Effects of residual stress on the performance of plasma sprayed functionally graded ZrO2/NiCoCrAlY coatings

Functionally graded ZrO2/NiCoCrAlY coatings were produced by plasma spraying using pre-mixed and spheroidized powders as the feedstock. The microstructure, density, elastic modulus, thermal conductivity/diffusivity, microhardness and coefficient of thermal expansion were found to change gradually through the five-layer functionally graded coatings which was beneficial for the improvement of mechanical and thermal properties of the coatings. The residual stresses of the as-sprayed coatings with different graded layers and different thicknesses, as well as the changes of residual stresses during thermal cycling were simulated by finite element analysis (FEA). Results showed that residual stress was the lowest for the five-layer functionally graded coating compared to that of the duplex coating and three-layer coating with the same thickness, and the residual stresses increased with a decrease in coating thickness. For the coatings with the same thickness, the bond strength and thermal cycling resistance were found to increase with an increase in the number of graded layers which is due to the decrease in the residual thermal stresses. The bond strength of the five-layer functionally graded coating was about twice as high as that of the duplex coating and the number of thermal cycles of functionally graded coating was five times higher than that of the duplex coating. Results also showed that the bond strength decreased with an increase in the coating thickness. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.