Abstract: This invention relates to thermal spray processes comprising thermally depositing a high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder, said powder comprising from about 0 to about 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from about 0 to about 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from about 6 to about 25 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from about 10 to about 36 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia), onto a substrate to produce a coating having vertical segmentation cracks, essentially through the full thickness of the coating, and having from about 5 to about 200 cracks per linear inch measured in a line parallel to the plane of the coating, and having a thickness of from about 5 to about 200 mils; and having a final surface layer comprising a dipped or solution-sprayed ceramic frit coating having a thickness up to about 5 mils; and treating said surface layer with a high temperature air heat treatment to bond and adhere the surface layer.

Abstract: This invention relates to processes for coating blades for a gas turbine engine, said blades having an inner end adapted for mounting on a hub and a blade tip located opposite the inner end, and wherein at least a portion of the blade tip is coated with a thermally sprayed coating of a high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder, said thermally sprayed coating having a density greater than 88% of the theoretical density with a plurality of vertical macrocracks substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout the coating in which a cross-sectional area of the coating normal to the blade tip exposes a plurality of vertical macrocracks extending at least half the coating thickness in length up to the full thickness of the coating and having from about 5 to about 200 vertical macrocracks per linear inch measured in a line parallel to the surface of the blade tip and in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the blade tip, and said high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder comprising

Abstract: This invention relates to blades for a gas turbine engine, said blades having an inner end adapted for mounting on a hub and a blade tip located opposite the inner end, and wherein at least a portion of the blade tip is coated with a thermally sprayed coating of a high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder, said thermally sprayed coating having a density greater than 88% of the theoretical density with a plurality of vertical macrocracks substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout the coating in which a cross-sectional area of the coating normal to the blade tip exposes a plurality of vertical macrocracks extending at least half the coating thickness in length up to the full thickness of the coating and having from about 5 to about 200 vertical macrocracks per linear inch measured in a line parallel to the surface of the blade tip and in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the blade tip, and said high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder comprising from about 0 to about

Abstract: The invention provides a multilayer ceramic coating for applying thermal barrier protection to a substrate. It has an inner ceramic layer coating the substrate. The inner ceramic layer has a plurality of macrocracks distributed throughout the inner ceramic layer. An outer ceramic layer coats the inner ceramic layer. The outer ceramic layer is substantially free of vertical macrocracks.

Abstract: A compressor or turbine blade having its tip coated with a zirconium-based oxide having a plurality of macrocracks extending at least 100 microns through the coating and the process used to produce such a coating.

Abstract: A thermal spray process for producing a MCrAlY-based coating wherein M is selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel and mixtures thereof and wherein the oxygen in the fuel-oxidant mixture of the thermal spray process converts a substantial portion of the yttrium component to Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, a minor portion of the aluminum component to Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and the Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 are present in an amount of less than 15 volume percent of the coating.

Abstract: A thermal spray process for producing a MCrAlY-based coating wherein M is selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel and mixtures thereof and wherein the carbon in the fuel of the thermal spray process converts between 30 to 80 percent by weight of the chromium component in the coating to chromium carbide.