• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.901-906
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• 2010

The first stage blade of a gas turbine was operated under a severe environment which included both $1300^{\circ}C$ hot gas and thermal stress. To obtain high efficiency, a thermal barrier coating (TBC) and an internal cooling system were used to increase the firing temperature. The TBC consists of multi-layer coatings of a ceramic outer layer (top coating) and a metallic inner layer (bond coat) between the ceramic and the substrate. The top and bond coating layer respectively act as a thermal barrier against hot gas and a buffer against the thermal stress caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the ceramic and the substrate. Particularly, the bondcoating layer improves the resistance against oxidation and corrosion. An inter-diffusion layer is generated between the bond coat and the substrate due to the exposure at a high temperature and the diffusion phenomenon. A thickness measurement result showed that the bond coat of the suction side was thicker than that of the pressure side. The thickest inter-diffusion zone was noted at SS1 (Suction Side point 1). A chemical composition analysis of the bond coat showed aluminum depletion around the inter-diffusion layer. In this study, we evaluated the properties of the bond coat and the degradation of the coating layer used on a $1300^{\circ}C$-class gas turbine blade. Moreover, the operation temperature of the blade was estimated using the Arrhenius equation and this was compared with the result of a thermal analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.192-196
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• 2005

Key part of main equipment in a gas turbine may be likely to be damaged due to operation under high temperature, high pressure, high-speed rotation, etc. Accordingly, the cost for maintenance increases and the damaged parts may cause generation to stop. The number of parts for maintenance also increases, but diagnostics technology fur the maintenance actually does not catch up with the demand. Blades are made of precipitation hardening Ni superalloy IN738 and the like for keeping hot strength. The surface of a blade is thermal-sprayed, using powder with main compositions such as Ni, Cr, Al, etc. in order to inhibit hot oxidation. Conventional regular maintenance of the coating layer of a blade is made by FPI (Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection) and MTP (Magnetic Particle Testing). Such methods, however, are complicated and take long time and also require much cost. In this study, defect diagnostics were tested for the coating layer of an industrial gas turbine blade, using an infraredthermography camera. Since the infrared thermography method can check a temperature distribution on a wide range of area by means of non-contact, it can advantageously save expenses and time as compared to conventional test methods. For the infrared thermography method, however, thermo-load must be applied onto a tested specimen and it is difficult to quantify the measured data. To solve the problems, this essay includes description about producing a specimen of a gas turbine blade (bucket), applying thermo-load onto the produced specimen, photographing thermography images by an infrared thermography camera, analyzing the thermography images, and pre-testing for analyzing defects on the coating layer of the gas turbine blade.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2000.11b
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• pp.428-433
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• 2000

The characteristics of unsteady heat transfer and boundary layer flow in the SSME turbine rotor passage are investigated with LRN $k-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence model. The unsteady flow and heat transfer in a rotor blade passage as a result of wake/blade interaction is modeled by the inviscid/boundary-layer flow approach. The relevant governing equations are discretized to a system of finite different equations by means of a BTBCS implicit method. These equations have been solved numerically, for the velocity and temperature fields using TDMA method. Heat flux on the blade surface and flow parameters in the rotor passage are calculated with wake interaction. Numerical results show that velocity, pressure, turbulent kinetic energy and heat flux on the blade surface are varied periodically by wake passing.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.257-262
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• 2018

Vibrational problems in the domestic Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (SHAWT) are due to flap wise vibrations caused by varying wind velocities acting perpendicular to its blade surface. It has been reported that monitoring the structural health of the turbine blades requires special attention as they are key elements of a wind power generation, and account for 15-20% of the total turbine cost. If this vibration problem is taken care, the SHAWT can be made as commercial success. In this work, Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires made of Nitinol (Ni-Ti) alloys are embedded into the Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) wind turbine blade in order to reduce the flapwise vibrations. Experimental study of Nitinol (Ni-Ti) wire characteristics has been done and relationship between different parameters like current, displacement, time and temperature has been established. When the wind turbine blades are subjected to varying wind velocity, flapwise vibration occurs which has to be controlled continuously, otherwise the blade will be damaged due to the resonance. Therefore, in order to control these flapwise vibrations actively, a non-linear current controller unit was developed and fabricated, which provides actuation force required for active vibration control in smart blade. Experimental analysis was performed on conventional GFRP and smart blade, depicted a 20% increase in natural frequency and 20% reduction in amplitude of vibration. With addition of active vibration control unit, the smart blade showed 61% reduction in amplitude of vibration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.632-638
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• 2015

