Thermal Barrier Coatings: Materials, Processes, Properties and Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Ceramic Coatings and Engineering Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2025 | Viewed by 1100

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Oerlikon Metco (US) Inc., Westbury, NY, USA
Interests: high-temperature materials; thermal/environmental barrier coatings; abradable coatings; coating technology application in aerospace and industry gas turbine engines

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) are used extensively in the hot sections of both aerospace and industrial gas turbine engines. The TBC has enabled engines to operate at gas temperatures well above the melting temperature of the superalloy, thereby improving engine efficiency and performance. Higher operating temperatures for gas turbine engines are continuously sought after in order to further improve their efficiency. As engine inlet temperatures increase, the need for reliable coatings with improved properties is becoming increasingly critical to protecting the durability of superalloy components. A highly durable TBC system relies on advanced materials, coating microstructures, critical coating processes, as well as application equipment for a robust, high-quality coating deposition. This Special Issue invites original research studies on the latest TBC development regarding new innovations in materials, process technologies, characterization, performance, and industrial applications.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel TBC materials, including novel bond coats, phase-stable and low thermal conductivity coatings, and coatings that resist CMAS deposits ingested into the engine;
  • Coating processes, including thermal spray, suspension/solution plasma spray, physical vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition;
  • Multilayer and multifunction coating architecture and microstructure design;
  • Testing, characterization, performance, failure analysis, and applications;
  • Advanced equipment for robust and cost-effective coating deposition.

Dr. Dianying Chen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • thermal barrier coatings
  • coating process
  • CMAS resistance
  • oxidation
  • failure analysis
  • gas turbine engines

