Ahmed Umar Munawar

Microstructural Evolution of GdZ and DySZ Based EB-PVD TBC Systems After Thermal Cycling at High Temperature

Lower thermal conductivity and high temperature stability are the two properties which are highly desired from ceramic top coat materials in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems. Gadolinium zirconate, Gd2Zr2O7 (GdZ) and dyprosia stabilized zirconia (DySZ) are two of the candidate materials with such properties and consequently the TBC system would be able to work at higher turbine inlet temperature (TIT) or the lifetime can be increased. In the present study, lifetime measurements are done for single and double layered electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) GdZ and DySZ samples by thermal-cycling tests. The double layered TBCs consisted of a thin 7YSZ layer and, on top, the new candidate material. Both single and double layered samples of GdZ and DySZ have shown similar or better lifetimes than the standard 7YSZ samples. However, single layered TBCs showed better lifetime results than the respective double layers. In this study, changes in the microstructure, diffusion of elements and sintering of the TBC materials with aging are observed.

Substrate effect on the lifetime of EB-PVD TBC systems with 7YSZ and GdZ as Ceramic top coat materials

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) consist of a multi-layered system where the different layers are deposited to improve the high temperature capability of the underlying substrate material. Substrate materials are usually made of Ni-based superalloys which have an outstanding combination of high-temperature strength, toughness and resistance to degradation in corrosive or oxidizing environments. In this study, the effect of different substrate materials on cyclic TBC lifetime has been studied by using two different superalloys, IN100 and CMSX-4, as the substrate materials. Two different ceramic topcoat materials, 7wt. % yttria partially stabilized zirconia (7YSZ) and Gadolinium Zirconate (GdZ), have been deposited on NiCoCrAlY bond coats. All depositions in this study have been carried out by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD). Lifetime measurements have been done by holding the systems at 1100°C for 50mins and then reducing the temperature to ambient level by forced air cooling for 10mins. The TBC lifetime in case of IN100 substrates is higher than on CMSX-4. The use of GdZ as topcoat material improves the lifetime for both IN100 and CMSX-4 based TBC systems, however, the lifetime for CMSX-4 based TBC system is still shorter than its IN100 counterpart. In this study, lifetime comparisons, changes in the microstructure and diffusion of different elements in the system are investigated.Copyright