Crack healing phenomena were observed in mullite and mullite + Yb₂SiO₅ environmental barrier coating (EBC) materials during thermal shock cycles. Air plasma spray coating was used to deposit the EBC materials onto a Si bondcoat on a SiC_f/SiC composite substrate. This study reveals that unidirectional vertical cracks (mud cracks) formed after several thermal shock cycles; however, the cracks were stable for 5000 thermal shock cycles at a maximum temperature of 1350 °C. Moreover, the crack densities decreased with an increasing number of thermal shock cycles. After 3000 thermal shock cycles, cracks were healed via melting of a phase containing SiO₂ phase, which partially filled the gaps of the cracks and resulted in the precipitation of crystalline Al₂O₃ in the mullite. Post-indentation tests after thermal shock cycling indicated that the mullite-based EBC maintained its initial mechanical behavior compared to Y₂SiO₅. The indentation load–displacement tests revealed that, among the materials investigated in the present study, the mullite + Yb₂SiO₅ EBC demonstrated the best durability during repetitive thermal shocks.

We have deposited an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layer consisting of microsized grains on an alumina substrate using electron beam physical vapour deposition (EBPVD). The effects of Y₂O₃ concentration and the coating microstructures of YSZ on indentation damage are investigated. Different coating microstructures are prepared by varying the substrate temperature during deposition. Hertzian and nanoindentation are used to characterize the damage responses of the YSZ thermal barrier-coated alumina layered systems. The damage and failure behaviours have been investigated in relation to the effects of microstructures formed at various substrate temperatures as well as indentation loads from indentation tests. Elastic modulus, hardness, and stress–strain behaviours are characterized by results of the indentation tests. With increasing substrate temperature during the EBPVD process, the overall grain sizes became coarser with a smaller fraction of weak interfaces between the columns, and became more faceted. This change in microstructure ultimately influences the indentation behaviour. The results according to the use of smaller and larger scaled indenters during Hertzian/nanoindentations were also analyzed.

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