Modeling of the temperature field in a porous thermal barrier coating

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are advanced materials systems with low thermal conductivity. One of the reasons for the low thermal conductivity in TBCs is that they contain porous structures created by a network of micro-voids. In the present investigation, experimental and analytical studies of heat transfer in TBCs having different levels of porosity were performed. The ceramic coatings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy to calculate the level of porosity and micro-pore size distribution. A two-dimensional FE model was then developed, where a stochastic method was used to define randomly distributed porous structures equivalent to porosities of 1%, 3%, and 5%. The results showed that the heat flux and temperature gradient were affected by the interactions between neighboring micro-pores and micro-pores/ceramic coatings, and that the effect of the micro-pores was limited to a small area (2–2.5 times the micro-pore radius). Based on the obtained results, a set of effective thermal conductivity equations are proposed which more clearly describe the heat transfer process in a porous TBC structure. Two different equivalent thermal resistance models were used to study the heat transfer process under low porosity (<3%) and high porosity (>3%) conditions.     

Laser thermal gradient testing of air plasma sprayed multilayered,multi-material thermal barrier coatings

Air plasma sprayed (APS) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are a widely used technology in the gas turbine industry to thermally insulate and protect underlying metallic superalloy components. These TBCs are designed to have intrinsically low thermal conductivity while also being structurally compliant to withstand cyclic thermal excursions in a turbine environment. This study examines yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs of varying architecture: porous and dense vertically cracked (DVC), which were deposited onto bond-coated superalloys and tested in a novel CO₂ laser rig. Additionally, multilayered TBCs: a two-layered YSZ (dense + porous) and a multi-material YSZ/GZO TBC were evaluated using the same laser rig. Cyclic exposure under simulative thermal gradients was carried out using the laser rig to evaluate the microstructural change of these different TBCs over time. During the test, real-time calculations of the normalized thermal conductivity of the TBCs were also evaluated to elucidate information about the nature of the microstructural change in relation to the starting microstructure and composition. It was determined that porous TBCs undergo steady increases in conductivity, whereas DVC and YSZ/GZO systems experience an initial increase followed by a monotonic decrease in conductivity. Microstructural studies confirmed the difference in coating evolution due to the cycling.     

Evolution of thermal insulation of plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating systems with exposure to high temperature

The thermal insulation potential of plasma-sprayed yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings is generally assessed via the evaluation of the ceramic layer. However, ageing of the complete system leads to microstructural transformations that may also play a role in the heat transport properties. This study thus investigated the microstructure-heat insulation relationships of different TBC systems in their as-deposited state and when aged under various conditions, through the systematic analysis of both microstructure and thermal diffusivity. The latter was measured from room temperature up to 1100 °C using the laser-flash technique, while the porous microstructure was assessed using image analysis. The different coatings exhibited relatively similar thermal diffusivity values that were shown to be mostly influenced by the thin porosities in contrast to larger defects. The thermal insulation of the TBC systems after exposure to high temperature was shown to be stable despite the microstructural variations introduced by cracks, oxidation and chemical degradations.     

3D numerical reconstruction and microstructure regulation of thermal barrier coatings for high temperature components of gas turbine

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are being widely used in the high temperature components of gas turbine to protect the metal from high temperature damage and prolong the service life of gas turbine. The preparation process of TBCs is complex, and many control parameters will affect the microstructure of TBCs. Inhomogeneous microstructure changes caused by defects (such as cracks, erosion and corrosion pits) will occur under tough service conditions. In order to study the effect of the microstructure change on the thermal insulation and failure mechanism, it is necessary to construct the microstructure of TBCs under various working conditions. In this work, a new numerical pore-crack-particle microstructure reconstruction method (PCPMR) for porous media is proposed and used to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) microstructure of TBCs. In this method, characteristic parameters were extracted from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and the shape constraint factors of defects and the crack deformation rate as well as the particle deformation rate are introduced to control the morphologies of defects in porous TBCs. Then coatings with pores after preparation and coatings with defects during long-term services were reconstructed respectively. The features of coating microstructures reconstructed by this method are in good agreement with the real model obtained by SEM images. At the same time, the effective thermal conductivity of the coating with different porosities and segmentation cracks as well as the temperature distribution of the coating surface under different crack scales were analyzed in the reconstructed 3D TBCs samples. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured data in the published literatures, which justify the reliability of the proposed PCPMR method.     

