This study investigates the corrosion resistance of two-layer Gd₂Zr₂O₇/YSZ, three-layer dense Gd₂Zr₂O₇/ Gd₂Zr₂O₇/YSZ, and a reference single-layer YSZ coating with a similar overall top coat thickness of 300-320 µm. All the coatings were manufactured by suspension plasma spraying resulting in a columnar structure except for the dense layer. Corrosion tests were conducted at 900 °C for 8 h using V₂O₅ and Na₂SO₄ as corrosive salts at a concentration of approximately 4 mg/cm². SEM investigations after the corrosion tests show that Gd₂Zr₂O₇-based coatings exhibited lower reactivity with the corrosive salts and the formation of gadolinium vanadate (GdVO₄), accompanied by the phase transformation of zirconia was observed. It is believed that the GdVO₄ formation between the columns reduced the strain tolerance of the coating and also due to the fact that Gd₂Zr₂O₇ has a lower fracture toughness value made it more susceptible to corrosion-induced damage. Furthermore, the presence of a relatively dense layer of Gd₂Zr₂O₇ on the top did not improve in reducing the corrosion-induced damage. For the reference YSZ coating, the observed corrosion-induced damage was lower probably due to combination of more limited salt penetration, the SPS microstructure and superior fracture toughness of YSZ.

The current investigation focuses on understanding the influence of a columnar microstructure and a sealing layer on the corrosion behavior of suspension plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Two different TBC systems were studied in this work. First is a double layer made of a composite of gadolinium zirconate + yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) deposited on top of YSZ. Second is a triple layer made of dense gadolinium zirconate deposited on top of gadolinium zirconate + YSZ over YSZ. Cyclic corrosion tests were conducted between 25 and 900 °C with an exposure time of 8 h at 900 °C. 75 wt.% Na₂SO₄ + 25 wt.% NaCl were used as the corrosive salts at a concentration of 6 mg/cm². Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the samples’ cross sections showed that severe bond coat degradation had taken place for both the TBC systems, and the extent of bond coat degradation was relatively higher in the triple-layer system. It is believed that the sealing layer in the triple-layer system reduced the number of infiltration channels for the molten salts which resulted in overflowing of the salts to the sample edges and caused damage to develop relatively more from the edge.

This study investigates the influence of temperature, salt concentration and thickness on the corrosion resistance of seven YSZ thermal barrier coatings in the presence of V2O5 and Na2SO4. For this study, a thick, high-porosity APS coating (670 gm) using hollow spherical powder (HOSP) and a thin, low-porosity APS coating (300 pm) using agglomerated and sintered (Aamp;S) powder were fabricated. Corrosion tests were conducted at 750 degrees C and 900 degrees C with a mixture of Na2SO4 and V2O5 for four hours. At each temperature, salt concentrations of 4,10 and 20 mg/cm(2) were used. SEM and XRD investigations after the corrosion tests revealed that a combination of low temperature and high salt concentration resulted in higher corrosion-induced damage to the thin TBC coatings. With regard to the thick TBC coatings, all except one sample failed during the corrosion test. This suggests that thick TBC coatings with higher porosity may not be suitable in corrosive environments.

This work concerns the study of damage evolution in a newly developed high purity nano 8YSZ thermal barrier coating during thermal cyclic fatigue tests (TCF). TCF tests were conducted between 100 degrees C-1100 degrees C with a hold time of 1 hat 1100 degrees C, first till failure and later for interrupted tests. Cross section analysis along the diameter of the interrupted test samples revealed a mixed-type failure and that the most of the damage occurred towards the end of the coatings life. To understand the most likely crack growth mechanism leading to failure, different crack growth paths have been modelled using finite element analysis. Crack growing from an existing defect in the top coat towards the top coat/TGO interface has been identified as the most likely mechanism. Estimated damage by the model could predict the rapid increase in the damage towards the end of the coatings life. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), consisting of a ceramic top coat and a metallic bond coat, offer resistance against high temperature degradation of turbine components. Cyclic oxidation of the bond coat, thermal stresses due to their thermal mismatches during cyclic operations, and sintering of the top coat are considered to be the common ways by which thermal barrier coatings fail. To reduce sintering, a nano structured high purity yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was developed. The focus of this work is to compare the damage development of such high purity nano YSZ TBC during thermal cycling with a conventional YSZ TBC. Thermal cyclic fatigue (TCF) tests were conducted on both the TBC systems between 100 °C and 1100 °C with a 1 h hold time at 1100 °C. TCF test results showed that conventional YSZ TBC exhibited much higher life compared to the high purity nano YSZ TBC. The difference in the lifetime is explained by the use of microstructural investigations, crack length measurements along the cross-section and the difference in the elastic modulus. Furthermore, stress intensity factors were calculated in order to understand the difference(s) in the damage development between the two TBC systems.

The failure of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) during thermal cyclic fatigue (TCF) tests depends mainly on the thermal mismatch between the coating and the substrate, the thermally grown oxides (TGO) at the top coat-bond coat interface, and the sintering of the top coat. Understanding the interplay between these factors is essential for developing a life model. The present work focuses on further development of a previously established fracture mechanics based life model and its validation by comparing with the experimental results. The life model makes use of a Paris' law type equation to estimate the cycles to failure based on micro-crack growth. The fitting parameters for the Paris' law were obtained from the experimentally measured crack lengths after the interruption of TCF tests at different cycles. An alternative approach to obtain the fitting parameters through video monitoring was also discussed. It is shown that regardless of the approach to obtain the fitting parameters, the life model in its current form is able to predict the TCF life at different temperatures with reasonable accuracy. However, at very high temperatures (1150 °C) the predictive capabilities of the model appeared to be poor.

Models that can predict the life of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) during thermal cycling fatigue (TCF) tests are highly desirable. The present work focuses on developing and validating a simplified model based on the relation between the energy release rate and the TCF cycles to failure. The model accounts for stresses due to thermal mismatch, influence of sintering, and the growth of TGO (alumina and other non-protective oxides). The experimental investigation of TBCs included; 1) TCF tests at maximum temperatures of 1050 °C, 1100 °C, 1150 °C and a minimum temperature of 100 °C with 1 h and 5 h (1100 °C) hold times. 2) Isothermal oxidation tests at 900, 1000 and 1100 °C for times up to 8000 h. The model was calibrated and validated with the experimental results. It has been shown that the model is able to predict the TCF life and effect of hold time with good accuracy.