Interface science of thermal barrier coatings

The drive for greater efficiency in propulsion and industrial/power production machinery has pushed metallurgy to develop ever better alloys and taken existing metallic components to their reliability threshold. Nowhere is that better illustrated than in turbine engine materials. The nickel-based superalloys currently in use for the most demanding areas of the engines melt at 1230-1315 aC and yet see combustion environments >1600 aC. The result is that these components require thermal protection to avoid failure from phenomena such as melting, creep, oxidation, thermal fatigue, and so on [1]. The stakes are high as the equipment must remain reliable for thousands of take-offs and landings for aircraft turbine engines, and up to 40,000 hours of operation in power generating land-based gas turbines [2, 3]. One of the most critical items that see both the greatest temperatures and experience the highest stresses is the hot-section turbine blades. Two strategies have been adopted to help the superalloy turbine blades survive the demanding environment: Active air cooling and ceramic thermal protection coatings, which together can reduce metal surface temperatures by >300 aC.[2]. The combination of turbine blade external film cooling and internal air cooling requires an exceptionally complex structure with flow passages and setsmore » of small holes in the blades where air bled from a matching stage of the compressor is directed over the surface. Stecura [4] was among the first to describe a successful coating system, and today s the ceramic insulating layer alone is credited with reducing metal temperatures as much as 165 aC [1, 5].« less