Measurements of stresses in β‐(Y,Yb)2Si2O7 environmental barrier coating layers using Raman spectroscopy

Abstract Residual stress measurements in environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) can help in understanding coating durability and potential damage mechanisms. We demonstrate the capability of Raman spectroscopy to measure average residual stresses in two different β‐RE 2 Si 2 O 7 (RE = rare earth or Y 3+ , denoted as REDS) EBCs with a nominal (Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 composition, focusing on macroscopic residual stresses acting at macroscopic length scales. Uniaxial compression measurements of dense β‐(Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 ceramics are used for calibration curves for applied stress versus Raman peak shift. We use these calibration curves to evaluate the macroscopic thermoelastic residual stress in the (Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 layers from coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch of two different (Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 ‐based EBCs on SiC‐based substrates. Microscopic stress contributions to Raman peak shifts are subtracted using reference free‐standing coatings and analytic estimates for inclusion stresses when (Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 coatings have a high, variable volume fraction of (Yb,Y) 2 SiO 5 . The macroscopic thermal residual stress in these (Yb,Y) 2 Si 2 O 7 EBCs is compressive, as expected from the smaller CTE of β‐REDS versus SiC. These thermal residual stresses can vary between different YbYDS EBC coatings by more than a factor of three with a measured layer residual stress of approximately –180 MPa (compressive) for a high modulus, low CTE coating, and our measured values generally agree with calculated estimates.