Critical cooling rates to avoid transient-driven cracking in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems

This paper presents critical cooling rates to avoid cracking in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) driven by thermal transients. A complete thermomechanical model is presented for multilayers; it determines the history of temperature, deformation and stress distributions in the layers, as well as the steady-state energy release rate (ERR) for delamination for all possible crack locations. The model is used to analyze bilayers over a broad range of properties and cooling rates; critical cooling rates are identified that distinguish scenarios in which the transient delamination driving force is higher than that associated with the fully cooled state. Implications for coating the durability are discussed.