Thermal barrier coatings, components, method and apparatus for determining past-service conditions and remaining life thereof
US6943357B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 17, 2004 |
| Grant date | Sep 13, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 17, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N21/6489
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for determining past-service conditions and/or remaining useful life of a component of a combustion engine and/or a thermal barrier coating (“TBC”) of the component comprises providing a photoluminescent (“PL”) material in the TBC, directing an exciting radiation at the TBC, measuring the intensity of a characteristic peak in the emission spectrum of the PL material, and correlating the intensity of the characteristic peak or another quantity derived therefrom to an amount of a new phase that has been formed as a result of the exposure of the component to extreme temperatures. An apparatus for carrying out the method comprises a radiation source that provides the exciting radiation to the TBC, a radiation detector for detecting radiation emitted by the PL material, and means for relating a characteristic of the emission spectrum of the PL material to the amount of the new phase in the TBC, thereby inferring the past-service conditions or the remaining useful life of the component.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.