Many failures have been reported in gas turbine facilities owing to repeated startups and prolonged use of the turbines. In this study, the causes and mechanism of fatigue failure in the first blade of a gas turbine were analyzed using a finite element method to calculate the centrifugal force, bending force, and a modal analysis based on the stress-stiffening effect and harmonic response under the operating conditions. The results show that, fatigue damage was caused by the resonance conditions encountered, in which the first natural frequency declined along with an increase in the metal temperature of the blade. The position of the expected fatigue damage was shown to match the actual position of the cracking at the root area of the blade, which was on the concave side. In addition, the equivalence fatigue stress was observed to approach the fatigue limit.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2015

Geothermal energy is used in various types, such as power generation, direct use, and geothermal heat pumps. Geothermal energy with high temperature have been used for power generation for more than a century. The purpose of the study is to investigate flow and electricity power characteristics of hydraulic turbine for power generation of geothermal heat pump type with closed-system. The differences between the four types of hydraulic turbine, are different from the blade shape, volume, angle and etc. In case of prototype(1), pressure at blade was reduced to 2.1 bar, the kinetic energy of blade increased by increasing flow velocity(4.1 m/s). The increase of flow velocity at the blade edge markedly appeared, to increase the kinetic energy of the rotating shaft. In case that gateway in hydraulic turbine was installed, operating torque and RPM(1,080) of the rotating shaft increased respectively. Although rotational speed of prototype(2) compared to prototype(1) was reduced, the power generation capacity was greater about 3.4 times to 97 W. The most power of 255W was generated from prototype (4).

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.35-40
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• 2011

This study analyzed the influence of firing biogas on the performance and operation of a gas turbine combined heat and power (CHP) system. A reference CHP system designed with natural gas fuel was set up and off-design simulation was made to investigate the impact of firing biogas in the system. Changes in critical operating parameters such as compressor surge margin and turbine blade temperature caused by firing biogas were examined, and a couple of operating schemes to mitigate their changes were simulated. Part load operation of the biogas-fired system was compared with that of natural-gas fired system, and it was found that as long as the two system produce the same electric power output, they exhibit nearly the same heat recovery.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.54-61
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• 2003

The first stage rotating blade of industrial gas turbine is one of the components that is normally run in exposed state at the highest temperature of the combustion gas stream. For this reason superior materials and advanced cooling technology are required to allow higher heat resisting characteristics of the component. The 1st stage blade of a selected commercial gas turbine blade made of directionally solidified Ni-based superalloy has a row of cooling holes on its trailing edge. In most cases, minor cracks have been found at some of the root cooling holes after one cycle operation (24,000 hrs) or even shorter operation time because of the high temperature gradient and the frequently alternating thermal stress. In the repair process, unfortunately, it is usually very difficult to get rid of the damage due to the fact that cracks are initiated at the root cooling hole and propagated deep into the hole. In this study, the feasibility of removing the sidewall cracks in the hole by utilizing EDM drilling has been investigated. Also the criteria of surface integrity for EDM drilling were established to achieve high quality repair as well as machining accuracy.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.61-67
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• 2016

Turbine blade cooling is one of the major technologies to enhance the performance of gas turbine and combined cycle power plants. In this study, two cases of coolant pre-cooling schemes were applied in combined cycle power plant: decrease of coolant mass flow needed to cool turbine blade and increase of turbine inlet temperature (TIT). Both schemes are benefited by the decrease of coolant temperature through coolant pre-cooling. Under the same degree of pre-cooling, increasing TIT exhibits larger plant power boost and higher plant efficiency than reducing coolant flow. As a result, the former produces the same gas turbine power with a much smaller degree of pre-cooling than the latter. Another advantage of increasing TIT is a higher plant efficiency. Even with an assumption of partial achievement of the theoretically predicted TIT, the method of increasing TIT can provide considerably larger power output.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.1478-1487
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• 2005

A small mixed-type turbine with a diameter of 19.9 mm has been substituted for a rotational part of pencil-type air tool. Usually, a vane-type rotor is applied to the rotational part of the air tool. However, the vane-type rotor has some problems, such as friction, abrasion, and necessity of accurate assembly etc.,. These problems make the life time of the vane-type air tool short, but air tools operated by mixed-type turbines are free of friction and abrasion because the turbine rotor dose not contact with the casing. Moreover, it is assembled easily because of no axis offset. These characteristics are merits for using air tools, but loss of power is inevitable on a non-contacting type rotor due to flow loss, tip clearance loss, and profile loss etc.,. In this study, four different rotors are tested, and their characteristics are investigated by measuring the specific output power. Additionally, optimum nozzle location against the rotor is studied. Output powers are obtained through measured pressure, temperature, torque, rotational speed, and flow rate. The experimental results obtained with four different rotors show that the rotor blade shape greatly influences to the performance, and the optimum nozzle location exists near the mid span of the rotor.