Effect of splat-interface discontinuity on effective thermal conductivity of plasma sprayed thermal barrier coating

The thermal barrier coating obtained by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS TBCs) has a distinct lamellar microstructure, in which the splats discontinuous interfaces running parallel to the metal/ceramic interface contribute largely to the reduction in the effective thermal conductivity of APS TBCs. The dependency of such contribution on the topological structure of the interface discontinuity is investigated in the present work. Firstly, the concept of discontinuity of splats interfaces was defined to quantify the splats discontinuous interfaces revealed by microscopic observations. Then, the microstructure model with a random distribution of discontinuous interfaces was established by utilizing the finite element simulation method to investigate the effect of interlayer discontinuity on thermal conductivity of the APS TBCs. Finally, an optimal topological structure of the interface discontinuity was found to be responsible for the lowest effective thermal conductivity of the APS TBCs and typical parametrical tendencies demonstrated.     

Effect of suspension characteristics on the performance of thermal barrier coatings deposited by suspension plasma spray

This paper investigates the influence of suspension characteristics on microstructure and performance of suspensions plasma sprayed (SPS) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Five suspensions were produced using various suspension characteristics, namely, type of solvent and solid load content, and the resultant suspensions were utilized to deposit five different TBCs under identical processing conditions. The produced TBCs were evaluated for their performance i.e. thermal conductivity, thermal cyclic fatigue (TCF) and thermal shock (TS) lifetime. This experimental study revealed that the differences in the microstructure of SPS TBCs produced using varied suspensions resulted in a wide-ranging overall TBC performance. All TBCs exhibited thermal conductivity lower than 1 W/(m. K) except water-ethanol mixed suspension produced TBC. The TS lifetime was also affected to a large extent where 10 wt % solid loaded ethanol and 25 wt % solid loaded water suspensions produced TBCs exhibited the highest and the lowest lifetime, respectively. On the contrary, TCF lifetime was not as significantly affected as thermal conductivity and TS lifetime, and all ethanol suspensions showed marginally better TCF lifetime than water and ethanol-water mixed suspensions deposited TBCs.     

Laser surface modification of plasma sprayed CYSZ thermal barrier coatings

In this study, Inconel 738 LC superalloy coupons were first sprayed with a NiCoCrAlY bond coat and then with a ceria and yttria stabilized zirconia (CYSZ) top coat by air plasma spraying (APS). After that, the plasma sprayed CYSZ thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were treated using a Nd:YAG pulsed laser. The effect of laser glazing on the microstructure of the coatings was investigated. The microstructures and surface topographies of both as-sprayed and laser glazed samples were investigated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The phases of the coatings were analyzed with X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The microstructural analysis results revealed that laser surface glazing of ceramic top coat reduced the surface roughness considerably, eliminated the surface porosities and produced a network of continuous cracks perpendicular to the surface. XRD patterns also showed that both as-sprayed and laser glazed top coats consisted of nonequibrium tetragonal (T′) phase.     

Novel-structured plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings with low thermal conductivity,high sintering resistance and high durability

The microstructure of the ceramic topcoat has a great influence on the service performance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). In this study, conventional layered-structure TBCs, nanostructured TBCs, and novel-structured TBCs with a unique microstructure were fabricated by air plasma spraying. The relationship between the microstructure and properties of the three different TBCs was analysed. Their thermal insulation ability, sintering resistance, and durability were systematically evaluated. Additionally, their failure modes after being subjected to two kinds of thermal shock tests were analysed. The results revealed that the novel-structured TBCs had remarkably superior performances in all the examined aspects. The thermal conductivity of the novel-structured TBCs was significantly lower than those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs both in the as-sprayed state and after thermal treatment for 500 h at 1100 °C. The macroscopic elastic modulus of the novel-structured TBCs after sintering at 1300 °C for 100 h was similar to those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs in the as-sprayed state. During both a burner rig thermal shock test and a furnace cyclic oxidation test, the thermal shock lifetime of the novel-structured TBCs was much longer than those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs. This study has demonstrated novel-structured plasma-sprayed TBCs with high thermal insulation ability and high durability.     

Dominant effect of oriented 2D pores on heat flux in lamellar structured thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) provide thermal insulation to metallic components served at high temperatures. The oriented 2D pores are primarily responsible for the efficient prevention of heat flux. Thus, structural design of TBCs with higher thermal insulation requires clear understanding on the thermal conduction inside coatings. Up to now, previous analytical models to investigate the heat conduction were mainly based on the concept of thermal contact resistance. However, the related assumption was far away from the real coating microstructure. In this study, the intrinsic structural characteristics of plasma sprayed TBCs were firstly investigated. Subsequently, an analytical model based on the structural features was developed to understand the dominant effect of oriented 2D pores on heat flux inside the coatings. Results showed that the insulative ratio of 2D pores dominantly determine the effective prevention of heat flux. Moreover, effects of the microstructural parameters, including splat thickness, bonding ratio and unit size, on the total thermal resistance was discussed. Overall, the understanding of the dominant effect of 2D pores would make it possible to design new TBCs with high performance in future applications.     

Thermal conductivity prediction in air plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings containing multifarious defects

Air plasma sprayed yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings are widely applied in gas turbines and aviation engines, which usually contain multifarious and multiscale defects, such as pores, cracks, and amorphous layers. They all significantly lower the thermal conductivity of the coating but in drastically different ways depending on their morphologies and orientations. Establishing an accurate correlation between the microstructure and the thermal conductivity requires not only a precise separation and estimation of different kinds of defects but also a reasonable mathematic model to describe their effect on thermal conductivity. In this research, cross-section ion polishing and image analysis were chosen as a reliable assembly for characterizing multifarious defects of porous coatings, which was almost undamaged compared with the traditionally mechanical polishing. The effect of different microscale defects on the thermal conductivity was respectively and quantitatively studied to build a mathematical model. A thermal resistance induced by amorphous layers was introduced into the model, which was found to have a linear relationship with the amorphous layer concentration. It was also found a linear relationship between the amorphous layer concentration and the spraying times. The predicted thermal conductivity of porous coatings by multifarious-defect-concerned model fits the data measured using the steady heat flow method very well. This research confirms the applicability of image-analysis-based modeling as a simple, reliable, and versatile method for thermal conductivity prediction of porous coating systems.     

基于导热形状因子的泡沫金属导热特性分析

通过理论分析引入用于定向计算泡沫金属等效热导率的导热形状因子（m）,并基于文献报道的大量实验数据对m进行了计算和分析。研究发现,m随泡沫金属材质、孔隙率及孔密度变化呈显著随机波动现象,无固定趋势或规律可循;泡沫金属等效热导率的准确预测需纳入多孔泡沫结构定向形变效应影响。鉴于此,通过直接数值模拟获得了m随孔胞形变参数（即沿泡沫金属宏观传热方向与其垂直方向的胞径比）变化的无量纲准则关联式,进而提出了基于m定向预测泡沫金属等效热导率的新方法。对比文献报道实验数据及基于各向同性结构假设的理论模型预测结果发现,上述方法可提高等效热导率的预测精度（平均偏差为0.77%）。     

Microstructural properties,thermal insulation and thermal degradation behavior of boron-containing monolithic novolac xerogels

Enhancement of thermal stability-insulation performance of hyper porous materials is the premier issue to design of novel porous thermal protection systems. Boron-containing monolithic novolac xerogels (BCNXs) were synthesized using sol–gel networking of novolac resin with hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and boric acid at the solvent saturated vapor atmosphere (SSVA). The aim was to elucidate the effect of higher crosslinking density and thermal stable boron containing chemical bonds on the microstructure, thermal conductivity, and thermal oxidation stability of novolac xerogels. The results of FESEM and BET analysis showed that the microstructural characteristics of xerogels are significantly depend on the HMTA and boric acid concentration. The thermogravimetric results were analyzed using characteristic kinetic temperature (CKT)-characteristic kinetic temperature range (CKTR) approximations. The effect of micromorphology of xerogels on the thermal conductivity was investigated. The effective thermal conductivity of samples were in the range of 0.031–0.048 W/m K.     

