M. Gell et al., Mechanism of spallation in platinum aluminide/electron beam physical vapor-deposited thermal barrier coatings, MET MAT T A, 30(2), 1999, pp. 427-435
The spallation failure of a commercial thermal barrier coating (TBC), consi
sting of a single-crystal RENE N5 superalloy, a platinum aluminide (Pt-Al)
bond coat, and an electron beam-deposited 7 wt pet yttria-stabilized zircon
ia ceramic layer (7YSZ), was studied following cyclic furnace testing. In t
he uncycled state and prior to deposition of the ceramic, the Pt-Al bond-co
at surface contains a cellular network of ridges corresponding to the under
lying bond-coat grain-boundary structure. With thermal cycling, the ridges
and associated grain boundaries are the sites of preferential oxidation and
cracking, which results in the formation of cavities that are partially fi
lled with oxide. Using a fluorescent penetrant dye in conjunction with a di
rect-pull test, it is shown that, when specimens are cycled to about 80 pet
of life, these grain-boundary regions show extensive debonding. The roles
of oxidation and cyclic stress in localized grain boundary region spallatio
n are discussed. The additional factors leading to large-scale TBC spallati
on are described.