Hydration Tolerant, low Thermal Conductivity (K) Thermal Barrier Coatings

ABSTRACT: Thermal barrier coating systems are desired for gas turbine engines. These coatings will increase the durability of hot-section engine components to significantly improve the time"on-wing", safety and readiness of these engines. In this work, research is proposed to investigate the feasibility of modifying the composition and architecture of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems to enable enhanced resistance to hydration induced TBC spallation while retaining or improving overall system performance. To achieve this, novel coating synthesis techniques will be employed which enable the deposition of advanced compositions and architectures to achieve a comprehensive thermal barrier coating system that provides vastly improved resistance to damage from moisture attack. A low cost, high throughput processing approach for the application of this TBC system is also envisioned. The proposed Phase I effort will identify the failure mechanisms of current and advanced TBC systems exposed to high moisture containing environments through the use of both coupon and component scale testing. The successful completion of the Phase I work will lead to a follow-on Phase II program focused on down-selecting candidate approaches for optimization and applying the new coating onto real aircraft components BENEFIT: This research is anticipated to result in a thermal barrier coating system that provides significantly enhanced durability in moisture containing environments. This work will also improve the durability of TBC systems in general to enable the realization of advanced gas turbine engine designs while leading to several percent thrust improvement or specific fuel consumption reduction for current turbine engines. These advances will not only benefit military engines and aircraft, but also commercial gas turbine engines. In addition, the innovative approach proposed here will reduce the time and expense for refurbishing and repairing blades during engine overhauls, thus improving military readiness and reducing the cost of maintaining commercial aircraft.