The global thermal barrier coating market continues to grow and my country’s technological research level is advanced

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are a type of high-temperature protective coating that can be used in electric power, automobiles, aerospace and other industries. Aerospace engines are an important market for thermal barrier coatings, and are mainly used in the field of hot-end component protection. For example, turbine blades, combustion chambers, etc., the main function is heat insulation. Thermal barrier coatings are generally composed of a ceramic surface layer with low thermal conductivity and good thermal insulation and a high-temperature-resistant and anti-oxidation metal bonding layer. It can maintain structural stability in high-temperature environments, thereby protecting the hot-end components of aeroengines.

Aero engines are key core components of aircraft. In the context of the development of supersonic military aircraft and large passenger capacity of civil aircraft, the thrust-to-weight ratio of aero engines continues to increase, and the working environment temperature of its hot-end components continues to increase. Only the hot-end component materials are used. It is difficult to achieve the effects of heat insulation, anti-oxidation and anti-corrosion by itself, so the importance of high-temperature protective coatings is outstanding. Thermal barrier coating is a common type of high-temperature protective coating that can reduce the temperature of high-temperature alloy materials in hot-end components and extend the service life of aeroengines.

According to the “In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report on Thermal Barrier Coating Industry 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, In 2021, the global thermal barrier coating market size will be approximately US$1.82 billion. It is expected that the global thermal barrier coating market size will grow at an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 6.8% from 2021 to 2026, and the market size will reach 25.3% by 2026. One hundred million U.S. dollars. In the global thermal barrier coating market, high-end demand is mainly concentrated in the aerospace field. The thermal barrier coating of aerospace engine hot-end parts has high technological content and the rapid development of the global aerospace industry has become the main driving force for the growth of the thermal barrier coating market.

At present, the surface layer of thermal barrier coating mainly uses ZrO2-based ceramic coating, and the bonding layer mainly uses platinum modified aluminide coating and MCrAlY coating. ZrO2-based ceramic coating has low thermal conductivity, high temperature resistance, good high temperature stability, excellent corrosion resistance, and its expansion coefficient is close to that of the base material, so it is the preferred surface layer material for thermal barrier coatings. Platinum-modified aluminide and MCrAlY coatings can improve the matching of expansion coefficients between the substrate and the ceramic surface layer, increase the bonding strength between the two, and effectively prevent oxidation of the substrate.

The ceramic surface layer of thermal barrier coating is generally prepared by plasma spraying (APS) or electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). The products prepared by the former have lower thermal conductivity and relatively low cost, and are generally used in combustion applications. Among components with relatively low requirements such as chambers, the products prepared by the latter have higher strain tolerance, higher cost, and longer life, and are mainly used in components with more demanding requirements such as turbine blades. The stress state, structural organization, and thickness of the ceramic surface layer and metal bonding layer will all affect the anti-flaking performance of the thermal barrier coating, and the industry’s technical barriers are high.

​Industry analysts said that in my country, the main thermal barrier coating manufacturers include Xingangang, AVIC Hi-Tech, Oriental Zirconium Co., Ltd., etc. The research on thermal barrier coating technology in my country is still in-depth. In September 2020, the Kunming University of Science and Technology team made a new breakthrough in ultra-high temperature tantalate thermal barrier coating technology, increasing the maximum use temperature to 1400°C to 1600°C, bringing insulation The thermal cooling gradient increases from 100°C to 500°C. my country’s thermal barrier coating technology research is already at the international leading level. If the research results can be successfully transformed into industrialization, it will enhance the core competitiveness of my country’s thermal barrier coating industry.