Measurements of the interfacial fracture energy of thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been extensively used in aircraft engines for improved durability and performance for more than 15 years. In this study, chevron-notched sandwich specimens proposed recently by Shaw are chosen for the study of the interfacial fracture energy of TBCs. The specimen of this kind has been successfully used to quantify the fracture energy of TBCs. The specimen of this kind has been successfully used to quantify the fracture energy of several metal/oxide and metal/silicide interfaces. The main advantages of this test specimen are: (1) it provides a rigorous fracture mechanics quantification for the bimaterial interface; (2) the fracture energy obtained arises mainly from the chemical bonding at the interface; (3) the test specimen is easy to fabricate (either diffusion or adhesive bonding), and the test is easy to implement (e.g., neither fatigue precracking nor crack length monitoring is needed); (4) no special compliance calibration of specimens is necessary because previously developed compliance calibrations for homogeneous materials can be utilized directly; (5) the test specimen is suitable for the fracture energy measurement of a single interface as well as for interfacial regions composed of several discrete interfaces, which is often the case for TBCs; and (6) the test method allows the interfacial fracture energy of TBCs to be found independent of the poorly characterized TBCs' elastic modulus as to which there is great uncertainty (e.g., the modulus in tension may be different then in compression). As will be shown in this study, all the aforementioned advantages are maintained for TBCs. Furthermore, the failure location using the chevron notched sandwich specimen duplicates the service failure mode. Thus, the data obtained can be utilized directly for lifetime prediction modeling