Improve durability of plasma-splayed thermal barrier coatings by decreasing sintering-induced stiffening in ceramic coatings

In this study, a newly-tailored plasma-sprayed (PS) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic coating towards enhanced strain tolerance and sintering resistance was developed to improve the durability of TBCs. The thermal shock life was found to be markedly prolonged by more than four times. Failure mechanisms and sintering behavior of the newly-structured and conventional TBCs were systematically investigated through microstructural and mechanical analyses. Conventional TBCs suffered a premature spallation due to rapid sintering-induced stiffening of the ceramic top coat. In contrast, the new coating exhibits an enhanced sintering resistance whereby preserving a good strain tolerance over time. Specifically, its elastic modulus after thermal exposure remains comparable to the as-sprayed states. The effect of ceramic top coat stiffness on cracking behavior of TBCs was clarified by a corresponding cohesive zone finite element modeling. This study provides a new option for improving TBCs durability and the results could benefit the increased integrity of TBCs.     

Carbon foam matrices saturated with PCM for thermal protection purposes

In the present work, numerical and experimental studies are proposed to predict and investigate the thermal characteristics of a thermal protection system consists of carbon foam matrix saturated with phase change material, PCM. Several types of carbon foam matrices with different porosities and thermal properties were introduced for the sake of a parametric study. The composite (carbon foam matrix saturated with PCM) was introduced into a cylindrical enclosure while it experiences its heat from a heat source setting on the top of the enclosure. The numerical simulation was performed using the volume averaging technique and a finite volume technique was used to discretize the heat diffusion equation while the phase change process was modeled using the enthalpy porosity method. The results are portrayed in terms of temperature and heat absorption time history and the numerical and experimental results showed good agreement. The results illustrated that the higher the porosity the more stability of the thermal performance of the matrix composite. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the composite matrix acts sharply to increase or decrease its heat absorption rate.     

A review on failure mechanism of thermal barrier coatings and strategies to extend their lifetime

Thermal barrier coating (TBC) system is an essential technology in many fields associated to high temperatures. The main function of these TBCs is to protect the metallic parts against high temperatures over 1000 °C. However, degradation occurs both in thermal and mechanical performances during service. Thus, understanding the underlying degradation and failure mechanisms of TBCs is significant to assess and further enhance the durability and reliability of TBCs. Regarding the durability of TBCs, this paper reviews different failures mechanisms of TBCs caused by residual stresses, phase transformations, sintering, hot corrosion attack and oxidation. Subsequently, some methods are summarized to alleviate the undesirable effects of the causes, so as to extend the lifetime of TBCs. Regarding the thermal barrier performance of TBCs, the neoteric advances to resist degradation in thermal conductivity of TBCs are reviewed. In addition, some new ceramic materials with superior intrinsic properties are introduced for ultra-high temperature applications. In brief, this review correlates the microstructure and properties of TBCs for finer interpretation and degradation-resistant design on their thermal and mechanical properties, which would benefit the advanced TBCs in future engineering applications.     

Effect of neck formation on the sintering of air-plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating system

Sintering neck is a featured microstructure that may have significant effect on the sintering behaviour of air-plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating system (APS TBCs). Based on experimental observations, a multi-necking wedge-shaped model for the sintering of APS TBCs was proposed by considering the sintering stress as surface tension and by employing the thermal-elasto-viscoplastic constitutive relation. Deformation pattern, stress distribution, sintering induced shrinkage, stiffening behaviour and temperature field were analysed by using finite element method. It is shown that the formation of sintering neck significantly affects thermal and mechanical properties related to sintering. Mechanisms of thermal and mechanical degradation induced by sintering were further elucidated.     

