High precision thickness evaluation of thermal barrier coating with high frequency eddy current testing method

Consisting of a top ceramic coating (TC) and a bond coating (BC) layer, thermal barrier coating (TBC) is a key component of the heavy duty gas turbine blade to protect the substrate material from high working temperature. Thinning of the top coating and the thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer formed between TC and BC cause TBC thickness reduction, and may significantly affect the in-service performance of TBC. High frequency eddy current testing (HF ECT) is considered as an efficient technique for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of the TBC thickness, but its measurement accuracy is not satisfied up to now. Aiming to realize a high precision TBC thickness evaluation with HF ECT signals, a numerical method for simulating HF ECT of TBC was developed and implemented with consideration of the dielectric properties of TC and TGO material. Through numerical simulations with the developed code, an ECT probe of optimized configuration and robust against lift-off variation was designed and fabricated for the TBC thickness evaluation. A HF ECT measurement system is then setup to investigate the validity of the prototype ECT probe and sizing method experimentally. It was found that the thickness of the TC layer can be evaluated within 10 μm accuracy for the plate TBC specimens, which reveals the HF ECT method and new ECT probe are efficient for NDE of the TBC thickness.