The application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to components with internal
cooling in the hot gas stream of gas turbine engines has facilitated a steep
increase in the turbine entry temperature and the associated increase in
performance and efficiency of gas turbine engines. However, TBCs are susceptible
to various life limiting issues associated with their operating environment
including erosion, corrosion, oxidation, sintering and foreign object damage
(FOD). This is a review paper that examines various degradation and erosion
mechanisms of TBCs, especially those produced by electron beam physical vapour
deposition (EB-PVD). The results from a number of laboratory tests under various
impact conditions are discussed before the different erosion and FOD mechanisms
are reviewed. The transitions between the various erosion mechanisms are
discussed in terms of the D/d ratio (contact area diameter/column diameter), a
relatively new concept that relates the impact size to the erosion mechanism.
The effects of ageing, dopant additions and
calciumâ  magnesiumâ  aluminaâ  silicates on the life of TBCs are examined. It
is shown that while ageing increases the erosion rate of EB-PVD TBCs, ageing of
plasma sprayed TBCs in fact lowers the erosion rate. Finally modelling of EB-PVD
TBCs is briefly intr
