The Effect of Thermal Aging on the Thermal Conductivity of Plasma Sprayed and EB-PVD Thermal Barrier Coatings

Abstract

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) applied to the hot gas components of turbine engines lead to enhanced fuel efficiency and component reliability. Understanding the mechanisms which control the thermal transport behavior of the TBCs is of primary importance. Electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) and air plasma spraying (APS) are the two most commonly used coating techniques. These techniques produce coatings with unique microstructures which control their performance and stability. The density of the APS coatings was controlled by varying the spray parameters. The low density APS yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (yttria-PSZ) coatings yielded a thermal conductivity that is lower than both the high density APS coatings and the EB-PVD coatings. The thermal aging of both fully and partially stabilized zirconia are compared. The thermal conductivity of the coatings permanently increases upon exposure to high temperatures. These increases are attributed to microstructural changes within the coatings. This increase in thermal conductivity can be modeled using a relationship which depends on both the temperature and time of exposure. Although the EB-PVD coatings are less susceptible to thermal aging effects, results suggest that they typically have a higher thermal conductivity than APS coatings before thermal aging. The increases in thermal conductivity due to thermal aging for plasma sprayed partially stabilized zirconia have been found to be less than for plasma sprayed fully stabilized zirconia coatings.