Accepted Manuscript

Diagnostic and failure analysis in blades of a 300MW steam

turbine

J.A. Segura, L. Castro, I. Rosales, J.A. Rodriguez, G. Urquiza,

J.M. Rodriguez

PII: S1350-6307(16)30613-6
DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.04.039
Reference: EFA 3139
To appear in: Engineering Failure Analysis
Received date: 26 July 2016
Revised date: 23 April 2017
Accepted date: 23 April 2017

Please cite this article as: J.A. Segura, L. Castro, I. Rosales, J.A. Rodriguez, G. Urquiza,
J.M. Rodriguez , Diagnostic and failure analysis in blades of a 300MW steam turbine,
Engineering Failure Analysis (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.04.039

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Cuernavaca, Morelos, May, 1st, 2017

Diagnostic and Failure Analysis in Blades of a 300 MW Steam Turbine

JA Segura2, L. Castro1, I. Rosales1, JA Rodriguez1*, G. Urquiza1, J.M. Rodriguez3

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Corresponding author*

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Email: jarr@uaem.mx

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Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas (CIICAp-UAEM).
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Av. Universidad 1001. Col. Chamilpa, C.P. 62209.

Cuernavaca, Morelos, México

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Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial (CIDESI)
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Alianza Sur No. 203 Autopista al Aeropuerto Km. 10, C.P. 66629

Apodaca, N.L.,México
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Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico
Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, C.P. 62490
Cuernavaca, Morelos.
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Abstract

A steam turbine from a thermoelectric central was put into maintenance due to a forced

outage for high vibrations. Visual inspection of the steam turbine of 300 MW showed

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blades fractured at the last stage, L-0 and these affected other blades. Some operating

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parameters demonstrated to be out of range such as flow steam, low vacuum, and several

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areas in blade result to be damaged by the implosions particle. Three blades were fractured

and others with a considerable crack presence were detected. The damage and fracture in

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the blades joints are attributed to high vibrations stresses combined with high cycle fatigue.
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A metallographic study revealed that the fracture was initiated from a cavity due to particle

erosion. Numerical calculation results have shown that stubs blades group are disconnected
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as a result of the firstly vibratory stresses during startup and shutdown of the turbine.
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Resonance phenomena are present in the first blade when this is a detachment of the group

initializing a crack propagation process. Number cycles before crack propagation in the
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blades of the last stage of a steam turbine of 300 MW were calculated.

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Keywords. Failure Analysis, Turbine blades, 300 MW, Crack propagation

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INTRODUCTION

It is well known that thermoelectric power plants produce electricity from the heat energy

released by the combustion of diesel, natural gas, fuel oil or coal [1].The risks of failure in

power generation equipment are due principally to their working conditions; these failures
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are expected by fatigue, erosion-fatigue, breakdowns for fracture, corrosion, etc. [2-8]. In

the operation of steam turbines is important to know the behavior of all components in the

involved processes, in order to avoid such failures and consequently maximize the

performance of equipment through good maintenance [9].

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Turbines defects are generated by the degradation material over service time where the

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blades are exposed to extreme conditions such as alternating loads due to unstable flow

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steam, harmonics, imperfections in the minimum throat etc. [10]. The blades of the stages

L-0 of low pressure (LP), are the most important components of all types of the turbine and

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therefore play an important role in power generation [11].
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The atmosphere inside of steam turbines and blades connections also has a negative effect

on the useful life. The damage is caused by a solid build up at the blade root that shifted a
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natural frequency into an interface region and changed the response characteristic of the
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blade disk assembly. Other failures are related to torsional effects that induced high cycle

vibration fatigue [12]. Some blades of 725 mm length of the steam turbine were fractured at
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125 mm of the root destroying some of their steep and high vibrations were generated. The
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blades are made of 17-4PH precipitation hardening stainless steel [13].

A finite element analysis (FEA) of the group of blades was performed. It was observed with
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this analysis that high vibrations generated high stress concentration caused by the first

natural frequency with the second harmonic. Resonance phenomena are presented in all

system [14]. These conditions are good enough to start the cracking process in the blades

and its imminent failure.

