Condition and Life assessment

Techniques

Structure
ƒ Aerofoil condition assessment
- Stress analysis
- Metallurgical investigation
- Mechanical Testing
ƒ Combustors
ƒ TBC lifing

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Life Assessment of Aerofoils

ƒ Inputs
- Operation history
• Cyclic duty
• Operation hours
• Fuel, NOx abatement
- Stress/strain
- Temperature
- Corrosion/oxidation rate
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1st Pass Life Fraction Determination

ƒ Robinson law for creep/fatigue

Ni ti
¦
i Nf
¦
tr
D
ƒ Generally one mechanism dominates

D |1
4
Blade Temperature Stress Profile

Remnant Rupture Life

Operating stress

6 Calculate Rupture life

LCF life consumption

Strain Range

Cyclic life

Blade Life Reduction with Sodium

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Condition Assessment Blades/Vanes
ƒ Visual inspection
- General wear, gross distortion
- Accurate dimensional measurement
ƒ NDE
- Fluorescent penetrant inspection
- Stress cracks
ƒ Replication
- Further surface information, creep damage, local melting
- Microhardness
ƒ Destructive Sample analysis
- Metallurgical analysis
- Rupture testing

Metallurgical Inspection-Rational
ƒ Sacrifice single blade
ƒ Determine metallurgical condition
- Life expenditure
- Average service temperature
- Identify contaminants from surface corrosion
ƒ Determine most effective repair work scope
ƒ Prevent unnecessary repair/rejuvenation
- Optimise component life

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Metallurgical Assessment
ƒ Intergranular corrosion/oxidation
ƒ Incipient melting
ƒ Surface cracking
ƒ Creep damage
ƒ J’ precipitate coarsening/coating interdiffusion
ƒ TCP precipitation
ƒ Carbide degradation/precipitation

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Precipitate coarsening

In root Aerofoil

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Digitise image

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Precipitate analysis

Cuboidal
Ex-spheroidal J' distribution
J' distribution

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Microstructural analysis

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Time/temperature correlation
Change in IN 738 J' precipitate size with time
3 1/3

750°C
(r -ro )

800°C
850°C
3

900°C

1/3
t

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Coating Interdiffusion

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MC carbide degeneration

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Creep damage evolution

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Life Fraction Determination

ƒ Can estimate life fraction
remaining from gb void
density
ƒ eg Nimonic 100, 940C,
110MPa

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Corrosion/Oxidation

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2nd Stage Life Fraction

Determination
ƒ Robinson law for creep/fatigue

Ni ti
¦ i Nf
¦
tr
D
ƒ Corrosion allowance

x rem
D
xorig
ƒ Generally one mechanism dominates

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3rd Stage-Mechanical Testing
ƒ Impacted testing
ƒ Accelerated creep rupture testing
- Ideally performed on multiple specimens
- Elevate temperature not stress
- Care is required in interpretation of results
• A number of creep mechanisms can operate!

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Impact Testing
ƒ Characterise susceptibility to foreign object
damage
- RT and elevated temperature testing
- Recommended minimum around 8 J for
Charpy V-notch

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Creep Assessment
ƒ Creep life/strain
rates
ƒ Stress relaxation
testing

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Alternative Strategy For Vanes

ƒ Based on crack growth to a critical size
- Employ standard fracture mechanics
ƒ Not common practice
- Thermal stresses which drive cracking
difficult to quantify
ƒ Note vanes are relatively damage tolerant
- Can run with quite large cracks in non
aerofoil sections

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TBC Lifing
ƒ Life assessment based on
- thermal analysis for strain and interfacial
temperatures
- growth of oxide at the bond coat ceramic
interface reaching a critical level
- Cyclic damage of oxide due to differential
thermal expansion
- (See example later for combustor)

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Decisions
ƒ Options to:
- Rejuvenated microstructure (heat
treatment/HIP)
- Recoat
- Remove/repair local cracking
- Replace

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Combustors
ƒ Subject to
- Extremely high temperatures
- Rapid thermal cycling
ƒ Must be resistant to
- Thermomechanical fatigue
- High temperature oxidation and corrosion
- Local creep rupture and buckling due to
external pressure

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Materials
ƒ Lower strength Ni-base alloys and some cobalt
based alloys
- Hastelloy X, IN 617, Alloy 800, Haynes 188
- C 263, Haynes 230
- Move to higher strength materials
- Thermal barrier coatings employed
• Plasma sprayed Zr02. Y2O3 with MCrAlY bond
coat up to 1mm
• Maximises effect of air cooling

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Combustor Ceramic Tiles

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Typical Cracking Locations

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DR-990 Haynes 230 Liner
Oxidation/Carburisation

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Carburisation and Oxidation

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Life Assessment
ƒ Combustors are relatively defect tolerant
- Visual and NDT inspection during overhaul
- Metallurgical assessment of high temp regions and
stress concentrators to look for cyclic creep damage
- Visually and theorectically assess
oxidation/corrosion and TBC spallation
ƒ Root cause analysis critical if accelerated damage
observed
- Clear indication of poor combustion control

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Effect of contaminants on Combustor life

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LM6000 Splash Plate TBC Spalling

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Splash Plate

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TBC Lifing
ƒ Life assessment required
- Thermodynamic analysis of combustor temperatures
- thermal analysis for strain and interfacial
temperatures in splash plate
- Calculation of growth of oxide at the bond
coat/ceramic interface (a function of temperature)
- Cyclic strain range in oxide due to differential
thermal expansion

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Gradual Degradation in mechanical

strength of oxide interface

Ceramic

TGO Coating-Al and/or Cr Rich

Substrate

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TBC life model based on TGO
Growth and cyclic damage
b
ª§ 'H f ·§ G · §G · º
c c

N «¨¨ ¸¸¨¨1  ¸¸  ¨¨ ¸¸ »
«¬© 'H ¹© G c ¹ © G c ¹ »¼
ƒ Gc =critical oxide thickness which causes spallation in 1 cycle,
ƒ G=thickness of the oxide as a function of interfacial time/temperature,
ƒ 'Hf=strain required in oxide layer to cause failure in 1 cycle with no
oxidation damage,
ƒ 'H=tensile component of elastic strain in oxide at the interface during the
cycle,
ƒ b and c are empirical constants.

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Operation hours to Spalling

8000 0
Tcom1, T48=85 4 C
Tcom2, T48=85 4 C
Op erati ng h ours for TBC Sp allation

4000 0 Tcom1, T48=87 1 C

Tcom2, T48=87 1 C

20000

10000

6000

2000
1 10

Thermal Cycle Period (da ys)

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Summary
ƒ Condition assessment requires
- Extensive validated material databases
• Precipitate growth, rupture life, oxidation etc
- Thermomechanical stress analysis
- Detailed life assessment models

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