Thermal Barrier Coatings – Durability Assessment and Life Prediction

Thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems are coating systems containing a metallic bond coat and a ceramic top coat. TBCs are used in gas turbines for thermal insulation and oxidation resistance. Life prediction of TBCs is important as high-temperature exposure degrades the coatings through mechanisms such as thermal fatigue and the formation and growth of thermally grown oxides (TGOs). This thesis presents research on durability assessment and life prediction of air plasma sprayed TBCs. The adhesion of thermal barrier coatings subjected to isothermal oxidation, thermal cycling fatigue and thermal shock was studied. The adhesion strength and fracture characteristics were found to vary with heat treatment type. The influence of interdiffusion between bond coat and substrate was studied on TBCs deposited on two different substrates. The thermal fatigue life was found to differ between the two TBC systems. While fractography and nanoindentation revealed no differences between the TBC systems, the oxidation kinetics was found to differ for non-alumina oxides. The influence of bond coat/top coat interface roughness on the thermal fatigue life was studied; higher interface roughness promoted longer thermal fatigue life. Different interface geometries were tried in finite element crack growth simulations, and procedures for creating accurate interface models were suggested. The influence of water vapour and salt deposits on the oxidation/corrosion of a NiCoCrAlY coating and a TBC were studied. Salt deposits gave thicker TGOs and promoted an Y-rich phase. The effect of salt deposits was also evident for TBC coated specimens. A microstructure-based life model was developed using the Thermo-Calc software. The model included coupled oxidation-diffusion, as well as diffusion blocking due to the formation of internal oxides and pores. The model predicted Al-depletion in acceptable agreement with experimental observations.