Combined pre-annealing and pre-oxidation treatment for the processing of thermal barrier coatings on NiCoCrAlY bond coatings

A combined pre-annealing and pre-oxidation treatment was developed for the processing of partially yttria stabilized (PYSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBC) on top of NiCoCrAlY bond coatings (BC). To develop this pre-treatment, the influence of the oxygen potential during pre-annealing and pre-oxidation on the life span and failure mechanisms of the entire high temperature coating system upon thermal cycling was investigated. The results of this study showed that the service life of the coating system depended strongly on the composition and microstructure of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) after pre-oxidation. The longer life spans were obtained if the TGO thickened very slowly during thermal cycling due to a large α-Al2O3 grain size. Such a slow-growing TGO corresponded with a pre-treatment for which θ-Al2O3 was formed during pre-oxidation and for which the yttrium was located within a high density of pegs along the TGO/BC interface after pre-oxidation. If the yttrium was present on top of the TGO after pre-oxidation, a thick mixed alumina–zirconia layer formed upon thermal cycling. This mixed oxide layer contributed significantly to the total oxide layer thickness, resulting in short life spans. The formation of NiAl2O4 spinel in between the TBC and the α-Al2O3 should be avoided, since this can lead to premature failure along the spinel/α-Al2O3 interface.