Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) found on turbine blades are a key element in the performance and reliability of modern gas turbines. During the life of the turbine components, the TBC surface may be damaged due to manufacturing imperfections, handling damage, service spalling, or service impact damage, producing chips in the coating. While a chip in the TBC coating is expected to cause an increase in airfoil temperature, it is unknown to what degree the blade will be affected and what parameters of the chip shape affect this result. The goal of this preliminary study is to identify the major driving parameters that lead to the increase in metal temperature when TBC is damaged, such that more quantitative estimates of blade life and refurbishing needs can be made.
A 2-D computational Conjugate Heat Transfer model was developed; fully resolving the hot gas path and TBC, bond-coat, and super alloy solids. The most sensitive driving parameters were identified to be the chip width and Mach number. In cases where the chip width reached 16 times the TBC thickness, temperatures increased by almost 30% when compared to the undamaged equivalents. While the Reynolds number based on the distance from the leading chip edge was deemed negligible, the Reynolds number based on the chip width was found to have a noticeable impact on the blade temperature. In conclusion, this study found that chip edge geometry was a negligible factor, while the Mach number, chip width, and Reynolds number based on the chip width had a significant effect on the total metal temperature.
","abstract_html":"<p>Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) found on turbine blades are a key element in the performance and reliability of modern gas turbines. During the life of the turbine components, the TBC surface may be damaged due to manufacturing imperfections, handling damage, service spalling, or service impact damage, producing chips in the coating. While a chip in the TBC coating is expected to cause an increase in airfoil temperature, it is unknown to what degree the blade will be affected and what parameters of the chip shape affect this result. The goal of this preliminary study is to identify the major driving parameters that lead to the increase in metal temperature when TBC is damaged, such that more quantitative estimates of blade life and refurbishing needs can be made.</p> <p>A 2-D computational Conjugate Heat Transfer model was developed; fully resolving the hot gas path and TBC, bond-coat, and super alloy solids. The most sensitive driving parameters were identified to be the chip width and Mach number. In cases where the chip width reached 16 times the TBC thickness, temperatures increased by almost 30% when compared to the undamaged equivalents. While the Reynolds number based on the distance from the leading chip edge was deemed negligible, the Reynolds number based on the chip width was found to have a noticeable impact on the blade temperature. In conclusion, this study found that chip edge geometry was a negligible factor, while the Mach number, chip width, and Reynolds number based on the chip width had a significant effect on the total metal temperature.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Colon, Shane"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:29Z","subjects":["geometric","thermal barrier","coating","turbine blade","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/454","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Colon, Shane"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["geometric","thermal barrier","coating","turbine blade","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/454"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) found on turbine blades are a key element in the performance and reliability of modern gas turbines. During the life of the turbine components, the TBC surface may be damaged due to manufacturing imperfections, handling damage, service spalling, or service impact damage, producing chips in the coating. While a chip in the TBC coating is expected to cause an increase in airfoil temperature, it is unknown to what degree the blade will be affected and what parameters of the chip shape affect this result. The goal of this preliminary study is to identify the major driving parameters that lead to the increase in metal temperature when TBC is damaged, such that more quantitative estimates of blade life and refurbishing needs can be made.
A 2-D computational Conjugate Heat Transfer model was developed; fully resolving the hot gas path and TBC, bond-coat, and super alloy solids. The most sensitive driving parameters were identified to be the chip width and Mach number. In cases where the chip width reached 16 times the TBC thickness, temperatures increased by almost 30% when compared to the undamaged equivalents. While the Reynolds number based on the distance from the leading chip edge was deemed negligible, the Reynolds number based on the chip width was found to have a noticeable impact on the blade temperature. In conclusion, this study found that chip edge geometry was a negligible factor, while the Mach number, chip width, and Reynolds number based on the chip width had a significant effect on the total metal temperature.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Geometric Effects of Thermal Barrier Coating Damage on Turbine Blade Temperatures"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Colon, Shane"],"dc:description.abstract":["Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) found on turbine blades are a key element in the performance and reliability of modern gas turbines. During the life of the turbine components, the TBC surface may be damaged due to manufacturing imperfections, handling damage, service spalling, or service impact damage, producing chips in the coating. While a chip in the TBC coating is expected to cause an increase in airfoil temperature, it is unknown to what degree the blade will be affected and what parameters of the chip shape affect this result. The goal of this preliminary study is to identify the major driving parameters that lead to the increase in metal temperature when TBC is damaged, such that more quantitative estimates of blade life and refurbishing needs can be made.
A 2-D computational Conjugate Heat Transfer model was developed; fully resolving the hot gas path and TBC, bond-coat, and super alloy solids. The most sensitive driving parameters were identified to be the chip width and Mach number. In cases where the chip width reached 16 times the TBC thickness, temperatures increased by almost 30% when compared to the undamaged equivalents. While the Reynolds number based on the distance from the leading chip edge was deemed negligible, the Reynolds number based on the chip width was found to have a noticeable impact on the blade temperature. In conclusion, this study found that chip edge geometry was a negligible factor, while the Mach number, chip width, and Reynolds number based on the chip width had a significant effect on the total metal temperature.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/454"],"dc:subject":["geometric","thermal barrier","coating","turbine blade","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["Geometric Effects of Thermal Barrier Coating Damage on Turbine Blade Temperatures"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:29Z"}