Durability of YSZ Coated Ti2AlC in 1300 °C Mach 0.3 Burner Rig Tests

A thermal barrier coating system survived burner rig testing at 1300 °C for 500 h. A 160 µm thick yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coating was applied to a Ti2AlC MAX phase bar sample by plasma spray physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) and tested face-on in an atmospheric Mach 0.3 jet fuel burner, using 5-h thermal cycles. No thermal barrier coating (TBC) spallation or recession was observed, only a 2.4 mg/cm2 mass gain. The modest weight gain precluded severe volatility losses under high velocity burner conditions. The coating surface exhibited colonies of (111)flourite fiber-textured columns separated by craze patterns, with no visible moisture attack. The metastable tetragonal t' YSZ phase was obtained initially, transitioning to equilibrium teq and cubic YSZ, but with little detrimental monoclinic. The thickness of the alumina TGO was ~21 to 23 μm under the heated YSZ face and ~13 to 15 μm on the uncoated, cooler backside. The backside exhibited removal of initial transient TiO2 nodules and partial etching of the underlying Al2O3 scale by volatile hydroxides formed in high temperature, high velocity water vapor. Aerodynamic forces produced some bending of the cantilevered sample via creep. The test indicated exceptional stability of YSZ coatings on Ti2AlC under turbine conditions, with thermal expansion matching playing a key role. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate long term durability of YSZ/MAX phase system in aggressive high temperature burner rig testing.

MAX phases have been keenly studied because of their unique crystal structure and intriguing
properties (Refs. 1 and 2). Having Mn+1(Al,Si)(C,N)n general composition, they are defined as ceramics,
but possess unusual desirable attributes such as high conductivity, thermal shock resistance, easy
machinability, and deformation tolerance. The mechanical properties derive from weak M-(Al,Si)
bonding in the basal plane that leads to sliding and kinking in preference to catastrophic crack growth.
Like most ceramics they are phase stable at high temperatures, generally up to 1500 °C. High temperature
oxidation resistance is excellent for alumina-forming Ti3AlC2, Ti2AlC, and Cr2AlC, as reviewed by
Tallman, et al. (Ref. 3). Compatibility with α-Al2O3 scales is further enhanced in cyclic exposures by a
close matching of thermal expansion coefficients, (Ref. 4) i.e., (~9.3, 10.2, 11.3×10–6/K for Al2O3,
Ti2AlC, and YSZ, to be discussed).
Turbine environments generally contain 10 percent water vapor in the combustion gases, therefore
moisture effects can be a concern for some materials (Ref. 5). Furnace tests of MAX phases in high
temperature steam generally showed little effect on Al2O3 scale growth (Ref. 6). However, high velocity
and high pressure gas can influence scale losses by the formation of volatile reaction products, such as
TiO(OH)2 and Al(OH)3 (Refs. 7 to 10). This phenomenon had been discussed for 1100 to 1300 °C high
pressure burner rig tests of Ti2AlC (Ref. 11). A single cubic growth rate parameter kcubic was measurably
lower than comparable furnace TGA data, but it could be matched reasonably well if corrected for a slight
volatility term. In general, a two-parameter cubic-linear growth-volatility law was believed to apply.
Corresponding scale volatility loss rates, directly measured at 1300 °C on a pre-oxidized sample, were
moderate (0.012 mg/cm2/h) and largely attributed to removal of the initial TiO2 transient scale.
A related CH4 burner study of high purity Cr2AlC MAX phase demonstrated 1200 °C durability after
500 rapid (5 min. heat and 2 min. cool) thermal shock cycling (29 h hot time) (Ref. 12). Heating and
cooling rates were ~1000 and 500 °C per minute, with a gas velocity of 5 m/s, producing a 75 °C/mm
gradient. A 7 μm Al2O3 surface scale and a 13 μm Cr7C3 depletion zone formed with no signs of failure.
No evidence of scale volatility was evident, although weight change was not provided, the velocity was
moderate, and the total hot time was not extensive. The same high gradient BRT was used to produce
1400 °C surface temperatures for a YSZ/Cr2AlC/IN738 system in the first study of MAX phases used as
bond coats for thermal barrier coatings (TBC) (Ref. 25). Here TBC failure was reported after 745 cycles,
with only a 1.5 μm Al2O3 scale entrained within a porous, Cr7C3 bondcoat depletion phase.
YSZ thermal barrier coatings have been considered to be a compatible complement to Al-MAX
phases because of thermal expansion matching and extremely low volatility in water vapor. Initial studies
showed superior oxidative stability up to 1300 °C, for long times (at least 500 h) for Ti2AlC substrates
and less (268 h) for Cr2AlC, while withstanding large alumina TGO scale thickness (~35 to 40 μm)
(Refs. 13 and 14). By comparison, typical superalloy systems can only survive 1150 °C maximum
interface temperatures for extended periods, with a maximum sustained TGO below 10 μm (Ref. 15).
High temperature SiC based systems are known to form slow-growing SiO2 scales. But these are
subject to rate enhancement and volatile Si(OH)4 products in the presence of water vapor, as described
comprehensively by Opila, et al. (Refs. 5, 16 to 19). Net weight losses are generally observed in high
velocity, high pressure burner rig studies (e.g., 0.084 mg/cm2/h at 1300 °C) (Ref. 20). Furthermore, the
loss rates have been shown from chemical physics to scale with v1/2 and pH2O
2 (Ref. 16). Low activity,
moisture-resistant environmental barrier coatings (EBC), such as rare earth silicates, are needed to
prevent substrate recession under turbine conditions (Refs. 21 to 23).