FOURSTUARTS

SELF-HEALING THERMAL BARRIER COATINGS

With application to gas turbine engines

Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) systems have been applied in turbine engines for
aerospace and power plants since the beginning of the 1980s to increase the energy
efficiency of the engine, by allowing for higher operation temperatures. TBC systems
on average need to be replaced about four times during the lifetime of an aircraft.
Hence, life extension of such systems are always desirable in order to minimise cost-
intensive maintenance operations. This research focuses on developing self-healing
TBC systems to enhance their lifetime.
TEXT Sathiskumar A. Ponnusami, PhD Researcher, Aerospace Structures

BACKGROUND rity of the blades, by protecting the core coating system [Hille et al., 2009]. These
Gas turbine engines generate thrust by from the aggressive environment during stresses result in the development of
expanding the hot gases (coming out of service [Nichols, 2003]. crack patterns in the TBC that coalesce
the combustion chamber) in the turbine. and ultimately lead to failure. Cracks that
With the fact that thermodynamic ef- THERMAL BARRIER COATINGS run through the TBC perpendicular to its
ficiency of any heat engine depends on A modern high-temperature coating sys- surface are not detrimental per se, but in
the maximum operating temperature, tem comprises a thermal barrier coating conjunction with cracks that develop par-
efforts are continuously made in order to (TBC) layer on top of a bond coating (BC) allel to the interface lead to spallation, i.e.,
increase the temperature of the hot gases layer. A thin thermally-grown oxide (TGO) fragmentation of the TBC.
coming out of the combustion chamber layer is formed during operation between
in gas turbine engines. However, the max- the TBC and BC layers as a result of oxida- NEED FOR SELF-HEALING
imum attainable temperature is limited by tion of metallic constituents of the bond The lifetime of TBC systems currently lies
the material resistance to higher tempera- coat. The structure of a typical TBC system between 2000 and 4000 thermal cycles
tures. To withstand higher temperatures, is shown in Figure 1. The TBC is made of (or flights) [Stolle, 2009]. Correspond-
turbine blades are made of nickel-based yttria-partially stabilised zirconia (YPSZ) ingly, TBC systems on average need to
superalloys which possess high strength to allow higher operation temperatures be replaced about four times during the
even at elevated temperatures. In order [Levi, 2004]. The BC is usually composed lifetime of an aircraft and these are cost-
to further increase the turbine inlet tem- of a MCrAlY alloy (where M denotes nickel intensive maintenance operations. Hence,
perature without damaging the blades, and/or cobalt), which protects the under- life extension of such systems is always
a coating of ceramic material is depos- lying substrate material. desirable in order to reduce maintenance
ited onto the blades, which is commonly TBC systems experience thermal cycles costs. Several efforts were made in gas
called a thermal barrier coating (TBC). due to starts and stops of a gas turbine en- turbine industry to enhance the life time
The blades and vanes in the hot section of gine, as shown in Figure 2. Especially dur- of the TBC system, for example, by vary-
turbine engines and the walls of the com- ing cooling from the operation tempera- ing the deposition method, coating com-
bustion chambers are coated to increase ture to room temperature, high stresses position, etc. One of the innovative ideas
the energy efficiency of the engine, by develop due to a mismatch between the to improve the lifetime is to incorporate a
allowing for higher operation tempera- coefficients of thermal expansion of the self-healing mechanism into the system.
tures, and to enhance the structural integ- substrate and the different layers in the This, in turn, means that the cracks formed

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 during operation should heal by itself. In turbine engines. This will be achieved will reveal the transformation of the heal-
FOURSTUARTS

