Effect of water vapor on the spallation of thermal barrier coating systems during laboratory cyclic oxidation testing.

The effect of water and water vapor on the lifetime of Ni-based superalloy samples coated with a typical thermal barrier coating system—b-(Ni,Pt)Al bond coat and yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) top coat deposited by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) was studied. Samples were thermally cycled to 1,150 C and subjected to a water-drop test in order to elucidate the effect of water vapor on thermal barrier coating (TBC) spallation. It was shown that the addition of water promotes spallation of TBC samples after a given number of cycles at 1,150 C. This threshold was found to be equal to 170 cycles for the present system. Systems based on b-NiAl bond coat or on Pt-rich c/c0 bond coat were also sensitive to the water-drop test. Moreover, it was shown that water vapor in ambient air after minutes or hours at room temperature, promotes also TBC spallation once the critical number of cycles has been reached. This desktop spalling (DTS) can be prevented by locking up the cycled samples in a dry atmosphere box. These results for TBC systems confirm and document Smialek’s theory about DTS and moisture induced delayed spalling (MIDS) being the same phenomenon. Finally, the mechanisms implying hydrogen embrittlement or surface tension modifications are discussed

An overview of using small punch testing for mechanical characterization of MCrAlY bond coats

Considerable work has been carried out on overlay bond coats in the past several decades because of its excellent oxidation resistance and good adhesion between the top coat and superalloy substrate in the thermal barrier coating systems. Previous studies mainly focus on oxidation and diffusion behavior of these coatings. However, the mechanical behavior and the dominant fracture and deformation mechanisms of the overlay bond coats at different temperatures are still under investigation. Direct comparison between individual studies has not yet been achieved due to the fragmentary data on deposition processes, microstructure and, more apparently, the difficulty in accurately measuring the mechanical properties of thin coatings. One of the miniaturized specimen testing methods, small punch testing, appears to have the potential to provide such mechanical property measurements for thin coatings. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of using small punch testing to evaluate material properties and to summarize the available mechanical properties that include the ductile-to-brittle transition and creep of MCrAlY bond coat alloys, in an attempt to understand the mechanical behavior of MCrAlY coatings over a broad temperature range

Composition Effects on Aluminide Oxidation Performance: Objectives for Improved Bond Coats

Formerly, the role of metallic coatings on Ni-base superalloys was simply to limit environmental attack of the underlying substrate. However, a new paradigm has been established for metallic coatings adapted as bond coats for thermal barrier coatings. It is no longer sufficient for the coating to just minimize the corrosion rate. The metallic coating must also form a slow-growing external Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer beneath the overlying low thermal conductivity ceramic top coat. This thermally grown oxide or scale must have near-perfect adhesion in order to limit spallation of the top coat, thereby achieving a long coating lifetime. While oxidation is not the only concern in complex thermal barrier coating systems, it is, however, a primary factor in developing the next generation of bond coats. Therefore, a set of compositional guidelines for coatings is proposed in order to maximize oxidation performance. These criteria are based on test results of cast alloy compositions to quantify an d understand possible improvements as a basis for further investigations using coatings made by chemical vapor deposited (CVD). Experimental work includes furnace cycle testing and in-depth characterization of the alumina scale, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM)