Thermal Barrier Coatings Specimens Research Articles

Effect of pre-aluminization on the properties of ZrO2-8wt.% Y2O3/Co-29Cr-6Al-1Y thermal-barrier coatings

Specimens of investment-cast Mar-M247 superalloy were vacuum-plasma sprayed with Co-29Cr-6Al-1Y bond coat, and part of the specimens were further pre-aluminized at 980°C for 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 hours. All the specimens were then deposited with ZrO2-8 wt.% Y2O3 thermal-barrier coatings (TBCs) and thermally cycled at 1050°C to evaluate the effect of time of the prealuminizing treatment on the performance and failure mechanism of the modified system. Results showed that TBC specimens with pre-aluminized bond coatings exhibited lower oxidation rates and significantly higher cyclic life when compared with unaluminized specimens. The failure of bond-coat pre-aluminized TBC specimens was observed to propagate mainly along the lamellar splats of the top coat, whereas the failure of conventional TBC specimens occurred mainly along the top-coat/spinel oxides interface.

The effect of pack-aluminisation on the microstructure of MCrAlY and the performance of thermal barrier coatings

Abstract Plasma spraying and pack-aluminising processes were combined and applied to the nickel-base superalloy Mar-M247 to improve its cyclic oxidation resistance. The performance tests of duplex ZrO 2 -8 wt.%Y 2 O 3 /MCrAlY thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were conducted at 1050 °C, 1075 °C, 1100 °C, 1150 °C and 1200 °C. The results of the experiments in this study showed that TBC specimens with the aluminised MCrAlY bond coat exhibited higher cyclic lives (except for the Ni-22Cr-10Al-1Y bond coat), at all the temperatures tested, than specimens on which the bond coat was not aluminised. The microstructures of the Co-29Cr-6Al-1Y, Co-32Ni-21Cr-8Al-0.5Y and Ni-22Cr-10Al-1Y bond coats with or without aluminising treatment were examined in detail using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron probe microanalyzer.

Effects of bond coat preoxidation on the properties of ZrO2-8wt.% Y2O3/Ni-22Cr-10Al-1Y thermal-barrier coatings

Plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) consist of an intermediate MCrAlY bond coat to protect the substrate superalloy from oxidation/hot corrosion and a thermal insulating zirconia-based ceramic top coat. This system is developed for advanced turbine-engine, hot-section components. In this study the as-sprayed Ni-22Cr-10Al-1Y bond coat was subjected to preoxidation treatment at 1000° C for 1, 50, 100, and 200 hr, also at 1100°C, 1200°C and 1300°C for 1 hr to form an oxide scale before subsequent deposition of a ZrO2-8wt.% Y2O3 top coat. The oxidation kinetics were measured, and the phase constitution and morphology of pregrown oxides on the Ni-22Cr-1Y bond coat were analyzed by x-ray diffractometer and SEM/EDS to elucidate the improvement and degradation mechanisms of the new system. The results of the experiments in this study showed that the tentative ZrO2-8wt.% Y2O3 TBC specimens with preoxidized Ni-22Cr-10Al-1Y bond coat, when properly processed, exhibited lower oxidation rates and generally longer lifetime compared with traditional TBC specimens.