Hot Corrosion Behavior of Plasma-Sprayed Gd2Zr2O7/YSZ Functionally Graded Thermal Barrier Coatings

The development of advanced thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials with better hot corrosion resistance, phase stability, and residual stresses is an emerging research area in the aerospace industry. In the present study, four kinds of TBCs, namely, single-layer yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), single-layer gadolinium zirconate (GZ), bilayer gadolinium zirconate/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ/GZ), and a multilayer functionally graded coating (FGC) of YSZ and GZ, were deposited on NiCrAlY bond-coated nickel-based superalloy (Inconel 718) substrates using the atmospheric plasma spray technique. The hot corrosion behavior of the coatings was tested by applying a mixture of Na2SO4 and V2O5 onto the surface of TBC, followed by isothermal heat treatment at 1273 K for 50 h. The characterization of the corroded samples was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to identify physical and chemical changes in the coatings. GIXRD was used to analyze the residual stresses of the coatings. Residual stress in the FGC coating was found to be −15.2 ± 10.6 MPa. The wear resistance of TBCs is studied using a linear reciprocating tribometer, and the results indicate that gadolinium zirconate-based TBCs showed better performance when deposited in bilayer and multilayered functionally graded TBC systems. The wear rate of as-coated FGC coatings was determined to be 2.90 × 10−4 mm3/Nm, which is lower than the conventional YSZ coating.