A Statistical Assessment of the Damage State in Plasma-Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coating Available to Purchase

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC), which consist of yttria-partially-stabilized zirconia top coat and metallic bond coat deposited onto superalloy substrate, are favorably used as protective coatings of the hot section parts in advanced gas turbine engines to withstand increased inlet temperatures and thus improve engine performance. However, understanding and modeling the damage evolution in TBC under service exposed conditions still remain to be a challenge. This is due to the failure by the coupled effects of the external load-environment, the thermal expansion mismatch between the bond coat and TBC, microstructure of the coating, and degradation of the bond coat. In this study, the damage state in an air-plasma-sprayed APS) thermal barrier coating system was assessed using metallurgical and statistical methods. The damage evolution in the TBC can thus be described with a high degree of confidence. A mechanistic model, representing the micro-cracking mechanism, is presented and its prediction is also assessed on a statistical basis.