Lifetime prediction for gas turbine materials in power generation

Materials research activities relating to advanced gas turbines are described, focussing primarily on the UK Supergen Plant Life Extension consortium. These have been divided into three groups: thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), bond coatings (BCs), and environmentally resistive coatings (ERCs) and substrates. Activities in the consortium have included quantification of the effects of exposure conditions (oxidation and hot corrosion), model development (for bond coat oxidation and hot corrosion), investigations of a novel nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique (flash thermography) and the development of new BC compositions (using magnetron sputtering).