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There are different concepts for thermal barrier coating (TBC) application that vary in the method of applying the coating layers. An analysis of the existing part portfolio sprayed with different coating concepts shows that there is a 75% difference in spray performance, depending on which concept is used. Optimizing performance can significantly reduce costs and time. This paper shows the effective use of offline programming tools in combination with a detailed coating process analysis to develop a time-optimized coating concept for vanes and blades. The validation of this optimized coating concept shows an improvement of more than 75% in spray performance leading to a coating time improvement of up to 40%.

The complexity of many components being coated in the aircraft industry today makes the traditional trial and error approach to obtain uniform coatings inadequate. To reduce programming time and further increase process accuracy a more systematic approach to develop robot trajectories is needed. In earlier work, a mathematical model was developed to predict coating thickness for thermal spray deposition on rotating objects with rotationally invariant surfaces. The model allows for varying spray distance and spray direction but is simple enough to give very short simulation times. An iterative method for robot feed optimization to obtain uniform coatings was also proposed. Currently, the use of the model in engineering practice is being evaluated. A MATLAB implementation of the model has been integrated with a commercial off-line programming system, giving a powerful and efficient tool to predict and optimize coating thickness. Simulations and experimental verifications are presented for two zirconia plasma sprayed parts.

The plasma spray deposition of a zirconia thermal barrier coating (TBC) on a gas turbine component has been examined using analytical and experimental techniques. The coating thickness was simulated by the use of commercial off-line programming software. The impinging jet was modelled by means of a finite difference elliptic code using a simplified turbulence model. Powder particle velocity, temperature history and trajectory were calculated using a stochastic discrete particle model. The heat transfer and fluid flow model were then used to calculate transient coating and substrate temperatures using the finite element method. The predicted thickness, temperature and velocity of the particles and the coating temperatures were compared with these measurements and good correlations were obtained. The coating microstructure was evaluated by optical and scanning microscopy techniques. Special attention was paid to the crack structures within the top coating. Finally, the correlation between the modelled parameters and the deposit microstructure was studied.

Hexavalent chromium has been widely used in the coating industry and more specifically in gas turbine hot end component protection. UK REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals) have given an end date of September 2024 for the use of hexavalent chromium and as such, the industry must adapt to these regulations. Indestructible Paint LTD have developed a new aluminium diffused slurry coating, CFIPAL, that does not contain hexavalent chromium like its predecessor, IP1041. Both CFIPAL and IP1041 were deposited onto Nimonic 75 alloy and underwent metallurgical and chemical analysis which included scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, hardness testing, contact angle testing, surface roughness testing and finally, salt spray corrosion testing. The results indicated that CFIPAL is a suitable alternative for hexavalent chromium-containing coatings, such as IP1041.

Many of the recent improvements in gas turbine engines have been attributed to the introduction of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) for superalloy components. There exists, however, some limitations in current fabrication methods for closed hot-section components: less than ideal coating quality, the need for welding, and limited choice of superalloy material. This paper describes a vacuum plasma near-net-shape process that overcomes these limitations. The process is used to fabricate closed components from yttria-stabilized-zirconia with a CoNiCrAlY bond coat and IN-738LC outer layer. The results from the study show that it is possible to produce near-net-shape superalloy parts with good coating properties and the absence of welds. The mold was reusable after minor reconditioning and the coatings were uniform in thickness and microstructure with a smooth surface finish. The bond coat and structural superalloy layers were very dense with no signs of oxidation at the interface. After heat treatment, the mechanical properties of the IN-738LC compare favorably to cast materials.