Failure analysis of thermally cycled columnar thermal barrier coatings produced by high-velocity-air fuel and axial-suspension-plasma spraying: A design perspective

Axial-suspension-plasma spraying (ASPS) is a fairly recent thermal spray technology which enables production of ceramic top coats in TBCs, incorporating simultaneously the properties of both the conventional-plasma sprayed (highly insulating porous structures) and electron-beam-physical-vapor-deposited (strain-tolerant columnar structures) top coats. TBCs are required to insulate the hot components in a gas turbine engine against high temperature and harsh operating conditions. Periodic heating and cooling of turbine engines during operation can create severe thermal cyclic fatigue conditions which can degrade the performance of these coatings eventually leading to the failure. An in-depth experimental investigation was performed to understand the failure behavior of columnar TBCs subjected to thermal cyclic fatigue (TCF) test at 1100?C. The study revealed that the TCF performance was influenced to an extent, by the top coat microstructure, but was primarily affected by the severity of thermally grown oxide (TGO) growth at the bond coat-top coat interface. Mixed failure modes comprising crack propagation through the bond coat-TGO interface, through TGO and within the top coat were identified. Based on the analysis of the experimental results and thorough discussion a novel design of microstructure for the high TCF performance columnar TBC is proposed.     

CMAS corrosion resistance,thermal shock resistance and numerical simulation of novel surface micromesh thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are widely used as insulating layers to protect the underlying metallic structure of gas turbine blades. However, the thermal cycling performance of TBCs is affected by their complex working environments, which may shorten their service life. Previous studies have shown that preparing a mesh structure in the bonding layer can relieve thermal stress and improve the bonding strength, thereby prolonging the service life of TBCs. In this paper, a micromesh structure was prepared on the surface of the bonding layer via wet etching. The microstructure and failure mechanism of the micromesh TBCs after CMAS (CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂) thermal erosion were investigated. Numerical simulation was combined with thermal shock experiments to study the stress distribution of the micromesh-structured TBCs. The results showed that the circular convex structure can effectively improve the CMAS corrosion resistance and thermal shock resistance of TBCs.     

Influence of pore distribution on the equivalent thermal conductivity of low porosity ceramic closed-cell foams

The microstructures of porous alumina materials with different porosities were established by introducing the departure factor of pore position and acentric factor of pore diameter to describe the distribution of pores in space and in size, respectively. The contribution of radiation and influence of pore distribution on the equivalent thermal conductivity were discussed based on numerical simulations by the finite volume method (FVM) considering both thermal conduction and radiation. When the pore diameter was less than 10?µm, the radiation component was less than 2%, and radiation could be neglected. Radiative heat transfer played a dominant role for materials with high porosity and large pore size at high temperatures. For micro pore materials (<?100?µm), broad pore size and non-uniform pore space distribution decreased the thermal conductivity across the entire temperature range. For materials with macro pores (>1?mm), broad pore distribution decreased the thermal conductivity at low temperatures and increased it at high temperatures. The basic prediction model of effective thermal conductivity for a two-component material, the Maxwell–Eucken model (ME1) and its modified model were corrected by introducing the pore structure factor. The results from experiments prove that the numerical values were satisfactory.     

New approach to low thermal conductivity of thermal barrier protection with improved mechanical integrity

Layered ceramic systems with designed stacks of dense and porous layers were investigated as alternative for thermal barrier protection system (TBPs). This approach gives the possibility to obtain low thermal conductivity with the impact protection of dense external layers whilst maintaining the relatively high mechanical properties. Different stacking configurations have been proposed utilizing in total a combination of up to 30 dense/porous layers. Porous layers were produced with two different nominal porosities 20 vol% and 40 vol%. For comparison uni-axial pressed samples with the same porosity level have been prepared. Thermal and mechanical characterization was performed on samples of tape cast (with different stacking designs) and uni-axial pressed fully stabilized zirconia TBPs. The layered fully stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) has 15–30 % lower thermal conductivity in comparison with the uni-axial pressed samples, nevertheless by the same Young`s modulus value. The results of the thermal and mechanical observation shows, that such an approach can be beneficial as an alternative for future thermal barrier protection systems.