Hot Corrosion of Protective Coatings

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Abstract
Improvement in efficiencies of gas turbine engines requires a significant increase of gas inlet temperatures. This results in an increased service temperature for blade materials and consequently in enhanced oxidation and hot corrosion attack of the blade coatings, which are usually of MCrAlY type where M is Ni, Co or NiCo. This type of coating can provide protection against oxidation and hot corrosion and act as a bond coat for thermal barrier coating systems. In both cases slow growth rates and optimum adherence of the alumina scales forming on the MCrAlY coatings during high temperature exposure are significant for component life. The above mentioned properties for the alumina scales strongly depend on the coating base composition as well as on the presence of minor alloying elements. In the present paper the performance of existing superalloys during hot corrosion is briefly described followed by the results obtained on hot corrosion of MCRAlY type coatings explaining the effect of trace elements on the life of coatings in the presence of NaCl and vanadium containing environments. Optimum thickness to improve the life of superalloys with NiCoCrAlY as a bond coat and yttria stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings has been identified. Based on the results, an electrochemical mechanism is proposed and shows that hot corrosion of protective coatings is an electrochemical phenomenon. Hence electrochemical techniques appear to be quite useful in evaluating the coatings for hot corrosion resistance.