《Laser Weld Repair of Service-Exposed IN738 and GTD111 Buckets》.pdfVIP

Proceedings of ASME TURBO EXPO 2002 June 3-6, 2002, Amsterdam, The Netherlands GT-2002-30041 GT-2002-30160 Laser Weld Repair Of Service Exposed IN738 and GTD 111 Buckets November 25, 2001 Greg Frederick, EPRI-RRAC David Gandy, EPRI-Materials and Repair J.T. Stover, Consultant Background Repairs of gas turbine buckets (blades) are currently limited to the upper tip region of the airfoil where operating stresses are commonly low. This limitation is predicated upon the use of low strength welding filler materials and the use of high energy welding processes such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). When bucket damage is located within parts of the airfoil subjected to higher stress levels, buckets are often scrapped or replaced, costing utilities/independent power producers millions of dollars. Advanced repair techniques which allow repairs at higher stress regions of the bucket airfoil will significantly reduce the need and costs of scrapping buckets. ìStructuralî repairs to higher stress areas of the airfoil will require the use of welding fillers with similar composition and strength to that of the bucket base alloy and improvements in repair processing. In late 1998, the EPRI Repair and Replacement Applications Center completed a comprehensive review of the various welding technologies currently employed by industry to repair gas turbine buckets (blades) [1]. The review cited low energy welding processes such as laser