Unraveling the CMAS corrosion mechanism of APS high-yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings

In this study, the CMAS corrosion behavior of two high-yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings (38YSZ and 55YSZ) deposited by air plasma spraying is investigated and compared with a typical 8YSZ coating at 1250 °C to unravel the underlying corrosion mechanism. The 8YSZ coating undergoes severe CMAS attack driven by dissolution-reprecipitation and intergranular corrosion. However, the 38YSZ and 55YSZ coatings can react with CMAS melt vigorously to form a dense reaction layer with CMAS-resistant apatite phase at the CMAS/coating interface, thereby resisting the CMAS infiltration. The apatite phase can be formed only when the yttria content in c-ZrO2 precipitated from CMAS attains the critical value (∼20 at%). Moreover, compared to the 38YSZ coating, apart from the high yttria content, the low zirconia content in the 55YSZ coating also allows higher free Y3+ available to form apatite phase via inhibiting the formation of c-ZrO2, thus facilitating the formation of more apatite phase.