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 16238 KiB  
Article
Degradation of HVOF-MCrAlY + APS-Nanostructured YSZ Thermal Barrier Coatings
by Weijie R. Chen, Chao Li, Yuxian Cheng, Hongying Li, Xiao Zhang and Lu Wang
Coatings 2025, 15(8), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15080871 - 24 Jul 2025
Abstract
The degradation process of HVOF-MCrAlY + APS-nanostructured YSZ (APS-nYSZ) thermal barrier coatings, produced using gas turbine OEM-approved MCrAlY powders, is investigated by studying the TGO growth and crack propagation behaviors in a thermal cycling environment. The TGO growth yields a parabolic mechanism on [...] Read more.
The degradation process of HVOF-MCrAlY + APS-nanostructured YSZ (APS-nYSZ) thermal barrier coatings, produced using gas turbine OEM-approved MCrAlY powders, is investigated by studying the TGO growth and crack propagation behaviors in a thermal cycling environment. The TGO growth yields a parabolic mechanism on the surfaces of all HVOF-MCrAlYs, and the growth rate increases with the aluminum content in the “classical” MCrAlYs. The APS-nYSZ layer comprises micro-structured YSZ (mYSZ) and nanostructured YSZ (nYSZ) zones. Both mYSZ/mYSZ and mYSZ/nYSZ interfaces appear to be crack nucleation sites, resulting in crack propagation and consequent crack coalescence within the APS-nYSZ layer in the APS-nYSZ/HVOF-MCrAlY vicinity. Crack propagation in the TBCs can be characterized as a steady-state crack propagation stage, where crack length has a nearly linear relationship with TGO thickness, and an accelerating crack propagation stage, which is apparently a result of the coalescence of neighboring cracks. All TBCs fail in the same way as APS-/HVOF-MCrAlY + APS-conventional YSZ analogs, but the difference in thermal cycling lives is not substantial, although the HVOF-low Al-NiCrAlY encounters chemical failure in the early stage of thermal cycling. Full article
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24 pages, 4099 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Control of Coating Accumulation Model in Non-Stationary Environment Based on Visual Differential Feedback
by Chengzhi Su, Danyang Yu, Wenyu Song, Huilin Tian, Haifeng Bao, Enguo Wang and Mingzhen Li
Coatings 2025, 15(7), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15070852 - 19 Jul 2025
Viewed by 213
Abstract
To address the issue of coating accumulation model failure in unstable environments, this paper proposes a dynamic control method based on visual differential feedback. An image difference model is constructed through online image data modeling and real-time reference image feedback, enabling real-time correction [...] Read more.
To address the issue of coating accumulation model failure in unstable environments, this paper proposes a dynamic control method based on visual differential feedback. An image difference model is constructed through online image data modeling and real-time reference image feedback, enabling real-time correction of the coating accumulation model. Firstly, by combining the Arrhenius equation and the Hagen–Poiseuille equation, it is demonstrated that pressure regulation and temperature changes are equivalent under dataset establishment conditions, thereby reducing data collection costs. Secondly, online paint mist image acquisition and processing technology enables real-time modeling, overcoming the limitations of traditional offline methods. This approach reduces modeling time to less than 4 min, enhancing real-time parameter adjustability. Thirdly, an image difference model employing a CNN + MLP structure, combined with feature fusion and optimization strategies, achieved high prediction accuracy: R2 > 0.999, RMSE < 0.79 kPa, and σe < 0.74 kPa on the test set for paint A; and R2 > 0.997, RMSE < 0.67 kPa, and σe < 0.66 kPa on the test set for aviation paint B. The results show that the model can achieve good dynamic regulation for both types of typical aviation paint used in the experiment: high-viscosity polyurethane enamel (paint A, viscosity 22 s at 25 °C) and epoxy polyamide primer (paint B, viscosity 18 s at 25 °C). In summary, the image difference model can achieve dynamic regulation of the coating accumulation model in unstable environments, ensuring the stability of the coating accumulation model. This technology can be widely applied in industrial spraying scenarios with high requirements for coating uniformity and stability, especially in occasions with significant fluctuations in environmental parameters or complex process conditions, and has important engineering application value. Full article
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18 pages, 4144 KiB  
Article
Integrated Microstructural and Chemical Approach for Improving CMAS Resistance in Thermal and Environmental Barrier Coatings
by Andrew J. Wright, Clara Mock, Timothy Sharobem, Nickolas Sotiropoulos, Chris Dambra, Brian Keyes and Anindya Ghoshal
Coatings 2025, 15(6), 680; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15060680 - 5 Jun 2025
Viewed by 533
Abstract
This study provides an investigation into the influence of surface roughness, porosity, and chemistry on the wettability and infiltration behavior of calcia-magnesia-alumino-silicates (CMASs) in thermal and environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs) used in high-temperature gas turbine engines. High-temperature contact angle measurements were performed at [...] Read more.
This study provides an investigation into the influence of surface roughness, porosity, and chemistry on the wettability and infiltration behavior of calcia-magnesia-alumino-silicates (CMASs) in thermal and environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs) used in high-temperature gas turbine engines. High-temperature contact angle measurements were performed at 1260 °C on 7 wt.% yttria-stabilized zirconia (7YSZ) and yttrium ytterbium disilicate (YYbDS, (Y1/2Yb1/2)2Si2O7) to evaluate the interaction of CMASs with different surface finishes and coating microstructures. The findings demonstrate that porosity plays a dominant role in determining CMAS infiltration dynamics. In YYbDS, increasing porosity from 6.3% to 22.7% facilitated the formation of an apatite layer that limited CMAS penetration to approximately 2 µm. Surface roughness exhibited a subtler influence in that reducing Sa from 0.61 µm to 0.05 µm increased the change in the contact angle by ~2°, although its impact was found to be less significant compared to porosity and reactive chemistry. These results indicate that an integrated approach that optimizes porosity, chemistry, and surface morphology can significantly enhance CMAS resistance. The study emphasizes that leveraging both microstructural and chemical properties is critical to developing coatings capable of withstanding the harsh conditions encountered in aerospace environments. Full article
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