Nanostructured YSZ thermal barrier coatings engineered to counteract sintering effects

Thermal spray zirconia–8 wt% yttria (YSZ) deposits have been employed as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) in the hot sections of gas turbines. The use of nanostructured YSZ represents an alternative for improving the performance of these coatings. Despite some initial positive research results, there are still fundamental questions to be answered on the applicability of nanostructured YSZ coatings as TBCs. These questions are related to sintering effects, which could significantly increase the thermal diffusivity/conductivity and elastic modulus values of these types of coatings in high temperature environments. In this study, nanostructured and conventional YSZ coatings were heat-treated at 1400 °C for 1, 5 and 20 h. It was observed that the nanostructured coatings counteract sintering effects, due to the presence of a bimodal microstructure exhibiting regions with different sintering rates: (i) matrix (low rate) and (ii) nanozones (high rate). Important sintering-affected properties, like thermal diffusivity and elastic modulus were studied. The thermal diffusivity and elastic modulus values of the nanostructured YSZ coatings were significantly lower than those of conventional YSZ coatings, even after an exposure to a temperature of 1400 °C for 20 h. This study demonstrates that nanostructured YSZ coatings can be engineered to counteract sintering effects and exhibit significantly lower increases in thermal diffusivity and elastic modulus values in high temperature environments when compared to those of conventional YSZ coatings.