Mechanical properties of EB-PVD ZrO₂ thermal barrier coatings

In this work, the elastic properties of thermal barrier coatings which were produced by electron-beam enhanced physical vapour deposition were investigated, as well as the dependency of the properties on the sample microstructure, the thermal treatment and the test method. For this purpose, not only commercial coatings were characterized, but also special sample material was used which consists of a 1 mm thick layer of EB-PVD TBC. This material was isothermally heat treated for different times at 950 C, 1100 C and 1200 C and then tested in a specially developed miniaturized bend test and by dynamic mechanical analysis. The sample material was tested by nanoindentation in order to measure the Young's modulus on a local scale, and the porosity of the samples was determined by microstructure analysis and porosimetry. The decrease of porosity could be connected with sintering and subsequent stiffening of the material. The test results are dependent on the tested volume. A small test volume leads to larger measured Young's moduli, while a large test volume yields lower values. The test volume also has an influence on the increase of stiffness during thermal exposure. With a small tested volume, a quicker increase of the Young's modulus was registered, which could be associated to the sintering of local structures.