Use of Indentation Technique to Measure Elastic Modulus of Plasma-Sprayed Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coating

Abstract

Elastic modulus of an yttria partially stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coating (TBC) was evaluated with a Knoop indentation technique. The measured elastic modulus values for the coating ranged from 68.4 {+-} 22.6 GPa at an indentation load of 50 g to 35.7 {+-} 9.8 at an indentation load of 300 g. At higher loads, the elastic modulus values did not change significantly. This steady-state value of 35.7 GPa for ZrO{sub 2} TBC agreed well with literature values obtained by the Hertzian indentation method. Furthermore, the measured elastic modulus for the TBC is lower than that reported for bulk ZrO{sub 2} ({approx} 190 GPa). This difference is believed to be due to the presence of a significant amount of porosity and microcracks in the TBCs. Hardness was also measured.