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In this work, the first step was to develop a diagnostic of failure and next step to determine

the failure analysis for the cause of the fracture in blades of L-0 stage in LP of the steam

turbine of 300 MW and finally crack propagation was analyzed.

2. EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL PROCEDURE

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2.1 Failure inspection

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The blades of the last stage of the turbine of 300 MW were removed allowing an initial

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evaluation of the failure. Three blades of the last stage of LP were fractured destroying

several blades and one more with a considerable crack. Like consequence probably, high

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cycle vibration fatigue was produced affecting all steam turbine performance.The Fig. 1
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shows the blades from the last stage of the steam turbine. After physical inspection, it is

observed that these blades were repaired at another time and the joints of blades have the
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lack or incomplete penetration weld revealing evidence of damage. Such weld defects
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could easily decrease its useful life and, depending on the conditions of the operation, this

situation may cause a fracture in poor weld joints. These fractured stubs released from the
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blades can be the main cause for large vibrational amplitudes in its first mode, producing
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also an increased steam flow in the turbine operation.

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[Fig. 1 here]

Fracture in blades was produced by the high frequency fatigue originated from blades

vibration. The direction of the crack propagation was in the tangential direction [15]. Due

to that, the crack started at the trailing edge of the blade than the first tangential mode of

vibration is suspected as a principal contributor to blade fracture.

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2.2 Numerical modeling

Numerical modeling was performed by means of calculation of the number of cycles for

crack propagation in the blades of last stages of a steam turbine of 300 MW. This stage is

formed by 120 blades which are connected in groups of five blades (see Fig. 2). The

software for CAD and numerical simulation was Ansys Research® V 16.1 and simulations

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were performed in Dell Precision® Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-4800 MQ CPU @ 2.70 GHz.

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[Fig. 2 here]

According to previous studies [15], the present steam forces on the blades are located at

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half of each blade. Table 1 shows maximum and minimum excitation forces produced on
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the blade [16].

[Table. 1 here]
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Fig. 3 shows the crack in the blades where operating conditions were determined in point
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A.

[Fig. 3 here]
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3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1. Diagnostic of failure

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3.1.1 Steady conditions

In order to obtain precise information about the stresses generation and to develop a

diagnostic of failure, it was necessary performed different calculations of cases studies [17].

Table 2 shows four principal cases. The rotational speed used in the calculation is 3600

RPM.

[Table. 2 here]
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The first case considered five blades joined. Fig. 4 shows the stress distribution in the group

of blades, pointing stress concentration. In this figure, it is presenting the maximum stress

on the first blade, being the maximum value of 670.39 MPa.

[Fig. 4 here]

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The second case analyzed, shows the stresses distribution, determined by disconnecting of

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the lower joint from the first blade. Fig.5 shows that the maximum stress occurs in the fifth

blade approximately to half the height, in the input limit. The magnitude of stress is 677.62

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MPa and is located according to Fig. 5.
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[Fig. 5 here]
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In the third case, the stresses distribution were calculated by disconnecting of the upper
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joint from the first blade (see Fig. 6) showing that the maximum stress occurs in the first

blade at approximately in the lower joint in the output limit. The magnitude of stress is
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740.58 MPa.
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[Fig. 6 here]
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In the fourth case, the first blade is separate of both joint of the rest of the blades group.

The stress distribution occurs as is shown in Fig. 7. In this case, the magnitude of the

stresses is 904.73 MPa and is presented close to the lower connector blade.
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According to the obtained results, it was not possible to determine crack initiation under

this conditions in the first blade to 125 mm of the root, therefore it was necessary to

perform another study

[Fig. 7 here]

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3.1.2 Resonance conditions

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A specific analysis was realized under resonance conditions. It was carried out a vibrational

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analysis on the group of blades without fracture between joints, simulating operational

conditions that may occur during turbine startup or shutdown (resonance phenomena), to

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identify the areas of highest stress concentration. The points are shown in Fig.8, located
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near the rotation speed between the three natural frequencies and their harmonics. Table 3,

shows the critical speed with the resonance point, natural frequency and their harmonic
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[12]. Fig. 9 shows the stress distribution. It can be seen that the areas of highest stress
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concentrations occur close to the joints between the blades. This condition may produce

detachment of joints in both stubs of the blades.

