Aerospace
The unique high temperature capability of the NanoTest system has opened up a wide variety of applications in the aerospace sector including interconnect technology and turbine improvement with thermal barrier coatings.
The following case studies from Cranfield University and The UNiversity of Bordeaux demonstrate work being carried out in this sector.
Customer Case Study: Cranfield University
At Cranfield University, John Nicholls and co-workers have been using elevated temperature nanoindentation to investigate the mechanical properties of advanced thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for turbine engines. EB-deposited YSZ coatings are not at all 
"nano" in terms of their thickness, but are rather heterogeneous and columnar (as
shown opposite). Prof Nicholls and his team realised that the individual erosive events occurring during use were on the scale of the individual columns and so it was necessary to probe their properties by small scale testing rather than bulk measurements.
The variation in the TBC hardness and modulus with temperature is shown in the table below. To avoid probe oxidation over 500C a sapphire indenter was used.
| Hardness | Modulus | |
| Room Temperature | 5.8 ± 1.04 GPa | 157.1 ± 12.8 GPa |
| 500°C | 4.2 ± 0.7 GPa | 123.2 ± 14.7 GPa |
| 750°C | 2.9 ± 0.5 GPa | 102.2 ± 15.1 GPa |
Customer case study: University of Bordeaux
At
the Laboratory for Thermostructural Composites (LCTS), Bordeaux, Dr
Stéphane Jouannigot and his team have been using their NanoTest to investigate the influence of modifying the fibre surface chemistry on the fibre-matrix bond strength in C/C composites for structural aerospace applications. With the accurate positioning and by using a flat-ended indenter to push out the fibres Dr Jouannigot has been able to show marked influence of different fibre pre-treatments on bond strength.
Further Reading
Advanced neutron and x-ray techniques for insights into the microstructure of EB-PVD thermal barrier coatings. A Kulkarni, A Goland, H Herman et al, Materials Science & Engineering A, 2006 (426) 43-52
Improving thermal spray coating quality in the 21st century by nanomechanical property testing, BD Beake, Surface Engineering, 200 (17, No 5) 245-246