Acid Salt Spray Corrosion Behaviors of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Steel Substrates

ZHAO Cong; WEI Guoke; JIANG Chunzhu; CUI Xiangzhong; GAO Wei; ZHOU Guodong

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.021

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (9) : 257-269. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.021

Equipment Surface Engineering

Acid Salt Spray Corrosion Behaviors of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Steel Substrates

ZHAO Cong^*, WEI Guoke, JIANG Chunzhu, CUI Xiangzhong, GAO Wei, ZHOU Guodong

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Abstract

This work aims to investigate the corrosion behaviors of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on steel substrates under acid salt spray corrosion test conditions.
TBCs are prepared on steel substrates surfaces by air plasma spray (APS) technology, including 8.0wt.% Y₂O₃ partially stabilized ZrO₂ (YSZ) ceramic top layers and NiCrAl metallic bond layers (composition: Cr 17.0wt.%, Al 5.0wt.%, Ni balance). The acid salt spray corrosion test is carried out according to the GJB 150.11A—2 009 standard, adopting a cyclic regime consisting of 24 h continuous salt spray exposure followed by 24 h drying. Four such cycles are performed, resulting in a total test period of 192 h. After each cycle, the exposed surfaces are gently rinsed under ambient conditions with flowing deionized water to remove residual salt deposits for convenient photographic documentations of the results. The changes before and after corrosion are analyzed. The morphologies are characterized by ultra-depth Optical Microscopy (OM). The phase compositions are characterized by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD). The microstructures are characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The chemical compositions are characterized by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) belonging to SEM. The crystal structure types are characterized by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Comparative corrosion behavior analyses of uncoated samples are also conducted.
The experimental results demonstrate that after corrosion reddish-brown spots are observed on the coating surface, while rust spalling observed in uncoated sample does not occur. The surface roughness of coated sample increases, yet the growth amplitude is much lower than that of the uncoated sample, accounting for less than 1/10 of the latter's. Tiny flocculent microstructures appear on the coating surface. The content of Fe and O elements of the flocculent microstructures are both especially high (15.65wt.% and 51.52wt.%, respectively), which indicates that Fe oxidations form. Cross-sectional views show that coating thickness remains almost unchanged and no separation is observed at the interface between the coating and the steel substrate. Elemental mapping results reveal that the elements Zr, Y, Hf, O from the ceramic top layer remain localized within the ceramic top layer region and the elements Ni, Cr, Al from the metallic bond layer remain confined to the metallic bond layer region. While the element Fe from the steel substrate diffuses outward to the coating surface and accumulates. TEM results also show that small amounts of Fe element appear in the coating, while no crystal type changes are induced.
The results can be concluded that the steel substrate suffers severe corrosion after a 192 h acid salt spray cycle test with a pH value of 3.5, resulting in thick reddish-brown rust layers with visible cracking and spalling. APS-deposited TBCs can substantially reduce the corrosion damage. Surface crackings and spallings induced by corrosion disappear in coating samples, and no separation occurs at the coating/substrate interface. During the corrosion process, ion diffusion happens via the coating. The corrosive substances infiltrate to the steel substrate surface, while the generated ferri ions diffuse outward to the coating surface. Small amounts of Fe originating from the steel substrate exists in the corrosion-exposed coating, however which does not induce diffusional lattice reorganization.

Key words

marine environment / steel substrate / thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) / air plasma spray (APS) / acid salt spray / corrosion behavior

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ZHAO Cong, WEI Guoke, JIANG Chunzhu, CUI Xiangzhong, GAO Wei, ZHOU Guodong. Acid Salt Spray Corrosion Behaviors of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Steel Substrates[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(9): 257-269

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