Research Projects
NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION AND FAILURE MECHANISMS
OF NANOSTRUCTURED THERMAL BARRIER COATINGS
Faculty Mentors: Profs. Y. Sohn and V. Desai
Research Description 
Non-destructive
evaluation (NDE) of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) produced by liquid-precursor
plasma spray technique (Figure. A) is vital forengine applications. Electrochemical
Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is used to m easure thermal conductivity
and to evaluate microstructure non-destructively to improve these coatings.
Use of Photo-stiulated Luminescence Spectroscopy (PSLS) (Figure. B)
to monitor progressive damage of nano-TBC during thermal cycling is very
important for developing sate of the art NDE techniques to evaluate nanostructured
TBCs followed by electron microscopy as a function of thermal cycling.
Learning the EIS and PSLS instrument.- Research experiences with state-of-the-art TBCs.
- Thermal conductivity measurements by EIS.
- Microstructure evaluation as a function of thermal cycling by EIS and PSLS.
- Learning to operate high temperature furnaces at control environments.
- Fundamental learning of nanostructured coatings exposed to elevated temperatures.