Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) News

Materials Center for Combustion Turbines (MCCT) offers electric power industry independent technical expertise

MCCT provides expertise in all areas of combustion turbine materials technology

San Antonio -- May 14, 1996 -- Electric power companies now have a potentially even brighter future thanks to the technical support offered by the Materials Center for Combustion Turbines (MCCT) at Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI^®) in San Antonio. The MCCT was established by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to provide expertise in all areas of combustion turbine materials technology. The joint SwRI/EPRI facility is available only to EPRI members. SwRI, however, offers its services in turbine materials technology to all interested parties.

The center was created to address the technical and material problems that have arisen as more utilities install combined cycle turbines. Combined cycle (combustion and steam) systems are more efficient than steam turbines or combustion turbines alone, and have very low emissions. These factors, along with a readily available supply of cheap natural gas and low capital costs, have helped combined cycle plants become the leading source of new electric capacity in the United States and abroad. However, widespread use of combustion turbines has given rise to numerous materials-related problems as manufacturers compete to meet the utilities' demands for turbines that are more efficient and can operate at higher temperatures. To cope with advances in turbine technology and the associated costs, utility operators seek advice that is independent from that of equipment manufacturers and repair vendors.

SwRI engineers and scientists can help EPRI members understand the new technology and solve related problems through a wide range of MCCT services including investigations of turbine component failures, analyses of repair procedures, development of nondestructive evaluation methods for measuring hot section component degradation, analysis and specification of protective coatings for turbine blades and other components, and development of life prediction and life assessment tools to help achieve maximum value from turbine operation.

"Since the MCCT was established in 1993, SwRI engineers and scientists have made significant contributions in a number of areas of combustion turbine materials technology that have resulted in substantial savings to EPRI member utilities," notes Dr. Gerald R. Leverant, director of the MCCT and of the Power Generation Materials Department at SwRI.

For example, a materials evaluation of a cracked second-stage bucket from an EPRI-member utility revealed that the cracking had not entered the base metal as originally believed, but was confined to an internally oxidized layer along the leading edge of the bucket. The MCCT therefore recommended refurbishment of the three sets of second-stage buckets instead of replacement, saving the EPRI-member utility an estimated $1.8 million dollars in new bucket costs.

"Activities at the MCCT are not confined to testing and analysis of hardware," explains Dr. Henry L. Bernstein, assistant director of the MCCT. "MCCT engineers have also developed software packages that allow utility operators to determine the need for component replacement or maintenance without costly downtime and with greater reliability." The Advisor on Blade Coatings (ABC) software offers recommendations about generic coatings on the basis of users' answers to questions regarding turbine type, environment, and operating conditions. By using the software and the companion guidebook, the appropriate protective coating can be selected. An EPRI-member utility used ABC to select a coating for new combustion turbine blades in four units. The coating should double the life of the blades and save the utility an estimated $3.6 million.

REMLIF, an expert system computer program that predicts the remaining life of blades and vanes in gas turbines, was developed by MCCT personnel specifically to evaluate first-stage blades and vanes of General Electric MS7001B, E, and EA gas turbines. REMLIF analysis of a set of first-stage blades from the Anchorage Municipal Light and Power Company proved that little damage had occurred to the blades. The evaluation saved an estimated $560,000 in avoided outage costs. In a current collaborative program with EPRI and KEMA, an EPRI foreign affiliate member located in The Netherlands, MCCT engineers are developing a REMLIF code for General Electric Frame 6 gas turbines.

New research under way at the MCCT includes developing a coating durability model that could be integrated into both REMLIF and ABC, and nondestructive evaluation methods to determine the condition of coatings on-line. "These developments should allow utilities to realize savings in both downtime and new component acquisition," says Leverant.

The MCCT is providing up to $2,000 of free engineering consultation plus laboratory support per member for up to 10 EPRI-member utilities for the 1996 calendar year. EPRI has under active consideration granting SwRI the right to sub-license EPRI products such as REMLIF and ABC to non-EPRI members.

For more information about the EPRI Materials Center for Combustion Turbines (MCCT), call (800) 456-6842. EPRI MCCT, c/o Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

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