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[Table 3 here]
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[Fig. 8 here]
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[Fig. 9 here]

In the fourth case with one blade separate from the group and stubs disconnect. The first

natural frequency intersects the second harmonics near the speed of operation of the

turbine, Fig. 10. The speed at which resonance occurs is 3323.77 RPM. This speed is very

near to the operational speed of the steam turbine.

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[Fig. 10 here]

However, although normally the resonance is presented in the startup and shutdown of the

turbine. Fig. 11 shows the distribution of vibratory stresses of the first natural frequency

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and the second harmonic in agreement with Campbell diagram of Fig. 10. As can be seen

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that the maximum stress is located in the area where the crack is nucleated in the first blade.

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The alternative stress at this point is 90.645 MPa. The nominal value for the principal stress

due to centrifugal force and stable steam power is 363.94 MPa

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[Fig. 11 here]
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3.2 Failure analysis
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The results for diagnostic of failure in steady conditions shown that the stresses levels are
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below the yield strength of material for case 1 and 2. There were an increase of stresses for

cases 3 and 4 regarding the first two cases. However, the zone of maximum stress is not
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located where crack initiated in Fig. 3. The four cases were submitted in resonance
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condition. Therefore, under this condition, only for the last case, the stresses increase and

the zone is located where crack initiated to 125 mm from the root of the blade, Fig. 3.
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3.3 Crack propagation analysis.

The crack propagation in the blade L-0 of the turbine of 300 MW was carried out in high

cycle fatigue. The blades group worked in resonance between its first vibration mode and

the second harmonic at 120 Hz, Fig. 10 [13]. Natural frequencies of the above cases

changed when the blades presented cracks to different sizes, between 5 to 100 mm of
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length. The mathematical equation that describes the behavior of the crack propagation is

equation (1) [4].

[MPa √m] (1)

In which K is Stress Intensity Factor,  is the geometry factor relationship with consistent

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structural dimensions. The  is the nominal stress away from the crack. The symbol  is a

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mathematical constant and a is crack size. The various boundary effects are due to back

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free surface (BFS), front free surface (FFS), width (w), and crack front curvature (CFC).

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These boundary effects are neglected and then equation (2) is

[MPa √m] (2)

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where β=1
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The Paris law was applied for calculating the cycles of crack propagation during the crack
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growth, equation (3).

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[mm/cycle] (3)
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where C and m are the material constants and K is the range of the stress intensity factor
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Fig. 12 shows the numerical model of the group of blades meshing with the crack.
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[Fig. 12 here]

Table 4 shown the resonance zones of the different sizes of cracks and the corresponding

Stress Intensity Factor (SIF). Fig.13 shown the stresses distribution in the crack tip at a size

of 100 mm crack, it also presents in detail the behavior of the Stress Intensity Factor for

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different cracks sizes.

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[Table 4 here]
[Fig. 13 here]

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The equation (4) calculate the blade excitation frequency to which the failure take place.

[Hz] (4)
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where f is the blade excitation frequency, a is the depth of the cover segment hole, t is
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the time of the fracture propagation and da is crack size increment [19].
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According to the equation (4) [19], the excitation frequency between 83 to 119 Hz
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corresponds to the crack size increment average, 1.5 µm. This excitation frequency is

similar to the calculate numeric and obtained when the blade is completely separated from
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blades group. The cracks sizes for this are between 5 to 100 mm. The time crack

propagation until 100 mm was between 8 to 10 minutes with 66000 cycles.

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Metallographic analysis performed on the fractured blade of Fig. 3 is showed in Fig. 14. In

this image is observed a crack series on the surface blade, where two cracks are observed

initializing from a surface pore (marked by an arrow) therefore this fact make the relation

with the assumption that crack initiation it is produced due to the impact of the external

particles over the blade surface in combination with the high vibratory stresses by

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resonance condition between the first natural frequency of the blade and the second

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harmonic.

