Measurements of coating density using ultrasonic reflection coefficient phase spectrum

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Non-destructive Testing
• Acoustics

Background:

• Accurate coating density determination is crucial for material performance.
• Traditional methods for density measurement can be destructive or time-consuming.
• Ultrasonic techniques offer potential for non-destructive material characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a nondestructive method for determining coating density using ultrasonic reflection coefficient phase spectrum (URCPS).
• To establish the relationship between URCPS and coating density.
• To assess the reliability of the ultrasonic method compared to the Archimedean principle.

Main Methods:

• A model was developed for ultrasonic wave reflection from coating systems.
• The relationship between URCPS extrema and coating density was established.
• The method was validated on Zirconia-7wt.%Yttria (YSZ) coatings prepared by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) and modified by high-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB) irradiation.

Main Results:

• The ultrasonic method successfully determined coating densities ranging from 4940 to 5470 kg/m³.
• Densities of as-deposited and HIPIB-irradiated coatings were accurately quantified.
• The relative error between ultrasonic and Archimedean methods was between 2.53% and 6.11%.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ultrasonic quantification method is a reliable, nondestructive approach for determining coating density.
• URCPS analysis provides a sensitive measure for coating density variations.
• This technique is applicable to advanced ceramic coatings like YSZ.