Session: 08-02: High Hydrogen Gas Turbine

Paper Number: 153203

Meta-Analysis of Thermal Barrier Coating Lifetimes in High-Water Vapor Environments: Implications for High-Hydrogen Gas Turbines 

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are used to protect hot-section components, including combustor liners, turbine blades and vanes, and shrouds in gas turbines. Because improvements in combined-cycle gas turbine efficiency largely depend on the ability to increase operating temperatures, TBC failure mechanisms in high-temperature, cycling environments has been well researched. However, the advent of high-hydrogen gas turbine operation will add new challenges for TBCs, including increased water vapor concentration in the combustion product gases. Although previous studies have suggested that water vapor has a detrimental effect on TBC lifetime, there has been no systematic analysis of this effect and so many of the controlling factors, including TBC composition, thickness, application method, etc., have not been fully characterized. In this study, we have collected data on furnace cycle testing (FCT) of TBCs in environments with various levels of moisture to better understand how the presence of water vapor couples with processing and environmental variables to affect TBC lifetime. Data were extracted from over 45 studies and analyzed using two methods. First, traditional nonlinear regression analysis was used to understand the level of coupling between factors. Second, an artificial neural network framework was used to augment the traditional regression analysis to identify key sensitivities. The results are interpreted in the context of high-hydrogen operation for power-generation gas turbines, where co-firing with hydrogen or switching to high-hydrogen fuels may change the lifetime and repair timelines of TBCs.

Presenting Author: Caleb Clark Pennsylvania State University

Presenting Author Biography: Caleb Clark is a graduate research assistant in the Reacting Flow Dynamics Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University.

Authors:

Caleb Clark Pennsylvania State University
Paige Doerr Pennsylvania State University
David R. Noble EPRI
Michael Gagliano EPRI
Alex Bridges EPRI
Jacqueline O'Connor Pennsylvania State University