The efficient operation of thermal power plants such as gas turbine engines and the optimization of the
underlying conversion processes are of high relevance concerning the increasing importance of
environmental protection. Since this challenge is primarily to be tackled with higher operating
temperatures, numerous research projects are designed to optimize or even reinvent novel coating
systems, which is the main purpose of the RTG “MatCom – ComMat”.

The development of novel diffusion and nanocomposite based coating systems requires advanced
methods for material property characterization and the description of potentially occurring failure
mechanisms. In order to assess the behavior under extremely high temperatures and in aggressive
media, both the investigation of system-internal interactions between the individual layer components
and the description of the macroscopic material system behavior are of essential importance.

In order to make a decisive contribution to the RTG, mechanical bending and compression tests on
first candidate systems in as-built and annealed conditions are being carried out and accompanied by
advanced in-situ deformation and damage measurement techniques. This experimental study is
supported by a code-based thermokinetic simulation approach to investigate the interdiffusion and
oxidation behavior of the coating components.