Failure of EB-PVD thermal barrier coatings subjected to thermo-mechanical loading

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were developed to protect metallic blades and vanes working in turbo-engines. The two-layered structure TBCs, consisting of NiCoCrAlY bond coat and yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), were deposited on a cylinder of superalloy substrate by the electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). The failure mechanism of the TBCs was investigated with a thermo-mechanical fatigue testing system under the service condition similar to that for turbine blades. Non-destructive evaluation of the coated specimens was conducted through the impedance spectroscopy. It is found that the crack initiation mainly takes place on the top coat at the edge of the heated zones.