrier coating (TBC) bond coat deposition because it would avoid oxidation of the feedstock powder that normally occurs when higher temperature thermal spray processes are employed. Therefore, there would be no prior aluminum depletion in as-deposited bond coats produced by the CGDS technique. This paper presents the oxidation behaviour of a TBC with CGDS-produced CoNiCrAlY bond coat, in comparison with TBCs with APS- and HVOF-CoNiCrAlY bond coats. Oxidation behaviors of these TBCs were evaluated in terms of microstructural evolution, kinetics of thermally-grown-oxides (TGO), as well as cracking behaviour during thermal exposure at 1050 °C.

In thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems, a continuous alumina layer developed at the ceramic topcoat/bond coat interface helps to protect the metallic bond coat from further oxidation and improve the durability of the TBC system under service conditions. However, other oxides such as spinel and nickel oxide, formed in the oxidizing environment, are believed to be detrimental to TBC durability during service at high temperatures. It was shown that in an air-plasma-sprayed (APS) TBC system, post-spraying heat treatments in low-pressure oxygen environments could suppress the formation of the detrimental oxides by promoting the formation of an alumina layer at the ceramic topcoat/bond coat interface, leading to an improved TBC durability. This work presents the influence of post-spraying heat treatments in low-pressure oxygen environments on the oxidation behaviour and durability of a thermally sprayed TBC system with high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-produced Co-32Ni-21Cr-8Al-0.5Y (wt.%) bond coat. Oxidation behaviour of the TBCs is evaluated by examining their microstructural evolution, growth kinetics of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) layers, as well as crack propagation during low frequency thermal cycling at 1050°C. The relationship between the TGO growth and crack propagation will also be discussed.

The growth characteristics of thermally grown oxides (TGO) and their influence on microcracking in an air-plasma sprayed (APS) thermal barrier coating (TBC) were studied. The TBC samples were prepared in either as-received condition or with a pre-heat treatment. In the as-received TBC, TGO that formed upon thermal exposure predominantly consisted of layered and clustered chromia, spinels and nickel oxide, whereas in pre-heat treated samples the TGO was predominantly alumina. The growth characteristics of TGO was found to exhibit a three-stage behavior that was most pronounced in the as-received TBC. Micro-cracks were found to nucleate in clustered oxides, these cracks would grow in association with thickening of the TGO layer. Eventually, oxide-induced cracking and cracking along pre-existing discontinuities near the ceramic/bond coat interface led to spallation of the topcoat. A relationship between the maximum crack size and TGO thickness was established based on fracture mechanics considerations. This relationship is shown to be useful for TBC life prediction.