Evolution and Characterization of Partially Stabilized Zirconia (7wt% Y2O3) Thermal Barrier Coatings Deposited by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition

Bernier, Jeremy Scott

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Evolution and Characterization of Partially Stabilized Zirconia (7wt% Y2O3) Thermal Barrier Coatings Deposited by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition

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Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) of ZrO2-7wt% Y2O3 were deposited by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) onto stationary flat plates and cylindrical surfaces in a multiple ingot coater. Crystallographic texture, microstructure, and deposition rate were investigated in this thesis. The crystallographic texture of EB-PVD TBCs deposited on stationary flat surfaces has been experimentally determined by comparing pole figure analysis data with actual column growth angle data. It was found that the TBC coating deposited directly above an ingot exhibits <220> single crystal type crystallographic texture. Coatings deposited between and off the centerline of the ingots the exhibited a <311>-type single crystal texture. For coatings deposited in the far corners of the coating chamber either a <111> fiber texture or a <311> single crystal type texture existed. The crystallographic texture of EB-PVD TBCs deposited on cylindrical surfaces was characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD) at different angular positions on the cylinder substrate. XRD results revealed that crystallographic texture changes with angular position. Changes in crystallographic texture are attributed to the growth direction of the columns and substrate temperature. Growth direction is controlled by the direction of the incoming vapor flux (i.e. vapor incidence angle), in which competition occurs between crystallites growing at different rates. The fastest growing orientation takes over and dominates the texture. Substrate temperature variations throughout the coating chamber resulted in different growth rates and morphology. Morphology differences existed between cylindrical and flat plate surfaces. Flat cross sectional surfaces of the coatings exhibited a dense columnar structure in which the columns grew towards the closest vapor source. Surface features were found to be larger for coatings deposited directly above an ingot than coatings deposited away from the ingots. Morphological differences result from substrate temperature changes within the coating chamber, which influences growth kinetics of the coating. Cylindrical surfaces revealed a columnar structure in which columns grew towards the closest vapor. Porosity of the coating was found to increase when the angular position changed from the bottom of the cylinder. Change in angular position also caused the column diameter to decreases. Morphology changes are attributed to self-shadow effects caused by the surface curvature of the cylinder and vapor incidence angle changes. Overall, the microstructure and crystallographic texture of EB-PVD coatings was found to depend on the position in the coating chamber which was found to influence substrate temperature, growth directions, and shadowing effects. The coating thickness profiles for EB-PVD TBCs deposited on stationary cylinders have been experimentally measured and theoretically modeled using Knudsenâ€™s cosine law of emissions. A comparison of the experimental results with the model reveals that the model must to be modified to account for the sticking coefficient as well as a ricochet factor. These results are also discussed in terms of the effects of substrate temperature on the sticking coefficient, the ricochet factor, and coating density.

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