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High-temperature turbine airfoils and combustion chamber walls in jet engines require sufficient cooling via cooling holes and thermal barrier coating systems (TBCs) to protect them from hot combustion gases. As the demand for greater efficiency and higher firing temperatures in jet engines increases, there is a corresponding need for more advanced film cooling methods, such as the use of more complex hole geometries. The use of Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) techniques allows the production of such intricate cooling holes, enhancing the flow of cooling air onto component surfaces. Conventional TBC deposition techniques, for example Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS) or Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD), often lead to partial or complete blockage of cooling holes. This study compares the blockage of TBCs deposited on conventionally-sheet alloys with standard cooling holes and ALM alloys with more complex cooling holes using APS as a baseline process. Additionally, alternative plasma spray deposition technologies such as Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS) and Plasma Spray-Physical Vapor Deposition (PS-PVD) were explored. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of these processes in preventing blockage compared to the traditional APS process. The experimental results showed that the formation of the coating, whether originating from splats or from the vapor phase, the feedstock particle size, and the cooling hole geometry can all affect the blockage. It was demonstrated that PS-PVD, with its vapor-induced deposition, is highly effective in minimizing blockage, regardless of the cooling hole geometry. • The spraying of bond coats can lead to significant blockage due to splashing. • AM-substrates with intricate cooling holes reduced blockage by APS. • Small particles sprayed by SPS can deflect into cooling holes, increasing blockage. • PS-PVD top coats showed the least blockage, regardless of the cooling hole geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gadolinium zirconate (Gd2Zr2O7, GZO) as an advanced thermal barrier coating (TBC) material, has lower thermal conductivity, better phase stability, sintering resistance, and calcium‐magnesium‐alumino‐silicates (CMAS) attack resistance than yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ, 6‐8 wt%) at temperatures above 1200°C. However, the drawbacks of GZO, such as the low fracture toughness and the formation of deleterious interphases with thermally grown alumina have to be considered for the application as TBC. Using atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) and suspension plasma spraying (SPS), double‐layered YSZ/GZO TBCs, and triple‐layered YSZ/GZO TBCs were manufactured. In thermal cycling tests, both multilayered TBCs showed a significant longer lifetime than conventional single‐layered APS YSZ TBCs. The failure mechanism of TBCs in thermal cycling test was investigated. In addition, the CMAS attack resistance of both TBCs was also investigated in a modified burner rig facility. The triple‐layered TBCs had an extremely long lifetime under CMAS attack. The failure mechanism of TBCs under CMAS attack and the CMAS infiltration mechanism were investigated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double layer thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) consisting of a Gd 2 Zr 2 O 7 (GZO) top and an ytrria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) interlayer have been tested in a burner rig facility and the results compared to the ones of conventional YSZ single layers. In order to gain insight in the high temperature capability of the alternative TBC material, high surface temperatures of up to 1550 °C have been chosen while keeping the bond coat temperature similar. It turned out that the performance of all systems is largely depending on the microstructure of the coatings especially reduced porosity levels of GZO being detrimental. In addition, it was more difficult in GZO than in YSZ coatings to obtain highly porous and still properly bonded microstructures. Another finding was the reduced lifetime with increasing surface temperatures, the amount of reduction is depending on the investigated system. The reasons for this behavior are analyzed and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The purpose of this research was to investigate the corrosion behavior of the low/high Yb 2 SiO 5 containing Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 coatings under high-velocity water vapor flow. To that end, Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 and Si coatings were deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying on SiC substrates. The corrosion tests were performed in the burned natural gas under atmospheric pressure, with a gas flow velocity of 100 m/s at 1200 °C for 200 h. After the test, a 25 μm thick, porous corrosion layer at the surface of the Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 rich coatings was found accompanied with a mass reduction, whereas samples with Yb 2 SiO 5 rich coatings showed mass gain indicating the greater resistance of Yb 2 SiO 5 against water vapor. A comparison of the Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 rich coatings tested in this work and Yb 2 Si 2 O 7 bulk samples tested in an earlier work at the same facility revealed significantly different recession rates. Possible mechanisms responsible for this distinct behavior are discussed in the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ceramic top coat has a major influence on the performance of the thermal barrier coating systems (TBCs). Yttria-partially-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the top coat material frequently used, and the major deposition processes of the YSZ top coat are atmospheric plasma spraying and electron beam physical vapor deposition. Recently, also new thermal spray processes such as suspension plasma spraying or plasma spray-physical vapor deposition have been intensively