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[Fig. 14 here]

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When the blade is connected at both junctions, the Stress Intensity Factor is below of the

fracture toughness values of the material. Under these joint conditions, the blade will not be
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fractured within 100 mm crack size, it also shows that the stress intensity factor when the
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blade it is completely detached, the fracture occurs at 93.7 mm. from the root.
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4. CONCLUSIONS
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The steam turbine of 300 MW has shown an evident fracture in the blades of the last stage,

L-0. Operating parameters demonstrated to be out of range such as: excessive flow steam,

low vacuum, and the area nozzle result to be affected by the implosions particles. A

metallographic study revealed that the fracture initiated from a cavity due to erosion. Three

blades were fractured and other one present a considerable crack presence (about 100 mm).
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The group blades could be susceptible to generate cracking during startup and shutdown of

the turbine at the welded joints, with poor or little penetration of the filler metal and caused

the separation of the blades. Results suggested that high vibrations stresses may produce a

fracture in the blade joints. Numerical calculation results have shown that stubs blades

group are disconnected as a result of the first vibratory stresses during startup and shutdown

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of the turbine. Resonance introduced high stress concentration to the first blade caused by

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the first natural frequency and the second speed harmonic, initializing a crack propagation

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process and resulting in a catastrophic turbine failure. When the blade is connected at both

junctions, the Stress Intensity Factor is below of the fracture toughness values of the

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material; under these conditions, the blade will not be fractured within 100 mm crack size.
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The Stress Intensity Factor when the blade it is completely detached, the fracture occurs at

93.7 mm of crack size according to numerical results.

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References
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York: Springer-Verlag New York.

[2] Azevedo, C., & Sinátora, A. (2009). Erosion-fatigue of steam turbine blades.
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Engineering Failure Analysis, 2290–2303.

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[4] Cuevas, C., Rodríguez, J., Clemente, C., Segura, J., Urquiza, G., & Hamzaoui, Y.
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[5] Rodríguez, J., García, J., Alonso, E., Hamzaoui, Y., Rodríguez, J., & Urquiza, G.
(2015). Failure probability estimation of steam turbine blades by enhanced Monte
Carlo Method. Engineering Failure Analysis, 56, 80–88.
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[6] Sanjeev, S., Pandey, J., Singh Solanki, R., Gupta, G., & Modi, O. (2015). Coupled
mechanical, metallurgical and FEM based failure investigation of steam turbine
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[7] Kubiak Sz., J., Urquiza, G., Garcıa, J., & Sierra, F. (2007). Failure analysis of steam
turbine last stage blade tenon and shroud. Engineering Failure Analysis, 1476–
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[8] Pelayo, F., Rodríguez, C., & Canteli, A. (2015). Failure and repair analysis of a runway

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beam: Influence of the standard applied to lifetime prediction. Engineering Failure

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Analysis, 89–97.

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International.

[10] Liu, C., Jiang, D., Chen, J., & Chen, J. (2012). Torsional vibration and fatigue

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evaluation in repairing the worn shafting of the steam turbine. Engineering Failure
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[11] Yang, J., Huang, H.-Z., Li-Ping, H., Zhu, S.-P., & Wenc, D. (2011). Risk evaluation in
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Shafer evidence theory under uncertainty. Engineering Failure Analysis, 2084-
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2092.
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[12] Bates, R., Heymann, F., Swaminathan, V., & Cunningham, J. (1981). Steam Turbine
Blades: Consideration in design and survey of blade failures. Palo Alto: EPRI.

[13] Kubiak, J., Gonzalez, R., Juárez, R., Nebradt, G., & Sierra, E. (2004). An investigation
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on the failure of an L-0 steam turbine blade. Journal of failure analysis and
prevention, 1-6.
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[14] Rodríguez, J., Kubiak, J., García, J., Uribe, A., & Segura, J. (14-17 de Octubre de
2008). Estimation of useful life using a probabilistic model of a group of blades of
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stage L-0 of steam turbine [In Spanish]. Memorias del XI Congreso y Exposición
Latinoamericana de Turbomaquinaría. Veracruz, Veracruz, México.

