This paper focused on studying the performance of a nanostructured thermal barrier coating (TBC) system deposited by APS, which had a bond coat with inter-lamellar porosities that resulted during the manufacturing process. The higher porosity level of the bond coat was studied as a possible way to keep the thickness of the TGO under control, as it is distributed on a higher surface, thereby reducing the chance of top-coat (TC) spallation during long-term oxidation and high-temperature thermal shock. The TBC system consisted of nanostructured yttria partially stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as a top coat and a conventional NiCrAlY bond coat. Inter-lamellar porosities ensured the development of a TGO distributed on a higher surface without affecting the overall coating performance. Based on long-term isothermal oxidation tests performed at 1150 °C, the inter-lamellar pores do not affect the high resistance of nanostructured TBCs in case of long-term iso-thermal oxidation at 1150 °C. The ceramic layer withstands the high-temperature exposure for 800 h of maintaining without showing major exfoliation. Fine cracks were discovered in the ceramic coating after 400 h of isothermal oxidation, and larger cracks were found after 800 h of exposure. An increase in both ceramic and bond-coat compaction was observed after prolonged high-temperature exposure, and this was sustained by the higher adhesion strength. Moreover, in extreme conditions, under high-temperature thermal shock cycles, the TBC withstands for 1242 cycles at 1200 °C and 555 cycles at 1250 °C.
Keywords: porosity; thermal barrier coatings; thermal shock; thermally grown oxide.