SiAlON COATINGS OF SILICON NITRIDE AND SILICON CARBIDE
The need for new engineering materials in aerospace applications and in stationary power turbine blades for high-efficiency energy-generating equipment has led to a rapid development of ceramic coatings. They can be tailored to have superior physical (high specific strength and stiffness, enhanced high-temperature performance) and chemical (high-temperature corrosion resistance in more aggressive fuel environments) properties than those of monolithic ceramic materials. Among the major chemical properties of SiAlON-Y ceramics are their good corrosion resistance against aggressive media combined with good thermal shock behavior. The good corrosion resistance results from the yttria-alumina-garnet (YAG), Al{sub 5}Y{sub 3}O{sub 12}, formed during the corrosion process of SiAlON-Y ceramics in combustion gases at 1300 C. The interfacial chemical precipitation of the YAG phase is beneficial. This phase may crystallize in cubic and/or tetragonal modifications and if formed in SiAlON-Y ceramic may simultaneously generate residual stress. Also, this phase can contain a large number of point defects, which is a consequence of the large unit cell and complexity of the YAG structure because it has no close-packed oxygen planes. Therefore, the need exists to elucidate the corrosion mechanism of a multilayered barrier with respect to using SiAlON-YAG as a corrosion-protective coating. Stress corrosion cracking in the grain boundary of a silicon nitride (Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) ceramic enriched in a glassy phase such as SiAlON can significantly affect its mechanical properties. It has been suggested that the increased resistance of the oxynitride glass to stress corrosion is related to the increased surface potential of the fracture surface created in the more durable and highly cross-linked oxynitride glass network structure. We expect that either increased or decreased surface potential of the intergranular glassy phase is brought about by changes in the residual stress of the SiAlON-Y ceramic and/or creation of a space-charge region at the SiAlON-YAG interface. Both features originate from a secondary phase of YAG formed during the SiAlON-Y glass corrosion process. Conventional oxidation-protection coatings for metallic materials in high-temperature corrosive environments are typically formed by applying a slurry mixture to the surface followed by a high-temperature furnace cure. During the cure, the coating reacts with the alloy to form a layer typically 25 to 50 {micro}m{sup 3} thick. Generally, coating thickness is one critical microstructural parameter that influences its performance; therefore, its optimization is an important aspect of coating technology. The aim of the present research program is (1) to produce a thin SiAlON-YAG ceramic coating with a high quality of interface, (2) to understand the major experimental characteristics for creating a good bonding between a substrate and a thin coating, and (3) to explain why the Al{sub 5}Y{sub 3}O{sub 12} phase increases SiAlON-Y ceramic alkali corrosion resistance. To produce the SiAlON-Y coating on silicon nitride ceramic with a YAG layer, a slurry mixture of SiAlON-Y components was designed. The research program was extended to Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} coating to get preliminary information on the Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}-Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} interface microstructure. It was expected that this phase would have a very low porosity. Generally, coatings that contain ductile phases such as Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} can produce low-porosity coatings.
- Research Organization:
- University of North Dakota (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-98FT40320
- OSTI ID:
- 824976
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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