[15] Kubiak, J., Gonzalez, R., Juarez, R., Nebradt, G., & Sierra, E. (2005). Failure of last
stage turbine blades in a geothermal power plant. Journal of failure analysis and
prevention, 26-32.

[16] J.C., G. (Octubre de 2008). Determination of induced force by the flow of steam in
turbines [Doctoral Thesis, In Spanish]. Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
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[17] J.A., S. (Febrero de 2012). Estimation of the useful life with crack propagation in
blades of the last stage of a turbine [Doctoral thesis In Spanish]. Cuernavaca,
Morelos, Mexico.

[18] Kubiak, J., Rodríguez, J., Segura, J., & García, J. (1-3 de May de 2007). The effect of
crack in the steam turbine L-0 blades on their natural frequencies and their
remaining life. Electric Power Conference. U.S.A.

[19] Mazur, Z., & Campos Amezcua. (2005). Numerical investigation of solid particle

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erosion rate in a steam turbine nozzle. Applied thermal engineering, 187.

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Figures

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Fig. 1. Damage in stubs of the blades

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Fig. 2. Discrete model; (a) 5 blades group, (b) lower joint, (c) upper joint.
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Fig. 3. Fracture blade and the representation of the crack location.
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(a) (b)

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Fig. 4. Case 1: Stress distribution in blades group (a) concave side from the first blade (b)
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convex side from the fifth blade
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Fig. 5. Case 2: Stress distribution with disconnecting of the lower joint from the first blade
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Fig. 6. Case 3: Stress distribution with disconnecting of the upper joint from the first blade.
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Fig. 7. Case 4: Stress distribution with rupture of the lower and upper joint from the first
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blade.
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Fig. 8.Campbell diagram of blades group.

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Fig. 9. Relative vibratory stresses distribution
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Fig. 10 Campbell diagram with blade separate from the blades group
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Fig. 11. Vibratory stresses distribution with the first blade completely detached from the

group.
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Fig. 12. Discrete model of blades group with crack and meshing around the crack, from
the last stage of 300 MW turbine.
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Fig. 13. Vibratory stress distribution from blade group with 100 mm of crack size, from the

300 MW last stage turbine

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Fig. 14. Blade surface with a series cracks propagation due to impacts of external particles.
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Tables

Table 1. Excitation Forces of the blades

Forces Maximum (N) Minimum (N) Average (N)

Total Ft
542.109 443.544 492.90
Tangential Fy
416.02 340.28 378.20

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Axial Fz 316.10
347.71 284.49

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Table 2. Four cases of analysis

Case 1 Five blades joined

Case 2 Disconnecting of the lower joint from the

first blade
Case 3 Disconnecting of the upper joint from the
first blade
Case 4 The first blade is separated of both joint of

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the rest of the blades group

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Table 3. In terms of resonance points, the three natural frequencies with the harmonics near
operation speed.
Resonance point Natural frequency Harmonics Critical speed

(Hz) (rpm)

1 147.32 Third 2946.18

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2 227.66 Fourth 3415.497

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3 257.66 Fifth 3091.966

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Table 4. Critical speed and stress intensity factor at resonance points at the different crack size.
Crack sizes Natural frequency Resonance points (RPM) SIF, K
(MPa-m1/2)
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(mm) (Hz)
Blade completely detached
5
37
110.38
104.44
3311
3133
I P 17.97
48.34
70.5
100
87.611
74.273
2629
2229
C R 121.63
160.04

5
37
152.24
151.10
Connected both joints

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3046
3023
33.39
84.82
70.5
100
149.45
148.55

A N 2990
2972
98.00
105.23

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Highlights

Vibration stresses produce cracks in blades joints

Resonance induces high stresses in blades group causing failures in the steam turbine

Fracture initiate from a cavity due to erosion

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