Raytheon Technologies Research Center

The drive for higher fuel efficiency and higher core power of gas turbines used in electric power generation and aircraft propulsion requires higher peak operation temperatures in the hottest sections. Current state-of-the-art refractory metal alloys (RMAs), although highly resistant to heat and wear, tend to oxidize in the gas turbine environment. Raytheon Technologies Research Center aims to develop an environmental protection coating system (EPCS) for RMAs to radically improve long-term protection in the harsh gas turbine environment via four major technical innovations: (1) a multi-layer self-healing environmental barrier coating (EBC) that protects against the combustion gas environment, (2) an oxidation resistant diffusion barrier on the alloy surface to enhance coating stability, (3) synergistic integration of the EBC with the diffusion barrier to extend coating life, and (4) physics-based modeling to accelerate coating development and optimization.

Combining development of new ultrahigh temperature materials with compatible coatings and manufacturing technologies has the potential to increase gas turbine efficiency up to 7%, which will significantly reduce wasted energy and carbon emissions.