Mechanistic Study on the Degradation of Thermal Barrier Coatings Induced by Volcanic Ash Deposition

Abstract

Thermal stress generated on thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) by volcanic ash (VA) deposition was assessed measuring the tip deflection of a multilayered beam structure as a function of temperature. The TBC in this study was deposited onto the surface of a blade utilized in a land-based gas turbine which is composed of 8 wt.%Y2O3-ZrO2/CoNiCrAlY on a Ni-based superalloy. The VA-deposited TBC sample was heated at 1453 K, and the effect of VA deposition on TBC delamination was examined in comparison with a TBC sample without VA deposition as a reference. On the basis of the VA attack damage mechanism which was investigated via the tip deflection measurement and a comprehensive microstructure examination, a damage-coupled constitutive model was proposed. The proposed model was based on the infiltration of the molten VA inside pores and phase transformations of yttria -tabilized zirconia in the TBC system. The numerical analysis results, which were simulated utilizing the finite element code installing the developed constitutive model, showed us that VA attack on the TBC sample induced near-interfacial cracks because of a significant increasing in the coating stress.