Effect of periodic surface cracks on the interfacial fracture of thermal barrier coating system

Periodic surface cracks and interfacial debonding in thermal barrier coating (TBC) system may be induced during cooling process. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of periodic surface cracks on the interfacial fracture of TBC system. The finite element method (FEM) incorporating cohesive zone model is used in analysis. It is found that surface crack spacing has significant effect on the initiation and propagation of short interface crack. Three different regions are identified for describing the effect of surface crack spacing. In Region I the interface crack driving force is dramatically reduced due to high surface crack density. In this case, the initiation of interfacial delamination can be delayed. Region II applies as the surface crack spacing is moderate. Analysis of this transition zone brings to the definition of normalized critical surface crack spacing. Region III arises for sufficient large surface crack spacing. In this case, the interface crack driving force reaches a steady state, where the effects of adjacent surface cracks are relatively insignificant and can be ignored. It can be concluded that an appropriately high surface crack density can enhance the durability of TBC system. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.