Nanomechanical Characterization of Plasma-Sprayed Nanostructured Yb4Hf3O12 Thermal/Environmental Barrier Coatings

Thermal/environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs) have become a notable research field for the development of high-performance thermal protection coatings. The mechanical properties are essential for T/EBCs, which determine the functionality, reliability and durability of coatings. The Yb4Hf3O12 TEBCs were prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying using nanostructured spherical feedstocks and the nanomechanical properties of the Yb4Hf3O12 coatings were characterized by nano-indentation in this work. Results indicate the elastic indentation work (We) is 16.06 ± 1.45 nJ and the plastic indentation work is 28.62 ± 6.87 nJ for nanostructured Yb4Hf3O12 coatings. The ratio of plastic work to total deformation work during indentation as the energy dissipation parameter (η) is 0.63 ± 0.05 for nanostructured Yb4Hf3O12 coatings and it can be preliminarily inferred that the Yb4Hf3O12 coating may possess favorable erosion resistance, although direct erosion testing is needed for confirmation.