Degradation of a TBC with HVOF-CoNiCrAlY Bond Coat

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) provide both thermal insulation and oxidation and corrosion protection to the substrate metal, and their durability is influenced by delamination near the interface between the ceramic topcoat and the metallic bond coat, where a layer of thermally grown oxide (TGO) forms during service exposure. In the present work, the degradation process of a TBC with an air-plasma-spray ZrO 2 -8 wt.%Y 2 O 3 topcoat and a high-velocity oxy-fuel CoNiCrAlY bond coat was studied, in terms of TGO growth kinetics and aluminum depletion in the bond coat, as well as cracking behavior. The results show that the TGO growth kinetics can be described by a transient oxidation stage with δ 3 = k 1 t followed by a steady-state oxidation stage with δ 2 = c + k 2 t . Significant aluminum depletion was observed in the bond coat after extended thermal exposure; however, chemical failure of the bond coat did not occur even after the aluminum content near the TGO/CoNiCrAlY interface decreased to 4.5 at.%. A power-law relationship between the maximum crack length in the TBC and the TGO thickness was observed, which may serve as the basis for TBC life prediction.