Protective films for high-temperature components

Turbines and power engineering components not only have to withstand high mechanical loads, but also heat. The latter results in accelerated corrosion which limits the components' lifespan. Moreover, the application conditions for the turbine materials are going to be even more severe in the future. This is because making energy sources more efficient means carrying out combustion processes at much higher temperatures. To stop the corrosion attack novel, protective coatings are being developed by Dr. Dmitry Naumenko at the Institute of Energy Research at the Forschungszentrum Jülich. Born in the Ukraine, Dr. Naumenko is an expert in extreme conditions which even special alloys are not capable of coping with. He studies the chemical processes during corrosion and develops methods whereby controlled oxidation is used to make protective coatings on the components more effective. In particular, he is now working on new coatings for the highlyefficient, low-emission power stations of the future. In these, the combustion is carried out with pure oxygen and the resulting CO2 is filtered directly from the flue gas. At the new Helmholtz Alliance "MEM-BRAIN", ceramic membranes are now being developed that rely on coatings like these as substrates. Funded by the German Research Foundation's Emmy Noether Programme, Naumenko will continue his research project with four colleagues over the next five years.