If you are familiar with the fantastic protective capabilities of thermal barrier coatings, you might assume that they must be very thick to perform their job well. However, the truth of thermal barrier coating thickness might surprise you. 

In this article, we’ll explore how thin thermal barrier coatings truly are. We’ll also discuss what benefits these coatings can provide and how they can do so despite their thinness. Read on to learn more about the anatomy of a thermal barrier coating. 

Typical Thermal Barrier Coating Thickness

As we implied in the introduction, thermal barrier coatings are far thinner than you might guess. In fact, the average thermal barrier coating can be as thin as .1 millimeters. Additionally, the thickest a thermal barrier coating can get is around 2 millimeters. 

The thickness of a thermal barrier coating will vary based on its design and the company that manufactures it. Still, despite those slight variations, you can expect all thermal barrier coatings to be quite thin at less than 2 millimeters in thickness overall. 

What Advantages Do Thermal Barrier Coatings Offer?

You now know that thermal barrier coatings are not that thick at all. Now, let’s consider some of the main benefits that these thin protective layers can provide to a wide range of materials in a wide range of industries:

1. Reduced thermal energy transfer: One of the primary benefits of using a thermal barrier coating is that it can dramatically reduce thermal energy transfer. This means that materials and objects that have thermal barrier coating protection are far less affected by extreme hot and cold temperatures. This feature is useful in many settings, including industrial manufacturing, the protection of components in gas turbines, the insulation of buildings, and much more. 
2. Reduced corrosion: If your metals are exposed to moisture, they will eventually begin to corrode and lose significant amounts of their strength. Corrosion is a common problem for many tools and structural elements. Fortunately, thermal barrier coatings do an excellent job of sealing out moisture and drastically reducing the chances that corrosion will occur. 
3. Reduced material expansion and contraction: When materials experience temperature changes, they often respond by expanding and contracting. Unfortunately, this process of expansion and contraction can result in damage and a loss of structural integrity. By minimizing thermal energy transfer, thermal barrier coatings also limit this damaging form of expansion and contraction.
4. Reduced condensation: When condensation accumulates on surfaces, it encourages corrosion, mold mildew growth, and other complications. Thermal barrier coatings make it difficult for condensation to form, allowing your materials to circumvent the associated problems. 
5. Better performance and energy efficiency: Thermal barrier coatings are also incredible for increasing the performance and longevity of tools and materials along with enhancing energy efficiency. For example, applying thermal barrier coatings to ductwork and HVAC units allows these systems to operate with greater ease, leading to lower energy costs. Similarly, when using a thermal barrier coating to enhance a building’s envelope, that building will experience a reduction in energy costs as well. 

How Thermal Barrier Coatings Perform Despite Being Thin

After learning the average thickness of a thermal barrier coating, you might be surprised that a material so thin can produce the amazing performance capabilities that we just mentioned. To understand how these thin layers can result in such excellent benefits, you need to understand the anatomy of a thermal barrier coating. 

Despite being very thin, thermal barrier coatings consist of multiple layers. The total number of layers can vary between each thermal barrier coating, but each one plays a crucial role in the coating’s usefulness. 

The first layer of a thermal barrier coating is the metallic bond layer. The role of this layer is to adhere the coating to whatever material surface it protects. On top of the metallic bond layer coat is the ceramic top coat layer. This layer consists of a high-tech ceramic material that is responsible for the main benefits that thermal barrier coatings provide. 

Some thermal barrier coatings may offer additional layers that lead to more specific types of protection. However, each of these layers is just a small fraction of a millimeter in thickness. As such, the combined thickness of the layers rarely, if ever, exceeds 2 millimeters. 

What Materials Can You Apply a Thermal Barrier Coating To?

Since thermal barrier coatings are so thin, they are relatively easy to apply and can be applied to a wide range of material types. Below is a quick list of some of the most common materials that thermal barrier coatings can protect:

• Metal
• Glass
• Concrete
• Asphalt
• Brick
• Masonry
• Plastic

Since thermal barrier coatings work well with so many different materials, they are useful in many different industries as well. For example, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, and construction are just a few industries that can use these coatings. 

Get an Industry-Leading Thermal Barrier Coating from ThermaCote

If you want to get the most out of your thermal barrier coating, you need to select a product from an experienced supplier. At ThermaCote, we provide some of the best thermal barrier coatings you can find on the market today. Contact us today to learn more about the products we offer and how they can benefit you.