Influence of plasma heat flux on segmentation cracking and permeability of thin suspension plasma sprayed coatings

► 30 μm thick YSZ electrolyte coatings were deposited by suspension plasma spraying. ► Torch pass speed was adjusted to vary heat transferred from plasma to coating. ► Increasing pass speed reduced electrolyte permeability and segmentation cracking. ► Coating temperature distributions were modeled to understand effects of changing pass speed. ► Reduction in cracking may be due to reduced temperature difference between surface and substrate.