Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) and plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) are the only thermal spray technologies shown to be capable of producing TBCs with columnar microstructures similar to the electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) process but at higher deposition rates and relatively lower costs. The objective of this study was to achieve fundamental understanding of the effect of different columnar microstructures produced by these two thermal spray processes on their insulation and lifetime performance and propose an optimized columnar microstructure. Characterization of TBCs in terms of microstructure, thermal conductivity, thermal cyclic fatigue lifetime and burner rig lifetime was performed. The results were compared with TBCs produced by the standard thermal spray technique, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). Bondcoats deposited by the emerging high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) spraying were compared to the standard vacuum plasma-sprayed (VPS) bondcoats to investigate the influence of the bondcoat deposition process as well as topcoat–bondcoat interface topography. The results showed that the dense PS-PVD-processed TBC had the highest lifetime, although at an expense of the highest thermal conductivity. The reason for this behavior was attributed to the dense intracolumnar structure, wide intercolumnar gaps and high column density, thus improving the strain tolerance and fracture toughness.

Liquid feedstock plasma spraying (LFPS) involves deposition of ultrafine droplets of suspensions or solution precursors (typically ranging from nano- to submicron size) and permits production of coatings with unique microstructures that are promising for advanced thermal barrier coating (TBC) applications. This paper reviews the recent progress arising from efforts devoted to development of high-performance TBCs using the LFPS approach. Advancements in both suspension plasma spraying and solution precursor plasma spraying, which constitute the two main variants of LFPS, are presented. Results illustrating the different types of the microstructures that can be realized in LFPS through appropriate process parameter control, model-assisted assessment of influence of coating defects on thermo-mechanical properties and the complex interplay between pore coarsening, sintering and crystallite growth in governing thermal conductivity are summarized. The enhancement in functional performances/lifetime possible in LFPS TBCs with multilayered architectures and by incorporating new pyrochlore chemistries such as gadolinium zirconate, besides the conventional single 8 wt.% yttria-stabilized zirconia insulating ceramic layer, is specifically highlighted.