Suspension plasma spraying has become a very promising candidate for the production of strain tolerant coatings for the gas turbine industry. Under certain process conditions suspension plasma spraying (SPS) generates column-like structures in the produced coatings. While a mechanism for column formation has been suggested previously based on columns forming on surface asperities, the effect of modification of surface structures on SPS coating properties has not been investigated.

In this study, the surface topography of bond coats within a TBC system were modified by the combination of polishing and surface grit blasting. Yttria stabilized zirconia coatings were deposited using an axial feed suspension plasma spray gun. The surface topography of the resultant coatings was characterized using striped light projection. Samples were tested for thermo-cyclic fatigue lifetime at 1100 °C during 1 hour cycles. Thermal shock performance was evaluated using the burner rig test and thermal conductivity evaluated using the laser flash analysis. The results indicate that columnar SPS coating microstructure is strongly influenced by surface topography. Test results suggest that control of surface topography may be an important factor to improve the performance of SPS coatings.