MCrAlY coatings (M=Ni and/or Co) have been widely used for the protection of superalloy components against oxidation and hot corrosion in the hot sections of gas turbines. The drive to improve engine combustion efficiency while reducing emissions by increasing the operation temperature brings a big challenge for coating design. As a result, the need for improvement of MCrAlY coatings for better oxidation resistance is essential.

Formation of a stable, dense, continuous, and slow-growing α-Al₂O₃ layer, on the MCrAlY coating surface, is the key to oxidation protection, since the protective α-Al₂O₃ scale offers superior oxidation resistance due to its lower oxygen-diffusion rate as compared with other oxides. The ability of a MCrAlY coating to form and maintain such a protective scale depends on the coating composition and microstructure, and can be improved through optimization of deposition parameters, modification of coating surface conditions, and so on. Part of this thesis work focuses on studying the effect of post-deposition surface treatments on the oxidation behavior of MCrAlX coatings (X can be yttrium and/or other minor alloying elements). The aim is to gain fundamental understanding of alumina scale evolution during oxidation which is important for achieving improved oxidation resistance of MCrAlX coatings. Oxide scale formed on coatings at initial oxidation stage and the effect of surface treatment were investigated by a multi-approach study combining photo-stimulated luminescence, microstructural observation and weight gain. Results showed that both mechanically polished and shot-peened coatings exhibited superior performance due to rapid formation of α-Al₂O₃ fully covering the coating and suppressing growth of transient alumina, assisted by the high density of α-Al₂O₃ nuclei on surface treatment induced defects. The early development of a two-layer alumina scale, consisting of an inward-grown inner α-Al₂O₃ layer and an outer layer transformed from outward-grown transient alumina, resulted in a higher oxide growth rate of the as-sprayed coating. The positive effect of the surface treatments on retarding oxide scale growth and suppressing formation of spinel was also observed in oxidation test up to 1000 hrs.

As the oxidation proceeds to the close-to-end stage, a reliable criterion to estimate the capability of coating to form α-Al₂O₃ is of great importance to accurately evaluate coating lifetime, which is the aim of the other part of the thesis work. Survey of published results on a number of binary Ni-Al and ternary Ni-Cr-Al, Ni-Al-Si systems shows that the empirical Al-concentration based criterion is inadequate to properly predict the formation of a continuous α-Al₂O₃ scale. On the other hand, correlating the corresponding Al-activity data, calculated from measured chemical compositions using the Thermo-Calc software, to the experimental oxidation results has revealed a temperature dependent, critical Al-activity value for forming continuous α-Al₂O₃ scale. To validate the criterion, long-term oxidation tests were performed on five MCrAlX coatings with varying compositions and the implementation of the Al-activity based criterion on these coatings successfully predicted α-Al₂O₃ formation, showing a good agreement with experiment results.