Unveiling Ultra-High Temperature Wear and Indentation Damage Mechanisms of Thermal Barrier Coatings

Thermal barrier coatings are necessary to protect turbine blades within jet engines from extreme environments that the substrate material may not be capable of withstanding. Therefore, failure of the coating due to wear during its operational lifecycle is a critical event. In order to understand the failure mechanisms of the coating layers, a zirconia-based coating on a nickel alloy substrate was subjected to wear testing to simulate pressure and temperature conditions within a jet engine. Using a Hertzian contact model, the maximum shear and its depth were determined and analyzed in conjunction with the coating material properties and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry images. The coupled imaging and contact model analyses made possible the identification of the location and time of delamination and its underlying causes. Our findings provide key insights for the development of more resilient thermal barrier coatings.