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.

Nanostructured NiCrAlY coating was deposited by cold spray, using a milled powder for applications as a bond coat to thermal barrier coating. A shot-peening treatment was then applied to the as-sprayed coating to modify the coating surface morphology. The oxidation behavior of the coating with the shot-peened surface was investigated under isothermal oxidation at 900°C and 1,000°C for different times. The oxidation behavior of the coating was characterized through surface morphology and cross-sectional microstructure by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. It was found that a uniform oxide layer was formed on the surface of the shot-peened nanostructured NiCrAlY coating during oxidation at temperatures of 900°C and 1,000°C. The nanostructure of the initial coating possibly promoted rapid formation of α-Al 2 O 3 oxide. It was clearly revealed that the surface morphology of the coating significantly impacted the morphology of the oxide. The surface geometry of the cold-sprayed MCrAlY coating must be modified to promote formation of a protective oxide film during oxidation, through application of a post-treatment process such as shot-peening.