Who Can Benefit?

• Engineers planning and executing maintenance

• Engineering and asset managers

• Plant operators and maintainers

• Maintenance planners/schedulers

• Asset managers

Course Objective:

• Appreciate the consequences of arduous operating conditions and why they lead directly to limited component lives and the need to maintain the machine
• Understand the distinction between expected component degradation in normal operation and that which occurs during ‘failures’
• Gain an appreciation of how to assess the useful life of components
• Review the techniques used to repair components so they can continue to operate effectively and reliably
• Appreciate the role of a suitable failure investigation and feedback to minimise the chance of a repeat occurrence
• Assess failures arising from design, operation, repair and maintenance issues
• Review lessons learnt and practical applications which can minimise risk
• Consider implications for future inspection and maintenance practices

Course outline

Introduction to Hot Section Life Management Issue

• Considerations and constraints Options
• Case Study: Blade alloy development

Case Study: Blade alloy development

Materials and Components

• Hot section super alloys
• Hot section coatings
• Trends for the newer designs of machines

Design for Durability

• Basic design considerations for selected hot section parts
• Design lives for blades and discs

Degradation and Life Limitations Hot Section

• Influencing factors
• Environmental attack
• Mechanical degradation
• Microstructural changes and their significance
• Design related ‘damage’

Hot Section Condition Assessment

• Motivation and general considerations
• Techniques for assessing component condition
• Experience and ‘simple’ inspection

• Qualitative metallographic techniques

• Quantitative metallographic techniques

• Assessment frameworks

• Case studies

Repair and Refurbishment: Hot Section

• Typical repair schemes for blades and vanes
• Inspection and stripping
• Welding and brazing
• Coatings
• Reheat treatment
• Technical quality assurance
• Alternative sourcing and re-manufacture

Compressor Durability

• Materials of construction
• Coatings
• Effect of operating environment
• Filtration
• Mechanical design issues
• Damage and degradation

• Inspection

• Repairs

Failure Analysis Process

• What is a root cause analysis?

• Who is to carry out the investigation?

• Investigation process and framework

• Tools of the investigation

Case Study: Design related failures

• Coatings life shortfall
• Disc rim cracking
• Compressor blades

Case Study: Operations related

• Thermal fatigue of blades
  • Blading corrosion
  • Fouling from poor filtration

CASE STUDY: Manufacturing and repair related failures

• Poor coatings
• Inappropriate heat treatments
• Inadequate repair work scope Group exercises

CASE STUDY: Maintenance /inspection related

• Component overheating
• Compressor corrosion and inspection
• Compressor blade failures

Applications AND IMPLICATIONS

• Implications for operators
• Implications for maintenance
• Implications for monitoring