Mechanical Integrity of Thermal Barrier Coated Material Systems

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are of paramount importance for gas turbines as they allow to raise the thermodynamic efficiency and power output at the same time. Two issues are of particular interest as far asthe mechanical integrity of TBC‐coated material systems is concerned. First of all, it is essential to reliably predict the life time of a coated component by careful analysis of the global temperature fields and stresses. Secondly, there is a need for the development of improved coating systems, requiring detailed analysis of the local stress state at the coating interfaces. Thus, macroscopic and microscopic considerations are relevant, even though the focus of interest is quite different. It is the objective of this article to point out some of the important aspects associated with the mechanical loading of thermal barrier coated systems on both size scales.