Tensile toughness test and high temperature fracture analysis of thermal barrier coatings

In this paper, an effective fracture toughness test which uses interface fracture mechanics theory is introduced. This method is ideally suited for determining fracture resistance of multilayered thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) consisting of ceramic and bond layers and, unlike other fracture experiments, requires minimal set-up over a simple tensile adhesion test. Furthermore, while other test methods usually use edge cracked specimens, the present test models a crack embedded within the coatings, which is more consistent with actual TBCs where failure initiates from internal voids or defects. The results of combined computational and experimental analysis show that any defects located within the ceramic coating can significantly weaken a TBC, whereas the debonding resistances of the bond coating and its interfaces are Found to be much higher. In a separate analysis, we have studied fracture behavior of TBCs subjected to thermal loading in a high temperature environment. The computed fracture parameters reveal that when the embedded crack size is on order of the coating thickness, the fracture driving force is comparable to the fracture resistance of the coating found in the toughness test. In addition, the major driving force for Fracture derives from the thermal insulating effect across the crack faces rather than the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion. We have also investigated the effects of functionally graded material (FGM) within TBCs and found its influences on the fracture parameters to be small. This result implies that the FGM may not contribute toward enhancing the fracture toughness of the TBCs considered here. (C) 1997 Acta Metallurgica Inc.