Integrated Fluid and Materials Modeling of Environmental Barrier Coatings

Environmental barrier coatings (EBC) prevent oxidation of ceramic materials in reactive, high temperature environments such as the exhaust regions of gas turbine engines. CFDRC proposes to a develop a physics based model of an EBC system interacting with the flow environment to provide a means to gain better understanding of the dynamic processes that effect EBC durability and performance under propulsion conditions. The model will use computational fluids dynamics to establish the conditions and species concentrations across the surface of the structure. Structural models of the part based on the finite element method (FEM) will be used to establish the thermal and mechanical loads acting on the coating material. The response of the coating materials will be modeled at the microscale where each component of the coating system is discretely resolved. The micromechanics model is based on peridynamics, a mesh free theory of continuum mechanics that is well suited to model damage in brittle ceramic materials. Recent developments in peridynamics adapted the method to model diffusive transport coupled with deformation and damage, which will be applied to predict the distribution of reactive species over time through the coating system.

The proposed product falls within the scope of integrated computational materials engineering as a means to investigate material response to service conditions with discrete material descriptors. This work applies to other applications where resistance to thermo-mechanical stress coupled with transport of reactive species is critical to material performance. Ablative and thermal barrier coating for hypersonic vehicle and propulsion system components are comparable applications.

DoD programs such as the development of hypersonic systems involve the selection and use of materials for extreme flow environments. Power generation and fossil energy extraction involve applications where material degradation in harsh flow conditions limits the performance.

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