Formation of Lamellar Pores for Splats via Interfacial or Sub-interfacial Delamination at Chemically Bonded Region

To comprehensively understand the formation mechanism of lamellar pores in splats, the delamination morphologies and crack patterns of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and lanthanum zirconia splats were examined. Results showed that both types of splats grew epitaxially on well-polished YSZ substrates, evidently confirming the formation of chemical bonding between splats and substrate. However, the interfacial or sub-interfacial delamination was observed in all kinds of splats in this study. Residual vertical cracks passing through delaminated domains (on bare substrate) were also observed, which clearly indicated that transverse delamination followed vertical cracking. Mechanical analysis about delamination was addressed, and the results were consistent with the experimental data.