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% Written by Harry H. Cheng
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Integration Engineering Laboratory
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Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering %
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University of California
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May 7, 1994
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% Modified: February 16, 2001 by Harry H. Cheng
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% Modified: January 01, 2003 by Geoffrey R. Shiflett
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\documentclass[twocolumn,10pt]{asme2e_RB}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{multirow}
\usepackage[version=3]{mhchem}
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\confshortname{GT2016}
\conffullname{ASME Turbo Expo 2016: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Expo
sition}
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\confdate{13-17}
\confmonth{June}
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%\confdate{August 30-September 2}
\confyear{2016}
\confcity{Seoul}
\confcountry{South Korea}
%%% Replace DETC2010/MECH-12345 with the number supplied to you
%%% by ASME for your paper.
\papernum{GT2016-\,57015}
%%% You need to remove 'DRAFT: ' in the title for the final submitted version.
\title{DRAFT: HIGH TEMPERATURE DEFORMATION OF INCONEL 718PLUS$^T{}^M$}
%%% first author
\author{
Utkudeniz Ozturk
\thanks{Corresponding author at utkudeniz.ozturk@upc.edu.}
\affiliation{

ETSEIB\\
Polytechnic University of Catalonia\\
Av. Diagonal, 647, 08028\\
Barcelona}
}
\author{
Jose Maria Cabrera
\affiliation{
CTM Centre Tecnologic Manresa\\
Plaza de la Cincia, 2, 08242 Manresa\\
}
\affiliation{
ETSEIB\\
Polytechnic University of Catalonia\\
Av. Diagonal, 647, 08028\\
Barcelona}
}
%%% second author
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%%\author{First Coauthor\thanks{Address all correspondence to this author.} \\
%%
{\tensfb Second Coauthor}
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\affiliation{Department or Division Name\\
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Company or College Name\\
%%
City, State (spelled out), Zip Code\\
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Country (only if not U.S.)\\
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Email address (if available)
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}
%%}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\begin{abstract}
{\it The challenge of making lighter, more reliable and more efficient gas turbi
nes renders the development of materials with increased high temperature perform
ances as one of the paramount tasks.
Since its introduction in 2003, alloy 718Plus$^T{}^M$ spurred a lot of interest
owing to its increased maximum service temperature over conventional Inconel 718
($704^\circ$C vs $650^\circ$C), good formability and weldability together with
its moderate cost. Understanding the high temperature deformation characteristic
s and microstructural evolution is still of interest to many. It is known that t
he service performance and hot-flow behavior of this alloy is a strong function
of the microstructure, particularly the grain size.
To develop precise microstructure evolution models and foresee the final microst
ructure, it is important to understand how and under which forming conditions so
ftening and precipitation processes occur concurrently.
In this work, the softening behavior its mechanisms and the precipitation charac
teristics of 718Plus$^T{}^M$ are investigated in two parallel studies. While cyl
indrical compression tests are employed to observe the hot-flow behavior, the pr
ecipitation behavior and other microstructural phenomena are tracked via hardnes
s measurements, optical and scanning electron microscopy.
A precipitation-temperature-time (PTT) diagram is reported and modelling of the
flow curves via hyperbolic sine type equation is discussed in the light of the p
roposed PPT diagram. Material constants are found both via conventional "apparen
t" approach and a physically based approach where the dependence of the elastic