Land-based gas turbine exhaust stacks are typically made of low carbon steels, and when used in very harsh industrial environments, they are subjected to corrosion attack leading to material degradation and loss of structural integrity. To maintain acceptable condition, various types of corrosion resistant paints and coatings are used. These include aluminum-based polysiloxane organic paints, as well as wire arc sprayed stainless steel and aluminum coatings. Aqueous corrosion protection and thermal stability up to 538°C are required. Development and testing of various coating systems was conducted and presented in this paper. Laboratory and engine field-testing demonstrated the best performance for sealed aluminum wire arc sprayed coatings

In modern jet engines, the efficiency of the compressor stages is highly dependent on the clearance between blade tip and casing. In order to improve efficiency of gas turbines (i.e. areo engines as well as land based gas turbines), the gap between the rotating turbine blades and casing has to be minimized. Any increase in the gap results in power loss. Abradable coatings permit a minimization of the clearance and control of the over-tip leakage by allowing the blade tips to cut into the coating. Thermal sprayed abradable coatings aim at a well balanced profile of properties relevant for the application as abradable seals. Amongst others these include: abradability, ageing resistance, corrosion and oxidation resistance, surface finish and bond strength to substrate materials. In this work, abradable coatings consisting of a multiphase material, comprising a metal matrix in addition to a solid lubricant as well as a defined level of porosity, were developed using the Triplex Pro 200 (Sulzer Metco, Wohlen, Switzerland) in order to increase the reproducibility and deposition efficiency. Additionally the influence of the process parameters on coating characteristics such as porosity, hardness and, resulting from this, coating erosion properties and abradability was investigated.

Abradable coatings are typically applied on the compressor section of gas turbines to reduce air leakage and increase compressor performance. In pursuit of engine efficiency, the service temperatures of the components are higher than before. The use of nickel-graphite coating in compressor applications in higher temperature environments diminishes the abradable property of the coating. In the current study, a series of abradable coatings were prepared with combustion and plasma spray methods and tested at gas turbine conditions. Coating microstructure, hardness, abradability, and erosion resistance was investigated and compared against conventional nickel-graphite coating. In addition, coatings were aged to mimic the aging cycle in industrial gas turbines and compared to as-sprayed coating properties.

Plasma spraying of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on gas turbine parts is widely used today either to enable higher turbine inlet temperatures with consequent improvement of combustion efficiency or to reduce the requirements for the cooling system and increase components life-time. Development of low conductivity TBCs, which allows us to further increase gas turbine efficiency and availability, is an ongoing challenge. In order to get low thermal conductivity values an experimental program was conducted. Two zirconia powders were used for coating deposition: yttria partial stabilised zirconia (YPSZ) and dysprosia partial stabilised zirconia (DyPSZ). Microstructure evaluations were performed to evaluate the influence of the spraying parameters on the coating morphology and porosity level. Two methods were utilised to evaluate the coatings thermal conductivity: Laser Flash (LF) and Transient Plane Source (TPS). A comparison between the two methods was made as well as a correlation study between coating microstructure/composition and thermal conductivity (TC).

In a joint development project, TACR GmbH1 and H.C. Starck GmbH 2 took an approach to adjust the properties of an agglomerated and sintered YSZ powder to a process setup optimized for a HOSP type powder. Within the OEM approved process parameters, which could be changed within narrow limits only, the particle size distribution of the agglomerated and sintered powder was adjusted to meet process parameters and spray setup. Key parameters for the comparison of coating properties and spray behavior were coating porosity and deposition efficiency (DE).

To understand performance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) in various industrial applications of Siemens medium size gas turbines, effects of three types of thermal exposures i.e., high temperature isothermal exposure, thermal cycle fatigue (TCF) test, and burner rig test (BRT) on adhesion strength of an air plasma sprayed (APS) TBC have been studied and reported in this paper. It has been seen that the TBC adhesion strength is influenced by the type of thermal exposures differently. Together with a microscopic examination on TBC microstructures and fractography, a correlation between failure mechanisms and types of thermal exposures is discussed. In addition to the impact of various engine operation conditions on behavior of TBC, impacts of TBC surface roughness on turbine performance have also been evaluated. Surface profile and surface roughness on as-sprayed and polished TBC and cast metal (uncoated) have been measured and two different polishing methods have been compared. As a result, a requirement of TBC surface roughness and a preferable polishing method are suggested.

