Effect of Bond Coat Surface Modification on Microstructure and Properties of Thermal Barrier Coatings

ZHANG Bin; CAI Yan; TIAN Kai; CHANG Zhendong; MU Rende

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.19.006

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (19) : 62-70. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.19.006

Special Topic—Advanced Thermal Barrier Coating Technologies and Applications for Advanced Aero-engines and Gas Turbines

Effect of Bond Coat Surface Modification on Microstructure and Properties of Thermal Barrier Coatings

ZHANG Bin^1,2,3, CAI Yan^1,2,3,*, TIAN Kai^1,2,3, CHANG Zhendong^1,2,3, MU Rende^1,2,3

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Abstract

In this work, gradient shot-peening strengthening treatments of varying intensity were performed on vacuum-arc-deposited NiCrAlYSi bond coats. EB-PVD yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) top coats were subsequently deposited to fabricate integrated thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems on IC10 nickel-based superalloy substrates. This study quantitatively revealed how shot-peening intensity regulated bond-coat surface status, interfacial features, bonding performance and cyclic oxidation resistance. It clarified the coupling mechanism among surface topography, thermally-grown oxide (TGO) evolution, brittle spinel oxide formation and stress-induced interfacial crack initiation, and determined the shot-peening process window compatible with EB-PVD ceramic top coats for practical engineering application.
Two types of IC10 superalloy specimens were prepared: ϕ25.4 mm×7 mm cylindrical samples for bonding-strength measurement and 30 mm×10 mm×1.5 mm plates for cyclic oxidation and microstructural characterization. NiCrAlYSi bond coats with thickness of 20-40 μm were deposited by vacuum arc plating at an arc current of 650 A and substrate bias of 20 V, followed by vacuum diffusion treatment at 900 ℃ for 3 h. Five gradient shot-peening groups were designed with AZB150 ceramic shots: 0 A (unpeened reference), 0.05-0.10 A, 0.10-0.15 A, 0.15-0.20 A and 0.20-0.25 A. Afterwards, 80-120 μm thick YSZ top coats were prepared via EB-PVD. A white-light interferometer was adopted to acquire surface roughness and three-dimensional profiles. Bonding strength was tested with an INSTRON 5882 tensile tester in accordance with the AETF68A standard. Cyclic oxidation tests were conducted at 1 100 ℃ following AETM189A; each cycle included 55 min high-temperature holding and 5 min air-cooling, and coating failure was defined by the normalized mass change ΔG ≤0. SEM-EDS operated at 15 kV was employed to characterize interfacial microstructures and elemental distributions across bond-coat/TGO interfaces.
Quantitative results showed that surface roughness varied non-monotonically with peening intensity. The unpeened sample exhibited a roughness of 1.82 μm. Moderate peening of 0.05-0.10 A compacted surface pores and flattens sharp protrusions, reducing roughness to 0.99 μm. Further increasing peening intensity regenerated severe surface undulation, and the roughness rebounded to 1.78 μm at 0.20-0.25 A. Bonding strength rose first and then declined, reaching a peak of 72.2 MPa under 0.10-0.15 A peening, which was 10% higher than 63.7 MPa of the original sample. Excessive peening introduced surface indentations and geometric discontinuities, which significantly deteriorated interfacial bonding performance.
In 1 100 ℃ cyclic oxidation tests, TBCs treated by 0.05-0.15 A shot peening achieved a service lifetime of 600-700 h. Their smooth interfaces facilitated uniform growth of protective α-Al₂O₃ dominated TGO layers. In comparison, samples subjected to high-intensity peening (0.20-0.25 A) only survived 400-500 h. After 300 thermal cycles, SEM-EDS verified the formation of brittle Ni-Cr-Al spinel mixed oxides within TGO. Severe interfacial undulations created additional oxygen diffusion pathways and generated stress-concentration sites. Under cyclic thermal loading, microcracks initiated, propagated and interconnected, eventually triggering large-area ceramic spallation. Distinct from previous researches merely focusing on residual-stress modification, this work proves that interfacial topography plays a dominant role. The optimal peening window for this TBC system is identified as 0.05-0.15 A. Smooth and dense bond-coat interfaces relieve stress concentration and restrain brittle-oxide formation, which is critical for improving high-temperature service reliability. This study provides quantitative experimental support for surface modification of aero-engine hot-section components.

Key words

thermal barrier coating / shot peening strengthening / surface roughness / bonding strength / cyclic oxidation / failure mechanism

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ZHANG Bin, CAI Yan, TIAN Kai, CHANG Zhendong, MU Rende. Effect of Bond Coat Surface Modification on Microstructure and Properties of Thermal Barrier Coatings[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(19): 62-70

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