modulus and the self-diffusion coefficient of Nickel is taken into account. Fina
lly, recrystallization kinetics are described via Avrami kinetics}
\end{abstract}
%\pagebreak
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\begin{nomenclature}
\begin{tabbing}
\underline{Abbreviations}
\= \hspace{1mm} \\
RX
\>
Recrystallization \\
SRX
\>
Static Recrystallization \\
DRX
\>
Dynamic Recrystallization \\
V$i$
\>
Stator vanes, $i^{\rm th}$ stage \\
\underline{Variables} \> \hspace{1mm} \\
$F$
\>
Force \\
$\sigma$
\>
True Stress \\
$\epsilon$
\>
True Strain
\end{tabbing}
\end{nomenclature}
\vspace{-5mm}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\section*{INTRODUCTION}
Since its introduction in 1962 \cite{in718} to today; because of its strength, f
abricability and moderate cost, Inconel 718 has been one of the most successful
alloys for the airborne and land based gas turbine applications both for rotatin
g and non-rotating components. However, the drawback of this alloy is its maximu
m use temperature; usually mentioned as $650^\circ$C, induced by the transformat
ion of the strengthening phase $\gamma $ to stable $\delta$ ~\cite{kennedy2005allva
c}.
Solution to overcome this limitation was sought for long since the early 90 s with
the vision of providing a low cost alternative to alloys such as Waspaloy and R
ene 41 while keeping the fabricability close to that of alloy 718~\cite{ott2005m
etals}. Finally ATI Allvac has introduced 718Plus$^{TM}$ in early 2000 s which exh
ibited $50^\circ$C higher temperature capability over Inconel 718.
A compositional overview of 718, 718Plus$^{TM}$ and Waspaloy is given in the tab
le~\ref{compositions}.
Elevated temperatures during mechanical forming introduces the advantage of achi
eving extended plasticity. However, due to high strains and high temperatures he
avy microstructural modifications are observed as well. In precipitation strengt
hened alloys, the estimation of overall deformation behavior is more complex sin
ce the precipitation introduces an additional physical effect to consider. Thus,
fundamental knowledge of the dynamic precipitation characteristics and dynamic
softening behavior is of great interest to precisely model the flow behavior and
microstructure evolution of the workpiece.

\begin{table}[ta]
\centering
\small
\caption{CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS IN WT. PERCENT OF IN718, IN718PLUS AND WASPALOY.}
\setlength\tabcolsep{3pt}
\begin{tabular}{cccccccccc}

Alloy
& Ni & Cr & Mo & W &
718 & Bal & 18.1 & 2.9& - & 718Plus$^{TM}$ & Bal & 18 & 2.8
Waspaloy& Bal & 19.4 & 4.25 & \vspace{-3mm}
\end{tabular}
\label{compositions}
\end{table}

Co & Fe & Nb & Ti & Al \\ \hline \hline

& 18 & 5.4 & 1 &0.45 \\ \hline
& 1 & 9 & 10 & 5.4 & 0.7 &1.45 \\ \hline
& 13.25 & - & - & 3 & 1.3\\ \hline

