Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) News
Printer Friendly VersionLife prediction model developed for gas turbine blade coatings
Model to help protect against oxidation
San Antonio, Texas -- April 8, 1998 -- Engineers at Southwest Research Institute™ (SwRI®) have developed a new model to predict the life of new and in-service aluminide and MCrAlY coatings that are used for protecting gas turbine blades and vanes against oxidation.
The model has been successfully validated on blades from a General Electric Frame 6B engine, where blade temperatures were measured with an optical pyrometer during turbine operation. Excellent agreement has been achieved in comparing measured and predicted coating degradation. The model was developed by the Materials Center for Combustion Turbines (MCCT), which is jointly supported by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and SwRI. The Center is operated by SwRI.
"Application of this coating life prediction model will save operators millions of dollars by providing a basis for refurbishing components before oxidation of the base metal makes them unsuitable for repair," says Dr. Gerald R. Leverant, SwRI program director for Power Generation Materials and director of the MCCT.
The model is embedded in a computer program that contains a number of algorithms that describe various degradation mechanisms on a cycle-by-cycle basis. The model was initially calibrated by comparison of model calculations against experimental cyclic oxidation data obtained in the laboratory.
The MCCT provides expertise in all areas of combustion turbine materials technology to EPRI members. For further information about the life model, contact Dr. Gerald Leverant at (210) 522-2041.
For more information about SwRI's life prediction model, contact Deborah Deffenbaugh, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, Phone (210) 522-2046, Fax (210) 522-3547