Isothermal LCF Behaviors of a NiCrAlYSi Coated Columnar-Grained Directionally Solidified Nickel Base Superalloy

The isothermal low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviors of a directionally solidified (DS) nickel base superalloy, coated with a NiCrAlYSi coating were studied. The study concerned NiCrAlYSi coating formed by an arc-discharged physical vapor deposition (PVD) process for protection against high-temperature corrosion and oxidation of gas turbine blades. The effect of protective coating on LCF life of coating/substrate system was investigated at high temperatures and compared with uncoated alloy. The test results show that coating has no or less effect on LCF life under high strain range and the LCF life is governed by the fatigue behavior of substrate at different temperatures. However, when strain range is smaller, crack initiation and propagation are observably affected by temperature, which leads to a shorter LCF life of coating/substrate system at 500ºC and a longer LCF life at 760ºC or 980ºC.