other words, the system automatically through a combined experimental-mod- ing particles into crack-filling oxides. The
regains its strength and toughness even elling analysis of a modified self-healing modelling approach allows for the explicit
after the formation of microcracks. approach that relies on the encapsulation simulation of complex damage patterns,
of the healing particles. The purpose of generation of healing oxides and subse-
MECHANISM OF SELF-HEALING: the encapsulation is to prevent premature quent repair processes. Virtual prototyp-
The principle of the self-healing mecha- oxidation of the healing agent. A shell of ing through parametric studies is meant
nism is demonstrated in Figure 3. A alumina (Al2O3) will be created around the to guide the design process of new self-
self-healing agent is encapsulated and healing particles by selective oxidation healing coatings and thus improve the ef-
embedded within the TBC topcoat layer of a limited amount of Al that is added ficiency during development. The manu-
during the coating process. When the to the particles. With this new approach, facturing of the self-healing TBC system
crack reaches the microcapsule, the cap- the healing mechanism will become ac- will be done by KLM and Sulzer and the
sule breaks and the self-healing agent dif- tive only when required, i.e., when a crack testing of the system under thermal cy-
fuses into the crack, where it can oxidise breaks up the alumina shell. cling conditions will be carried out by the
and heal the crack. In an explorative re- National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR). This
search [Sloof, 2007], it was demonstrated RESEARCH PLANS research project is part of the IOP Self-
that the addition of Mo-Si based particles The project is divided into two concurrent Healing Materials Program chaired by Prof
leads to the filling of cracks in the TBC parts that will be executed at Delft Uni- Sybrand van der Zwaag of the Faculty of
layer. As shown in Figure 4, it was success- versity of Technology. The first part will Aerospace Engineering and is funded by
fully demonstrated that (i) Mo-Si (molyb- be carried out by Zeynep Derelioglu and the Dutch government.
denum alloyed with silicon) based heal- supervised by Dr Wim Sloof at the Depart-
ing particles can be deposited together ment of Materials Science and Engineer- CHALLENGES INVOLVED
with the yttria-partially-stabilised zirconia ing (Faculty 3mE). It comprises the experi- Many challenges are involved in the devel-
(YPSZ) using plasma spraying to produce mental understanding of the mechanisms opment of self-healing TBC systems. First
the thermal barrier coating, and (ii) cracks of damage development and crack heal- of all, the manufacturing of encapsulated
developing in the TBC layer are healed by ing in a self-healing TBC upon thermal cy- healing particles itself is a big challenge.
oxidation of the Mo-Si based particles. cling and the practical realization of such Then, when the crack emanates during
The principle of the crack healing with a system. The second part will be con- operation, triggering of the mechanism
particles containing Mo-Si is based on ducted by Sathiskumar A. Ponnusami and that repairs cracks is crucial. First, the
the formation of SiO2 by oxidation when supervised by Dr Sergio Turteltaub at the crack must run into the healing particles
such a particle is exposed to the ambient Aerospace Structures and Computational and not be deflected. Next, the crack must
gas at high temperatures through a crack Mechanics group of the Faculty of Aero- break-up the alumina shell encapsulat-
in the TBC. The Mo forms a volatile oxide space Engineering. This part concerns ing the particles. Then, high temperature
(MoO3) and will leave the coating via the the modelling of damage and healing oxidation must result in the formation of
crack path, thereby compensating for the processes and the development of design SiO2 to fill the cracks. Optimal size and dis-
tribution of the healing capsules should
volume increase upon oxidation. The SiO2 strategies for self-healing TBCs.
be determined with guidance from the
fills the crack and closes it, thus postpon- The extent of the self-healing effect of
modelling and design process. Healing
ing failure of the TBC system. the modified TBC can be determined ex-
efficiency has to be studied in order to en-
Nonetheless, this self-healing mechanism perimentally in a thermal cycling test and
sure proper healing has occurred in order
is not fully understood and therefore theoretically from numerical simulations.
to regain the toughness. These challenges
needs to be thoroughly analysed in or- In the experiments, the evolution of dam-
will be addressed in this combined ex-
der to significantly improve its efficiency. age (cracking and delamination) is moni-
perimental-modelling research project in
Hence, the research is aimed at optimiz- tored quantitatively as a function of the
order to arrive at an optimal self-healing
ing the self-healing capacity of thermal number of thermal cycles with acoustic
TBC system.
barrier coatings with Mo-Si based dis- emission and microscopic techniques. In
persed particles for application in gas addition, detailed microstructure analyses
RESULTS
The research will focus on developing
a novel ceramic thermal barrier with
self-healing capability. Therefore, under-
standing of the mechanisms of damage
development and crack healing is es-
sential. Modelling of these mechanisms
will enable optimization and design of
new TBC systems. Routes will be devised
for controlled manufacturing of both the
healing particles and the modified TBCs.
If successful, this project will lead to a
new generation of affordable TBCs with
improved lifetime in gas turbine engines.
Consequently, a significant economic
benefit can be obtained by reducing the
number of TBC replacements in critical
turbine engine components.

