- Environmental Barrier Coating systems (EBCs) were thermally cycled in a burner rig test facility. Yb2Si2O7 (YbDS) layer was deposited by air plasma spraying while two suspension plasma sprayed Yb2SiO5 (YbMS) microstructures were evaluated in duplex (YbDS/YbMS) systems: columnar and segmentation cracked. EBCs underwent 2000 cycles at a surface temperature of 1300 °C without signs of delamination failure. A porous YbMS layer formed at the base of intercolumnar gaps and segmentation cracks in the duplex systems, presumably due to reactions with entrapped water vapor. Furthermore, Yb2O3 depletion zones were evident at both the surface and YbDS/YbMS interface of the duplex EBCs.