The microstructure of the alloy 718Plus$^{TM}$ was studied by many authors ~\cit
e{kennedy2005allvac,cao2005solidification,xie2005structure,xie2005ttt}. Unlike a
lloy 718, the main strengthening phase of 718Plus$^{TM}$ is $\gamma'$ ( \ce{Ni_3
[Al~ Nb~ Ti]}), L12, cubic) instead of $\gamma''$ (\ce{Ni_3 Nb}, D022, tetragon
al). Abovementioned increase of the temperature capability is believed to origin
ate from the stability advantage of $\gamma'$ over $\gamma''$ ~\cite{xie2005str
ucture,cozar1973morphology,viskari2011atom,casanova2014evolution}.
The volume fraction of the primary hardening phase $\gamma'$ varies from 19.7\%
to 23.2 depending on the amount of grain boundary precipitates ~\cite{cao2005sol
idification}.
The importance of the $\delta$ phase in terms of grain size control and stress r
upture properties is well known in alloy 718. Since the appearance and precipita
tion behavior of the grain boundary precipitates in 718Plus$^{TM}$ was similar t
o that of $\delta$ phase of 718, they were identified as $\delta$ phase (\ce{Ni_
3 Nb}, D0a, orthorhombic) as well ~\cite{cao2005solidification,cao2004role,stott
er2008characterization}. However, it was later studied in depth by Pickering~\em
ph{et~al}.~\cite{pickering2012grain} and reported that the grain boundary (GB) p
recipitates mainly consist of layers of $\eta$ phase (\ce{Ni_6 Nb [Al~Ti]}, D024
, hexagonal) and accompanied with $\delta$ layers. Considering the similarity of
the mechanical effects of GB precipitations between the 718 and 718Plus$^T{}^M$
in this work the term $\delta$ will be used for GB precipitates.
A TTT diagram from Xie \emph{et~al}. is shown in the Fig. (~\ref{xiettt}). From
this TTT it is apparent that the nose of the $\gamma'$ precipitation is in the r
ange of $900^\circ$C-$925^\circ$C and precipitation kinetics dramatically slows
down for the temperatures $950^\circ$C and above. The $\delta$ solvus temperatur
e is given as $1060^\circ$C; however, there are other reports stating that this
temperature can be as low as $990^\circ$C and the maximum precipitation rate is
obtained at $930^\circ$C ~\cite{stotter2008characterization}. Within the current
study, the precipitation behavior is observed via hardness measurements and opt
ical microscopy to justify the hot flow results. The PTT diagram obtained is pre
sented in the Results section and compared with previous studies.
\vspace{3mm}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.465\textwidth]{figs/xie_ttt}
\caption{EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINED TTT DIAGRAM OF ALLOY 718PLUS$^{TM}$ ~\cite{xi
e2005ttt}.}
\label{xiettt}
\end{figure}
\section*{EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE}
Triple melt (VIM, ESR, VAR) 718Plus$^{TM}$ was received in the billet form. To i
nvestigate the precipitation behavior, a horizontal tubular furnace was used. Bo
th solutionizing and precipitation treatments are conducted under controlled arg
on atmosphere.

A study was conducted to see the most suitable solutionizing temperature between
the $1080^\circ$C $1000^\circ$C range; for durations 30 mins, 1 hour and 1.5 ho
urs. $1050^\circ$C and 1 hour was selected accordingly.
To reveal the precipitation-hardness relationship, based on the TTT diagram give
n in the Fig. (\ref{xiettt}) a temperature range between $750^\circ$C and $950^\
circ$C was selected. The duration varied for different temperatures and a range
of 1 minute to 30 mintues was covered. To obtain the hardness of the samples min
imum 10 measurements were done and average values are presented.
For each heat treatment step, the samples were preheated to $550^\circ$C in orde
r to eliminate the temperature decrease upon charging. The samples were immediat
ely water quenched after the treatment.
For compression tests, cylindrical samples with height to diameter ratio of 2 we
re prepared in diameters of 5mm and 4mm. Baehr dilatometer 805 A/D was used to c
onduct the tests. Molybdenum foils were used to reduce the sample-punch friction
. Pre-solutionized samples from tubular furnace were again annealed for 10 min a
t the same solutionizing temperature and cooled down at a rate of 1.5$^\circ$C/s
to the deformation temperature and held there for 3 minutes before hot compress
ion testing. Single hit tests were carried out between $900^\circ$C and $1050^\c
irc$C, in the strain rates of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1s$^{-1}$. Final strain was v
aried between 0.65 and 0.7.
\vspace{5mm}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/smoothing_eps}
\caption{RAW DATA, SMOOTHING AND POLYNOMIAL FITTING.}
\label{smoothing}
\end{figure}
Post processing was conducted via MatLab$^{TM}$ software. A pseudo-Gaussian smoo
thing is applied prior to the 7$^{th}$ order polynomial fitting. A ``yield stres
s'' is extracted via 2\% offset rule for each of the tests and this limit is use
d to obtain the ``plastic portion'' for further processing. Unlike some studies
\cite{si2015flow,huber2008microstructure}, temperature correction is not applied
to the obtained stress values. Temperature variations over the whole test proce
ss was negligible. On sample thermocouple readings for $1000^\circ$C tests are s
hown in the Fig. (\ref{temp_var}). Obviously the temperature change remains with
in 5$^\circ$C and similar behavior is observed in the other 3 temperature sets.
\vspace{5mm}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/temp_vs_strain}
\caption{TEMPERATURE VARIATION DURING $1000^\circ$C TEST.}
\label{temp_var}
\end{figure}
\vspace{5mm}
\section*{APPROACH}
\subsection*{Apparent Material Constants}
In the literature a simple and widely used approach could be found which relates
the flow stress to the temperature compensated strain rate, known as Zener-Holl

omon parameter (Z).

