Evaluation of stress distribution and failure mechanism in lanthanum–titanium–aluminum oxides thermal barrier coatings

LaTi2Al9O19 (LTA) is one of the most promising materials for new thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to fulfill the demand of advanced gas turbines owing to its high temperature stability and low thermal conductivity. In the present study, a finite element (FE) based numerical study has been carried out to investigate the stress distribution in LTA single layered coating system in comparison with traditional yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBC. Stresses in YSZ/LTA double ceramic layer TBC system are also determined and presented for comparative analysis. The thermal cycling effect is simulated by sequent increment in TGO thickness in a series of FE simulations. In-plane stresses (σxx), out-of-plane stresses (σyy) and shear stresses (σxy) are determined for all systems, and peak stress values are presented for quantitative comparison. Elastic strain energy stored in TGO of all systems is calculated from FE results for TBC structural integrity assessment. It has been found that maximum in-plane and shear stresses are lower in the double ceramic layer coating system than in the single layer ceramic coating system. However, peak axial tensile and compressive stresses in the double ceramic layer coating are very close or higher than those in the single layer topcoat. Calculation of elastic store energy shows that double ceramic layer TBC system may exhibit better stability as compared to single layer systems. Results are presented to explain the failure mechanism in LTA coatings.