Microstructure design to improve the efficiency of thermal barrier coatings

The insulation effect of ceramic coating in a turbine blade is of great importance for the service of engine in the field of aviation industry. Fabricating microstructure in the thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) is considered to be able to enhance the thermal insulation effect. In this study, the traditional three-layer structure, containing ceramic top coat, bonding coat and substrate, is firstly simplified into a double-layer structure, where only ceramic layer and substrate are left, for analyzing the thermal insulation. Afterwards, the thermal insulation effect of the designed microstructure in the bonding coat of the three-layer structure is further studied. Column-like microstructures, filled with hollow ceramic microspheres in the interspace, are designed to improve the thermal insulation effect. The size parameters of the designed microstructure were optimized. The existence of the designed microstructure can significantly prolong the efficiency of thermal barrier coatings. The insulation temperature between the heating surface and lower surface of the substrate can exceed 300°C and the thermal balance time has a big improvement of 240 s, more than 50%, than the traditional TBCs structure. Compared with the TBCs structure without microstructure, the designed microstructure can significantly improve the insulation temperature of more than 110°C.