\vspace{-3mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq1}
Z=\dot{\epsilon} exp(\frac{Q}{RT})=f(\sigma)
\end{equation}
In Eq.(\ref{eq1}), $Q$ is the activation energy of deformation. Previous studies
(\cite{sellars1966relationship,sellars1966tegart}) show that hot deformation pr
ocess can be treated as a thermally activated process and could be well describe
d by strain rate equations similar to those implemented to describe creep. The p
arameter Z could be related to the flow stress via the following equations:
\vspace{-3mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq2}
Z=\dot{\epsilon}\ exp(\frac{Q}{RT})=f(\sigma)= A' \sigma^{n'}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation} \label{eq3}
Z=\dot{\epsilon}\ exp(\frac{Q}{RT})=f(\sigma)= A'' exp (\beta \sigma)
\end{equation}
\begin{equation} \label{eq4}
Z=\dot{\epsilon}\ exp(\frac{Q}{RT})=f(\sigma)= A [sinh(\alpha \sigma)]^n
\end{equation}
\noindent
where $A, A', A'', n, n', \beta$ and $\alpha $ are material constants. The $\al
pha$ is usually referred as an adjustable stress multiplier and choosen based on
the behavior of $ln(\dot{\epsilon})$ vs $ln(sinh(\alpha\sigma))$. It is possibl
e to regard $\alpha$ as the inverse stress at which the Eq. (2) breaks.
These equations are mostly referred as ``power law", ``exponential law" and ``hy
perbolic sine law". While the power law is usually implemented in the cases with
relatively lower stress levels, exponential law is used for higher stresses. On
the other side hyperbolic sine law could be used in a wide range of deformation
conditions.
The above mentioned constants ($A, A', A'', n, n', \beta$ and $Q$) depend on the
material; however, upon the calculation of these constants the internal microst
ructural state is not taken into account. With the assumption of microstructure
remaining constant, they are derived from an Arrhenius plot. Because of this the
y are usually referred as ``apparent" material constants and therefore, this met
hod is called the apparent approach .
\subsection*{Physically Based Approach}
If the deformation mechanism is controlled by dislocation glide and climb, some
modifications could be introduced to the Eq.(\ref{eq4}) to include more physical
meaning in its modelling capabilities.
It was shown by Cabrera~\emph{et~al}.~\cite{cabrera1996flow} that if the tempera
ture dependence of the elastic modulus and self-diffusion coefficient are taken
into account, it is possible to introduce a constant creep exponent and self-dif
fusion activation energy can be used to model the flow stress.
Re-writing the Eq.(\ref{eq4}) for strain-rate and introducing the above mentione
d modifications, Eq.(\ref{eq4}) becomes:
\vspace{-3mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq5}
\frac{\dot{\epsilon}}{D(T)} = B\ \Big[sinh(\frac{\alpha'\sigma}{E(T)})\Big]^{n=5
}
\end{equation}

