Thermal Barrier Coating systems (TBCs) serve as a key component in gas turbines in aerospace engines, isolating the metallic substrate from severe heat flux of the environment. The durability of TBCs has been considered to be a critical issue to determine the service lifespan of hot section components. Comprehensive studies of failure mechanisms benefit the gas turbine industry to develop TBCs with better material properties and stable microstructures, thus potentially enhancing their durability. To date, many failure mechanism analyses have been conducted based on the understanding of critical residual stress developed under different thermal tests. For the present study, using the Finite Element (FE) method with temperature-process-dependent model parameters, the maximum residual stress is calculated with evolution of the localized/global interfacial roughness profile based on Electron Beam-Physical Vapour Deposition Thermal Barrier Coating system (EB-PVD TBCs). With studies of cracking routes from past research, qualitative failure mechanism analysis is conducted for EB-PVD TBCs. In addition, the estimated energy release rates are compared to reveal the effect of different thermal profiles on the crack driving forces for Atmospheric Plasma Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coating systems (APS-TBCs). Using previously observed cracking routes from different thermal cycling experiments, a quantitative failure mechanism analysis is conducted for APS-TBCs with modified analytical expressions. In addition, literature works revealed that physics and mechanics-based models were proposed to evaluate environment induced damage. For the last part of my research, erosion of EB-PVD TBCs is estimated using a modified solid particle erosion model. A stochastic approach is applied to study the erosion of EB-PVD topcoat (TC) under real engine service conditions. The durability of TBCs is affected by both oxidation-induced degradation and environment-induced damage. The combination of “internal” crack driving forces (generated from residual stresses developed upon different stages of thermal cycles) and “external” erosion damage (from temperature-process dependent brittle/ductile erosion) lead to complexity of evaluating durability under different service conditions.

Using experimentally measured temperature-process-dependent model parameters, the failure analysis and life prediction were conducted for Atmospheric Plasma Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings (APS-TBCs) and electron beam physical vapor deposition thermal barrier coatings (EB-PVD TBCs) with Pt-modified -NiAl bond coats deposited on Ni-base single crystal superalloys. For APS-TBC system, a residual stress model for the top coat of APS-TBC was proposed and then applied to life prediction. The capability of the life model was demonstrated using temperature-dependent model parameters. Using existing life data, a comparison of fitting approaches of life model parameters was performed. The role of the residual stresses distributed at each individual coating layer was explored and their interplay on the coating’s delamination was analyzed. For EB-PVD TBCs, based on failure mechanism analysis, two newly analytical stress models from the valley position of top coat and ridge of bond coat were proposed describing stress levels generated as consequence of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between each layers. The thermal stress within TGO was evaluated based on composite material theory, where effective parameters were calculated. The lifetime prediction of EB-PVD TBCs was conducted given that the failure analysis and life model were applied to two failure modes A and B identified experimentally for thermal cyclic process. The global wavelength related to interface rumpling and its radius curvature were identified as essential parameters in life evaluation, and the life results for failure mode A were verified by existing burner rig test data. For failure mode B, the crack growth rate along the topcoat/TGO interface was calculated using the experimentally measured average interfacial fracture toughness.