An Experimental Study of Microstructure-Property Relationships in Thermal Barrier Coatings

The thermal-mechanical properties of thermal barrier coatings are highly influenced by the defects present in coating microstructure. The aim of this study was to meet the future needs of the gas turbine industry by further development of zirconia coatings through the assessment of microstructure-property relationships. A design of experiments was conducted for this purpose with current, spray distance, and powder feed rate as the varied parameters. Microstructure was assessed with SEM and image analysis was used to characterize porosity content. Evaluations were carried out using laser flash technique to measure thermal properties. A bi-layer beam curvature technique in conjunction with controlled thermal cycling was used to assess the mechanical properties, in particular their nonlinear elastic response. Coating lifetime was evaluated by thermo-cyclic fatigue testing. Relationships between microstructure and coating properties are discussed. Dense vertically cracked microstructure and highly porous microstructure with large globular pores were also fabricated. Correlations between parameters obtained from nonlinear measurements and lifetime based on a priori established microstructural analysis were attempted in an effort to develop and identify a simplified strategy to assess coating durability following sustained long-term exposure to high temperature thermal cycling.