In Eq.(\ref{eq5}), $E(T)$ is the elastic modulus and $D(T)$ is the self-diffusio

n coefficient. These could be calculated for temperatures at interest via the fo
llowing equations:
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq6}
D(T) = D_0\ exp (\frac{-Q_{sd}}{RT})
\end{equation}
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq7}
E(T) = 2 (1+\nu)\ \mu
\end{equation}
\noindent
where the temperature dependence of $\mu$ is obtained through:
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq8}
\mu(T) = \mu_0\ exp\ (1 - \frac{T-300}{T_{m}})
\end{equation}
\noindent
the Poisson's ratio, $\nu$ is 1/3 and other appropriate values for $\mu_0$, $Q_{
sd}$ and $D_0$ can be found in the Ref. (\cite{frost1982deformation}). For Nicke
l the self-diffusion activation energy is given as $Q_{sd}=285$kj/mol, and the d
iffusion constant $D_0$ as $1.6$x$10^{-4}$ m$^2$/s.
\subsection*{Modelling of the Hardening Behavior}
The Estrin-Mecking and Bergstrom model is implemented for the modelling of flow
curve prior to the peak stress. According to this model, the dislocation density
is a result of the balance between work hardening and dynamic softening due to
recovery. This relationship is commonly given as:
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq9}
d\rho/d\epsilon= U - \Omega \rho
\end{equation}
\noindent
where $U$ and $\Omega$ represent the hardening and softening due to the dynamic
recovery respectively. In the Bergstrom model, the $U$ is given as the rate of d
islocation immobilization and $\Omega$ is given as the probability/rate of re-mo
bilization of sessile dislocations.
It is assumed that first-order kinetics apply for the softening term, $\Omega$ a
nd $U$ remains constant if the grain structure is fine and fine particles exist
in the structure. One can obtain the follwing relationship by integrating the Eq
.(\ref{eq9}) with the ease of these assumptions:
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq10}
\sigma= ( \sigma_{sat}^2 - (\sigma_{sat}^2 - \sigma_{0}^2)\ exp\ (-\Omega \epsil
on) )^{1/2}
\end{equation}
\noindent
where $\sigma_0 = \alpha' \mu$ \textbf{b} $\rho_0^{1/2}$ and $\sigma_{sat} = \al
pha' \mu$ \textbf{b} $(U/\Omega)^{1/2}$. Here, $\sigma_{o}$ is the yield stress,
$\sigma_{sat}$ is the saturation stress which is defined as the hypothetical st
ress level to be attained in the absence of dynamic recrystallization, $\alpha'$

is a geometrical constant, \textbf{b} is Burger's vector and $\mu$ is the shear

modulus.
\subsection*{Modelling of Dynamic Recrystallization}
For the modelling of dynamic recrystallization (DRX), the formalism of Avrami is
implemented. The fractional softening is given as a function of time as shown i
n the Eq.(\ref{eq11}):
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq11}
X = 1 - exp (-B t^k)
\end{equation}
\noindent
here $t$ is the DRX time, $n$ is the time exponent and $k$ is the Avrami constan
t.The peak strain, $\epsilon_p$ is used as a reference strain to derive the time
in the Eq.(\ref{eq11}) as follows: $t=(\epsilon-\epsilon_p)/ \dot{\epsilon}$.
Together with the Eq.(\ref{eq11}), the relation co-used to assess the stress lev
el is as follows:
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq12}
\sigma= \sigma_{sat} - (\sigma_{sat}-\sigma_{ss})\ X
\end{equation}
\noindent
where the $\sigma_{ss}$ is the stress level attained due to the balance between
work hardening and dynamic softening. Here $X$ is defined as the difference in t
he stress between the work hardening curve and the flow curve obtained through c
ompression tests. Thus, $X$ is expected to approach to unity when steady state i
s achieved.
Upon the calcultion of the term $B$ in the Eq.(\ref{eq11}), the half time for DR
X, $t_{50}$ is used obtained and fit to the equation Eq.(\ref{eq13})
\vspace{-6mm}
\begin{equation} \label{eq13}
t_{50}=K_t d_0^{m_t} \dot{\epsilon}^{n_t} exp (\frac{Q_t}{RT})
\end{equation}
\noindent
here, $K_t$, $m_t, n_t$ are constants and $Q_t$ is the activation energy for DRX
process. As the initial grain size was the same for all the samples in this stu
dy, the term $d_0$ is ignored.

