Optimization Design and Performance Verification of the CeYSZ/Al₂O₃ Double Ceramic Layer Thermal Barrier Coatings Structure Parameters

Double ceramic layer thermal barrier coatings (DLC-TBCs) are favored for combining the benefits of top and bottom ceramic materials. The thickness ratio of the top and bottom ceramic layers significantly impacts the performance of the DLC-TBCs. In the design process, it is generally desired to balance its thermal insulation properties with a long service life. Therefore, this study establishes a multi-objective parameter optimization design method based on NSGA-II to optimize the thickness of the CeYSZ/Al₂O₃ DCL-TBCs. Experimental verification of the coating performance was conducted based on the optimization results. Firstly, based on theoretical and numerical models, a quantitative analysis was conducted on the effects of the thickness of each material in the CeYSZ/Al₂O₃ DCL-TBCs system on thermal insulation and thermal stress. Space parameters were obtained using optimal Latin hypercube sampling, and a radial basis function (RBF) neural network surrogate model was constructed based on the numerical calculation results. Sensitivity analysis was employed to evaluate the impact of the total thickness of the TBCs and the thickness of the Al₂O₃ ceramic layer on the objective function. Finally, NSGA-II was utilized for optimization. The obtained Pareto optimal solution set was validated, showing that the performance of the CeYSZ 190 μm/Al₂O₃ 120 μm DLC-TBCs satisfied the requirements. Therefore, TBCs of different thicknesses were sprayed and subjected to thermal insulation and thermal shock experiments. The results demonstrated that the optimized TBCs significantly improved service life without compromising thermal insulation, providing a new approach for the subsequent design of DLC-TBCs structures.