Thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems are susceptible to delamination failures in the presence of a large thermal gradient. These failures, which occur within the TBC layer, are very different in character from those associated with the thermally grown oxide. Three possible causes of internal delamination are analyzed. In all cases, the thermomechanical properties of the TBC are allowed to vary...

This paper describes the experimental investigation on the effect of ply thickness on the first ply failure, delamination, and the subsequent final failure of graphite/epoxy composite laminates. The laminates considered in this paper are a cross-ply and two quasi-isotropic laminates containing thin plies in the desired interface. The onset of the first ply failure and delamination, and the stre...