Method and device for estimating a thickness of a ceramic thermal barrier coating

An estimation method for estimating thickness of a ceramic thermal barrier coating that is to be deposited by physical vapor deposition from at least one target and onto a gas turbine hot part mounted on support tooling, the method comprising:

• digitally modeling a geometrical shape of the hot part and its movements relative to the at least one target;
• representing the hot part as digitally modeled as a surface mesh;
• digitally modeling the geometrical shape of the at least one target;
• representing the at least one target as digitally modeled as a surface mesh;
• and
• estimating, for at least one mesh element of the hot part exposed to radiation from the at least one target during deposition of the coating, a coating thickness to be deposited on the mesh element at a given instant by using a radiation model modeling radiation from the at least one target and taking account of a position of the mesh element at that given instant relative to the at least one target, the radiation model being defined for a mesh element of the at least one target by:
• I(θ)=I0[cos(θ)]n
• wherein:
• I(θ) designates intensity of a ray emitted by the mesh element of the at least one target in a direction at an angle θ relative to the normal to the mesh element;
• and
• n and I0 designate predetermined constants.

A device for estimating thickness of a ceramic thermal barrier coating that is to be deposited by physical vapor deposition from at least one target and onto a gas turbine hot part mounted on support tooling, the device comprising:

• means for digitally modeling a geometrical shape of the hot part and its movements relative to the at least one target;
• means for representing the hot part as digitally modeled as a surface mesh;
• means for digitally modeling the geometrical shape of the at least one target;
• means for representing the at least one target as digitally modeled as a surface mesh;
• and
• means for estimating, for at least one mesh element of the hot part exposed to the radiation from the at least one target during deposition of the coating, a coating thickness to be deposited on the mesh element at a given instant by using a radiation model modeling radiation from the at least one target and taking account of a position of the mesh element at that given instant relative to the at least one target, the radiation model being defined for a mesh element of the at least one target by:
• I(θ)=I0[cos(θ)]n
• wherein:
• I(θ) designates intensity of a ray emitted by the mesh element of the at least one target in a direction at an angle θ relative to the normal to the mesh element;
• and
• n and I0 designate predetermined constants.