Improvement in the performance of thermal barrier coating systems (TBCs) is one of the key objectives for further development of gas turbine applications. The material most commonly used as TBC topcoat is yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ). However, the usage of YSZ is limited by the operating temperature range which in turn restricts the engine efficiency. Materials such as pyrochlores, perovskites, rare earth garnets, etc. are suitable candidates which could replace YSZ as they exhibit lower thermal conductivity and higher phase stability at elevated temperatures. The objective of this work was to investigate different multi-layered TBCs consisting of advanced topcoat materials fabricated by Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS). The investigated topcoat materials were YSZ, dysprosia stabilised zirconia, gadolinium zirconiate, cerium doped YSZ and yttria fully stabilised zirconia. All topcoats were deposited with TriplexPro-210 plasma spray gun and radial injection of suspension. Lifetime of these samples was examined by thermal cyclic fatigue and thermal shock testing. Microstructure analysis of as-sprayed and failed specimens was performed with scanning electron microscope. The failure mechanisms in each case have been discussed in this article. The results show that SPS could be a promising route to produce multilayered TBCs for high temperature applications.

For many years coatings have been successfully applied to aerospace engine components to improve life and performance. The key success areas have been in thermal barrier coatings, clearance control, oxidation/hot corrosion and wear coatings. Today, design engineers in the industrial gas turbine sector have leveraged the “aerospace” technology into the power generation industry. This paper gives a general overview of key coatings used in the compressor and turbine sections. Design requirements will be reviewed and compared between aerospace and power generation coatings. Application process improvement areas will also be discussed as a method of reducing component cost. Therefore, the total solution will be more reproducible, cost effective coatings that add value. This will result in engineered components that operate at higher temperatures and/or last for longer periods of time.

Abradable seals have been used in jet engines since the late 1960's. Today they are seeing applications in low pressure and high pressure sections of compressors as well as the high pressure turbine module of jet engines. Clearance control systems using abradable coatings are also gaining ever more attention in industrial and steam turbine applications. Thermal spraying is a relatively simple and cost effective means to apply abradable seals. Abradable coatings work by minimizing gaps between rotating and stationary components by allowing the rotating parts to cut into the stationary ones. Typically plasma and combustion spray processes are used for applying abradable coatings. The types of coatings employed in the HP turbine are zirconia based abradable material systems with polymer and, in some cases, solid lubricant additions such as hexagonal boron nitride. The coatings are designed to work at service temperatures of up to 1200°C. Types of matrix materials used in the low and high pressure sections of the compressor are aluminum-silicon, nickel and MCrAlY based systems. These compressor type systems typically also contain fugitive phases of polymer and/or solid lubricants such as hexagonal boron nitride or graphite. Operating temperature, depending on the material of choice, can be up to 750°C. Regardless of the specific application, fugitive phases and porosity are needed for abradable coatings. Polymers are used to create and control porosity in plasma sprayed coatings, a critical design requirement in adjusting abradability and erosion properties of thermal spray coatings. Combustion spray coatings generate porosity through the lower deposition velocities and temperatures compared to plasma and typically do not need polymer phases. Solid lubricants are added to help weaken the structure of thermal spray coatings and reduce frictional heating and material transfer to the blade.

At present, main bearings in wind turbines are equipped with rolling bearings without exception. Sliding bearings instead can offer a number of advantages, including easier maintenance and extended lifetime. While conventional manufacturing processes for large sliding bearings face their limits regarding processable materials, thermal spraying can provide an effective alternative to meet the requirements by applying coating systems on the bearing surfaces. Within this study a wide range of different feedstock materials based on standard bearing materials and common wear and friction reducing coating systems are investigated. The coatings are tested on tribometers based on the load distribution within the main bearing at critical operating conditions of the wind turbine gained from a validated simulation model. A tribological methodology is developed to investigate the application related properties of the thermally sprayed coatings. The effects of load and geometry of the counter body on the friction and wear behavior of the coatings are investigated using a pin-on-disc and a modified high-load ring-on-disc tribometer. The presented results provide a major contribution to the purpose of identifying an appropriate coating system to meet the requirements of slow-moving and highly loaded sliding bearings.

Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) process has attracted extensive effort and interest as a method to produce fine-structured and functional coatings. In particular, thermal barrier coating (TBC) applied by SPS process has gained increasing interest due to its potential for producing coatings that provide superior thermal protection of gas turbine hot-section components as compared to conventional APS-TBC and even EB-PVD TBC. The unique columnar architecture and nano- and submicron sized grains in a SPS-TBC coatings demonstrate some advantages in thermal shock durability, low thermal conductivity, and high-temperature sintering resistance. This work addresses some practical aspects of using the SPS process for TBC applications before it becomes a reliable industry method. The spray capability and applicability of SPS to achieve uniform thickness and microstructure on curved substrates was evaluated in designed spray trials to simulate industrial parts with complex configurations. The performance of SPS-TBCs in erosion, free falling ballistic impact, and indentation loading tests was evaluated to simulate SPS-TBC performance in turbine service conditions. The behaviors of SPS-TBCs in those tests were correlated to key test factors including grit incident angles, impact object sizes, indentation head shapes, and coating surface curvatures. Finally, a turbine blade was coated and sectioned to verify SPS sprayability in multiple critical sections. The SPS trials and test results demonstrate that SPS is promising for innovative TBCs, but some challenges need to be addressed before it becomes an economical and reliable industrial process, especially for gas turbine components.

Due to the extreme conditions experienced in gas turbine engines, especially aero-derivative type engines, internal components need to be protected against adverse effects in order to maintain component integrity and engine performance between overhauls. Among these adverse conditions are wear in the form of friction and fretting, erosion and various forms of corrosion. This paper focuses on fretting wear. To reduce coating costs, shorten the dwell time, and provide additional options for the repair of industrial gas turbine components, it presents a comprehensive study initiated by Rolls-Royce to determine the feasibility of the Sulzer Metco HVOF process as an alternative to the evaluate the D-Gun process. Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that tungsten carbide and chromium carbide sprayed with the Diamond Jet Hybrid can be used successfully as coating alternatives to the D-Gun. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

Water turbine parts damaged by cavitation erosion (CE) and/or slurry erosion (SE) may cause excessive operational costs for plants worldwide. The damages can be reduced by choosing more resistant materials and right technology in the first-production or at repair and overhaul. Thermal spray technologies have a great potential in the field of repairing works. Thick multilayered coatings deposited by wire electric arc spraying (WAS) has been developed and applied as CE and SE protection at the repair of stationary Francis turbine blades. Repair technology by WAS was performed on large eroded areas (1-3 m 3 ) of preguide blades of Francis turbine: 1) local damaged depths 30-35 mm maximum were repaired by sprayed materials, 2) subsequently wire arc spraying of functional coating was applied. Three types of functional coatings with total thickness 10 mm a) duplex high - Cr stainless steel with NiAl bond coat, b) graded NiAl - Cr stainless steel coatings, and c) multilayered graded NiAl - Cr stainless steel coatings were compared by means of stress measurements and structural analysis. The coating structure influences very strongly the residual stress level and adhesive-cohesive strength. Multilayered graded NiAl - Cr stainless steel coatings showed the best results and were sprayed on water turbine blades in 4 Czech water power station during regular cut-off repair periods. After 30 - 36 months' continuous operation, Francis turbine blades repaired by WAS technology show better behaviour in comparison with original material from the point of wear resistance, reliability, cost-effect and life-time.

This study presents a general overview of ceramic abradable coatings used in the high-pressure section of turbines that are sprayed over superalloys.

Depending on the size and type defects of nickel-based alloy turbine blades two procedures are used mainly: cladding and high temperature brazing. The repair brazing of turbine blades is used to regenerate cracks and surface defects and is the focus of this work. In this contribution a two stage hybrid repair brazing process is presented which allows reducing the current process chain for repair brazing turbine blades. In the first stage of this process the filler metal (NiCrSi) then the hot gas corrosion protective coating (NiCoCrAlY) and finally the aluminium are applied in this order by atmospheric plasma spraying. In the second stage of this hybrid technology the applied coating system undergoes a heat treatment in which brazing and aluminising are combined. The temperature-time regime has an influence on the microstructure of the coating which is investigated in this work.