Enhancing water vapor corrosion resistance of EBCs via adding SiC to Yb₂Si₂O₇: The intelligent reinforcement role of SiC

A novel SiC-Yb₂Si₂O₇ (YbDS) composite coating was used to enhance the environmental barrier coating's(EBCs) resistance to water vapor oxygen corrosion. This study focuses on the durability of SiC-Yb₂Si₂O₇/Si EBCs with varying SiC contents after being exposed to water vapor oxygen at 1400°C for 20–500 h. The durability, corrosion behavior, and failure mechanisms of coatings with varying SiC contents (0–20 wt%) were examined after exposures up to 500 h. Results show that coating service life increases with SiC content. The 20SiC-YbDS coating remained intact after 500 h, demonstrating superior performance. SiC acts as an intelligent reinforcement: it compensates for SiO₂ evaporation during spraying, maintains the YbDS phase, and improves coating density and strain tolerance. During corrosion, SiC consumes corrosive gases, mitigates bond coat attack, and significantly reduces the growth rate, thickness, and internal cracking of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer, thereby effectively suppressing TGO-induced coating failure.