Water Vapor Corrosion Behavior of Yb2SiO5 Environmental Barrier Coatings Prepared by Plasma Spray-Physical Vapor Deposition

Tri-layer Si/mullite/Yb2SiO5 environmental barrier coating (EBC) was prepared on the SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) by plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD). The EBC samples were carried out with water vapor corrosion at 1300 °C for 200 h. After steam corrosion, Yb2SiO5 layer forms a gradient porous structure. This is mainly due to the inclusion of SiO2-rich layer which is precipitated from the gasification inside the coating and existing a small amount of Yb2O3 separately. During the corrosion process, water vapor infiltrates into the coating and reacts with the SiO2 and Yb2O3 to generate volatile substances. This forms a porous structure to make the coating brittle, resulting in mud cracks finally. In addition, the results show that the Yb2SiO5 can react with the water vapor at the coating surface, forming an Yb2Si2O7 top layer.