Investigation of Amorphous/Nanocrystalline Iron-Based Thermal Barrier Coatings

Because of their favorable thermophysical properties, good machinability and low material costs, iron-based coatings which exhibit a highly amorphous/nanocrystalline microstructure are currently in the focus of research. Considering the crystallization temperature of the material, iron-based coatings might be the next generation of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for low-temperature systems, reducing thermal losses. The objective of this research project is the development of highly amorphous, iron-based coatings. For this purpose, amorphous feedstock materials with different chromium contents have been developed and characterized regarding their microstructures, phase compositions, crystallization temperatures and amorphous content. The results show that the amorphous content is reduced with increasing particle size and chromium content. The coatings were deposited by air plasma spraying (APS) and high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying (HVOF). It is shown that all coatings exhibit amorphous structures. HVOF coatings show a smaller amount of amorphous content compared to the feedstock materials, indicating crystallization occurring in not fully melted particles or insufficient rapid cooling. The APS process can increase the amount of amorphous content compared to the feedstock material, as shown for x (Cr) = 15%. All coatings proof good thermal shock behavior. Lowest thermal diffusivity values were determined for APS coatings, which confirms the potential of iron-based TBCs.