The aim of this paper was to develop a master–slave model with fluid-thermo-structure (FTS) interaction for the thermal fatigue life prediction of a thermal barrier coat (TBC) in a nozzle guide vane (NGV). The master–slave model integrates the phenomenological life model, multilinear kinematic hardening model, fully coupling thermal-elastic element model, and volume element intersection mapping algorithm to improve the prediction precision and efficiency of thermal fatigue life. The simulation results based on the developed model were validated by temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) technology. It was demonstrated that the predicted temperature well catered for the TSP tests with a maximum error of less than 6%, and the maximum thermal life of TBC was 1558 cycles around the trailing edge, which is consistent with the spallation life cycle of the ceramic top coat at 1323 K. With the increase of pre-oxidation time, the life of TBC declined from 1892 cycles to 895 cycles for the leading edge, and 1558 cycles to 536 cycles for the trailing edge. The predicted life of the key points at the leading edge was longer by 17.7–40.1% than the trailing edge. The developed master–slave model was validated to be feasible and accurate in the thermal fatigue life prediction of TBC on NGV. The efforts of this study provide a framework for the thermal fatigue life prediction of NGV with TBC.

The target of this paper is to develop an enhanced flow-thermo-structural (FTS) model with high computational accuracy, to perform the integrated analysis of film cooling nozzle guide vane (NGV). An efficient turbulence model and weak spring approach are utilized in the enhanced FTS model. In respect of the power balance principle of aeroengine rotor shaft and temperature test of a typical combustor, the mean temperature inlet and five normalization temperature curves were confirmed, respectively. The temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) technology was used to verify the numerical simulation. From this study, we find that the predicted temperature caters for the TSP test well, between which the maximum error is less than 6%, and the maximum thermal stress is 758 MPa around the hole edges and the location of stress concentration keeps the consistency with that of the cracks. The maximum thermal stress increases by 10% with the increasing inlet temperature and reduces by about 16% with the shifting of flame peak from the outer to inner hub. The prediction provides general information on the initiation of cracks on a vane segment. The developed enhanced FTS model is validated to be workable and precise in the integrated analysis of film cooling NGV. The efforts of this study provide an integrated analysis approach of film cooling NGV and are promising to provide guidance for the integrated design of film cooling components besides NGV.

The application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) can increase the blade’s operating temperature and fatigue life. Previous studies have neglected the effects of cooling gas temperature variations on the temperature field, stress field, and fatigue life of blades and TBCs. For this reason, this paper considers the inhomogeneity of the high-temperature gas inlet temperature, the internal cooling gas temperature, the periodicity of the external flow field, etc., and establishes a finite element model of the gas turbine blade with TBCs. Then, the life of the blade and the TBCs is predicted based on the Ncode 2020R2. Finally, the effect of the cooling gas temperature on the temperature, stresses, and life of the blade and the TBCs is analyzed. The results show that the fatigue life of the TBCs is lower than that of the blade, and the low-life region of the TBCs is located at the leading edge of the blade, which is consistent with the TBCs shedding region of the real blade and verifies the accuracy of the life prediction method in this paper. The fatigue life of the blade and TBCs firstly increases and then decreases with the increase in the cooling gas temperature, and the trend of the stress changes in the opposite direction. When the cooling gas temperature is increased from 573 K to 873 K, the minimum life of the blade is increased by 358.5%, and that of the TBCs is increased by 138.7%. The conclusions can provide guidance for the design of long-life turbine blades with TBCs.

Subjective selection of simulation interface shapes may introduce errors in the strength and fatigue analysis of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). However, the applicability of different interface shapes for the TBCs simulation has rarely been investigated. Based on the TBCs thermal fatigue experiment, a finite element model is established and combined with the Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm (FOA), a TBCs life prediction model is established. Then, five typical interface shapes, sawtooth, sinusoidal, semicircular, elliptical, and trapezoidal, are identified based on fine-scale photographs of the real interface morphology of the TBCs. Finally, the interface shape with the highest simulation applicability is identified through interface stress state analysis and life prediction error analysis, and verified through experiment. The results show that the stress maximum location of the sawtooth and trapezoidal interface shapes is inconsistent with the experimental onset of damage in TBCs, which proves that the applicability of the two shapes in the simulation of TBCs is not high. When applying equivalent strain for life prediction, the life prediction errors for the semicircular interface shape, elliptical interface shape, and sinusoidal interface shape are 72.84%, 61.74%, and 58.72%, respectively. The lowest life prediction error is obtained by using data from the sinusoidal interface shape. Therefore, the sinusoidal interface shape is the most applicable simplified shape for TBC simulation. Applying sinusoidal interface shape for additional TBCs life prediction with only 13.52% error, which verifies the accuracy of the methodology and conclusions of this study. These conclusions can inform accurate strength and fatigue simulation analysis of TBCs.