investigated for TBC top coat deposition. These new processes and particularly the different coating microstructures that can be deposited with them will be reviewed in this article. Furthermore, the properties and the intrinsic-extrinsic degradation mechanisms of the YSZ will be discussed. Following the TBC deposition processes and standard YSZ material, alternative ceramic materials such as perovskites and hexaaluminates will be summarized, while properties of pyrochlores with regard to their crystal structure will be discussed more in detail. The merits of the pyrochlores such as good CMAS resistance as well as their weaknesses, e.g., low fracture toughness, processability issues, will be outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense, crack-free, uniform, and well-adhered environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) are required to enhance the environmental durability of silicon (Si)-based ceramic matrix composites in high pressure, high gas velocity combustion atmospheres. This paper represents an assessment of different thermal spray techniques for the deposition of YbSiO EBCs. The YbSiO coatings were deposited by means of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying (HVOF), suspension plasma spraying (SPS), and very low-pressure plasma spraying (VLPPS) techniques. The initial feedstock, as well as the deposited coatings, were characterized and compared in terms of their phase composition. The as-sprayed amorphous content, microstructure, and porosity of the coatings were further analyzed. Based on this preliminary investigation, the HVOF process stood out from the other techniques as it enabled the production of vertical crack-free coatings with higher crystallinity in comparison with the APS and SPS techniques in atmospheric conditions. Nevertheless, VLPPS was found to be the preferred process for the deposition of YbSiO coatings with desired characteristics in a controlled-atmosphere chamber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decade, gadolinium zirconate (Gd2Zr2O7, GZO) has attracted interest as an alternative material to partially yttria-stabilized zirconia ( YSZ) for thermal barrier coatings ( TBCs). Despite the well-known benefits of GZO, such as lower thermal conductivity and superior temperature capability compared to YSZ, processing of GZO via atmospheric plasma spraying ( APS) still remains a challenge. Here, we report on APS experiments which were performed to investigate the influence of processing on GZO microstructure and lifetime of GZO/ YSZ double-layer TBCs. Different microstructures of GZO were produced and characterized in terms of porosity, stoichiometry, Young′s modulus, and their effects on the lifetime of YSZ/ GZO double-layer TBCs were discussed. Particle diagnostics were utilized for the optimization of the process parameters with respect to different microstructures of GZO and stoichiometry. It was found that both cumulative porosity of GZO and pore size distribution, which alter the Young′s modulus significantly, govern the lifetime of double layers. In addition, it was shown that the deviation in GZO stoichiometry due to gadolinia evaporation in the investigated range does not display any critical effect on lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing of Gd2 Zr2 O7 by atmospheric plasma spraying ( APS) is challenging due to the difference in vapor pressure between gadolinia and zirconia. Gadolinia is volatilized to a greater extent than zirconia and the coating composition unfavorably deviates from the initial stoichiometry. Aiming at stoichiometric coatings, APS experiments were performed with a TriplexPro™ plasma torch at different current levels. Particle diagnostics proved to be an effective tool for the detection of potential degrees of evaporation via particle temperature measurements at these varied current levels. Optimized spray parameters for Gd2 Zr2 O7 in terms of porosity and stoichiometry were used to produce double-layer TBCs with an underlying yttria-stabilized zirconia (7 YSZ) layer. For comparison, double layers were also deposited with relatively high torch currents during Gd2 Zr2 O7 deposition, which led to a considerable amount of evaporation and relatively low porosities. These coatings were tested in thermal cycling rigs at 1400°C surface temperature. Double layers manufactured with optimized Gd2 Zr2 O7 spray parameters revealed very good thermal cycling performance in comparison to standard 7 YSZ coatings, whereas the others showed early failures. Furthermore, different failure modes were observed; coatings with long lifetime failed due to TGO growth, while the coatings displaying early failures spalled through crack propagation in the upper part of the 7 YSZ layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the delamination toughness and the sintering behavior of modern double-layer thermal barrier coatings of type gadolinium zirconate (GZO)/yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) are investigated in detail. These properties mainly determine the strain tolerance and thus the performance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The delamination toughness was determined using a modified four-point bending setup. It is shown that the delamination behavior differs significantly from conventional monolayer coatings and is highly dependent on the specific microstructure of the GZO layer. The stiffness and sintering behavior of freestanding GZO layers were determined using impulse excitation, a test method sensitive to the global stiffness of the ceramic coating. The increase in stiffness is thereby correlated to microstructural changes, explicitly the healing of micro-cracks and the sintering of inter-lamellar cracks and unmolten particles. The results reveal that the specific spray structure of GZO has a great influence on the sinter stability which results in a characteristic temperature dependency. In this case the GZO coatings have an advantage in comparison to conventional YSZ coatings at temperatures above 1300 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]