Numerous cracks can be observed in the top coat of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) deposited by the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) method. These cracks can be classified into vertical and horizontal ones and they have opposite impact on the properties of TBCs. Vertical cracks reduce the residual stress in the top coat and provide strain tolerance. On the contrary, horizontal cracks trigger delamination of the top coat. However, monitoring methods of cracks generation during APS are rare even though they are strongly desired. Therefore, an in situ, non-contact and non-destructive evaluation method for this objective was developed in this study with the laser acoustic emission (AE) technique by using laser interferometers as a sensor. More AE events could be detected by introducing an improved noise reduction filter and AE event detection procedures with multiple thresholds. Generation of vertical cracks was successfully separated from horizontal cracks by a newly introduced scanning pattern of a plasma torch. Thus, generation of vertical cracks was detected with certainty by this monitoring method because AE events were detected only during spraying and a positive correlation was observed between the development degree of vertical cracks and the total AE energy in one experiment.
Abstract. Laser acoustic emission (AE) method is a unique in-situ and non-contact nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method. It has a capability to detect signals generated from crack generation and propagation, friction and other physical phenomena in materials even in high temperature environment. However, laser AE system has lower signal-to-noise ratio compared to the conventional AE system using PZT sensors, so it is difficult to apply this method in noisy environment. A novel AE measurement system to detect events in such difficult environments was developed. This system could continuously record all AE waveforms and enable unrestricted post-analyses. Noise reduction filters in frequency domain coupling with a new AE event extraction using multiple threshold values showed a good potential for AE signal processing. This system was successfully applied for crack monitoring of plasma spray deposition process of ceramic coating.
Clarification of crack generation mechanism in the top coat of the thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) during atmospheric plasma spray process is important to improve the reliability of TBC. In this study, finite element analyses of stress and strain during the deposition process were conducted with layer-bylayer method to understand the cracking behaviors. Stress relaxation by generation of vertical cracks was expressed as an elasto-plastic behavior of the coating. The effects of pre-heating temperature of the substrate and plasma power on crack development were analyzed by changing of the initial and atmospheric temperatures in simulation, respectively. The simulation results of radial strain explained the experimental results of crack monitoring by non-contact laser acoustic emission method.
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