Hundreds of different types of coatings are used to protect a variety of structural engineering materials from corrosion, wear, and erosion, and to provide lubrication and thermal insulation. Of all these, thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have the most complex structure and must operate in the most demanding high-temperature environment of aircraft and industrial gas-turbine engines. TBCs, which comprise metal and ceramic multilayers, insulate turbine and combustor engine components from the hot gas stream, and improve the durability and energy efficiency of these engines. Improvements in TBCs will require a better understanding of the complex changes in their structure and properties that occur under operating conditions that lead to their failure. The structure, properties, and failure mechanisms of TBCs are herein reviewed, together with a discussion of current limitations and future opportunities.
Rare‐earth zirconates have been identified as a class of low‐thermal‐conductivity ceramics for possible use in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for gas‐turbine engine applications. To document and compare the thermal conductivities of important rare‐earth zirconates, we have measured the thermal conductivities of the following hot‐pressed ceramics: (i) Gd2Zr2O7 (pyrochlore phase), (ii) Gd2Zr2O7 (fluorite phase), (iii) Gd2.58Zr1.57O7 (fluorite phase), (iv) Nd2Zr2O7 (pyrochlore phase), and (v) Sm2Zr2O7 (pyrochlore phase). We have also measured the thermal conductivity of pressureless‐sintered 7 wt% yttria‐stabilized zirconia (7YSZ)—the commonly used composition in current TBCs. All rare‐earth zirconates investigated here showed nearly identical thermal conductivities, all of which were ∼30% lower than the thermal conductivity of 7YSZ in the temperature range 25°–700°C. This finding is discussed qualitatively with reference to thermal‐conductivity theory.
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