QUALITY AND INNOVATION

Self-healing TBCs with extended lifetime
do not exist for commercial applications
Figure 1. Structure of TBC system yet. The development and practical im-

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 duced engine downtime. Both users and
manufacturers of the self-healing TBC sys-
tem within the Dutch industry participate
in this project to define requirements for
successful application.

SUSTAINABILITY
A TBC system itself already contributes
considerably to sustainable technol-
ogy, because it enhances the engine ef-
ficiency by allowing higher operation
temperatures, which saves fuel and thus
reduces CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it
protects the high-tech structural compo-
nents (made of single-crystal superalloys)
against severe high temperature corro-
sion, thereby contributing to durable
use of resources. The materials and their
amounts used to produce the TBC system
are abundant and not environmentally
hazardous.
Figure 2. Typical thermal cycle of a gas turbine engine
CONCLUSION
plementation of a novel self-healing TBC ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE It has already been demonstrated that a
is very attractive, since the maintenance If a TBC system with sufficient self-healing TBC with a healing agent can be manu-
frequency of jet and gas turbines criti- capacity can be realised, then the eco- factured with existing technology (i.e.,
cally depends on the lifetime of the TBC. nomic benefits will be significant. First, the plasma spraying) used in industry [Sloof,
The proposed research involves (i) the manufacturer of such a coating system 2007]). Thus, once an optimal design is
development of the TBC material, (ii) the can offer a unique product and thereby realised and effective healing particles
advancement of coating manufacturing acquire a stronger position in the market. are developed, it is anticipated that there
technology and (iii) the implementation Secondly, the users of a TBC system with are no obstacles for introduction of self-
of self-healing coatings into industrial ap- self-healing capacity, e.g. airline compa- healing TBCs into industrial practice. The
plications (jet and gas turbine engines). In nies and producers of electricity, will ben- involvement of industrial participants (i.e.,
this project, the scientific research groups efit from the longer lifetime of the coating KLM and Sulzer) in this research project,
will collaborate with industry which en- system itself and hence the critical com- and in particular with the manufacturing
sures knowledge transfer from academia ponents of the gas turbine, which brings of the self-healing TBC system, ensures a
to industry and users, and vice versa. about less engine revisions and thus a re- successful transition into applications.

References

1. J.R. Nichols, Advances in coating

design for high-performance gas tur-
bines, MRS Bull 28 (2003) 659-670.

2. T.S. Hille, T.J. Nijdam, A.S.J. Suiker,

S. Turteltaub, W.G. Sloof, Damage
growth triggered by interface irregu-
larities in thermal barrier coatings,
Acta Materialia, 57 (2009) 2624-2630.

3. C. Levi, Emerging Materials and

processes for thermal barrier systems,
Current opinion in solid state and
Figure 3. Schematic of crack-healing mechanism in a TBC system with encapsulated Mo-Si based particles.
materials science, 8 (2004) 77.

4. R. Stolle, Conventional and ad-

vanced coatings for turbine airfoils.
Available from: http://www.mtu.de/
en/technologies/engineering_news/,
retrieved in January 2009. MTU Aero
Engines, 80995 München, Germany.

5. W.G. Sloof, Self Healing in Coatings

at High Temperatures in: Self Healing
Materials – an Alternative Approach
Figure 4. Crack healing in a thermal barrier coating (TBC) system by Mo-Si based healing particles. (a) to 20 Centuries of Materials Science,
TBC layer composed of yttria-partially-stabilised zirconia and Mo-Si particles co-deposited by plasma S. van der Zwaag Editor, Springer,
spraying on a MCrAlY bond coating (BC). (b) Micrograph of self-healed TBC by SiO2 (dark gray) formed Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2007, pp.
due to high-temperature oxidation of Mo-Si particles (arrows indicate remnants of Mo-Si particles). (c) 309-321.
Si distribution map of a selected area showing that the crack is filled with SiO2.

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