\section*{RESULTS}
\subsection*{Precipitation Behavior}
The received material had an average grain size of 62$\mu$m and hardness value o
f 406 vickers. After solutionizing at $1050^\circ$C for 1 hour, the hardness val
ue was recorded as 192 vickers.
Table (\ref{hardtable}) shows a comparison of the results of the current work wi
th previous studies for the common/close data points. It can be seen that as hig

h as 100 vickers differences are can be observed in previous studies especially

in the range of 900-925 where the precipitation kinetics are very fast and quenc
hing speed after treatment play important role. Current study shows good agreeme
nt for the 6 minutes aging time with Ref. (\cite{xie2005ttt}).
\begin{table*}[ht]
\caption{HARDNESS RESULTS OF AGED 718Plus$^{TM}$: COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT STUDIE
S.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cccccccccc}
\hline
Source: &\multicolumn{3}{c}{Srinivasan~\cite{srinivasan2012experimental}}& \mult
icolumn{3}{c}{Xie~\cite{xie2005ttt}}& \multicolumn{3}{c}{Current Work} \\
\hline
\hline
Temp Apprx. $^oC$/Time: & 6 min. & 30 min. 3& 1 hour & 6 min. & 15 min. & 1 hour
& 1 min. & 6 min& 15 min\\
\hline
950 & 283 & 283 & - & 224 & 227&226 & 199 & 205& -\\
925 & - & - & - & 246 & 229&228 & 247 & 281& - \\
900 & 373 & 345 & - & 300 & 270 & 221 & 256 & 297 & -\\
850 & 407 & - & 407 & 303 & 329 & 391 & - & 325 & 357\\
800 & 395 & - & 424 & - & - & 417 & - & 255-345 & 345\\
750 & - & - & - & - & - & 409 & - & 255 & 251\\
750 & 353 & - & 405 & - & - & - & - & - & -\\
\hline
\label{hardtable}
\end{tabular}
\end{table*}
Figure (\ref{ttt_deniz}) shows the resulting PTT diagram. Although Xie.\cite{xie
2005ttt} noted that the hardness corresponding to initial $\gamma'$ precipitatio
n is 225 vickers, the transformation line in the plot is drawn for 245 vickers.
At 850$^\circ$C after 30 minutes, softening is recorded and this is in agreement
with the study of Srinivasan ~\cite{srinivasan2012experimental}.
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/PTT_eps}
\caption{PTT DIAGRAM OF 718Plus$^{TM}$. RED LINE DENOTES 245 VICKERS LIMIT.}
\label{ttt_deniz}
\end{figure}

\vspace{5mm}
\subsection*{Flow Curves Overview}
Figure (\ref{somecurves}) shows some examples of polynomial-fit curves until $\e
psilon$=0.6. The flow curves in general show strong natural DRX response with si
ngle peak behavior except for the $900^\circ$C-0.01 s$^{-1}$ test where a contin
uous gradual increase in the flow stress is observed.
As the DRX nucleation becomes easier at higher temperatures, it is natural to ob
serve a decrease of critical stress for DRX initiation. In addition, because of
the increased grain boundary mobility at high temperatures, the kinetics of DRX
become faster. Thus, it is expected to see a decrease in peak and stready state

stress at higher temperatures. For some cases the steady state region could be o
bserved beyond $\epsilon$=0.65; however generally the steady state was not reach
ed until $\epsilon$=0.7.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/some_curves}
\caption{SELECTED OF THE FLOW CURVES.}
\label{somecurves}
\end{figure}

\vspace{5mm}
\subsection*{Apparent Material Constants}
The apparent material constants are found according to the relations given by Eq
s. (\ref{eq1})-(\ref{eq4}). By taking the logarithm of each side of these and re
-ordering and as instructed in previous studies (\cite{mirzadeh2012modeling,mirz
adeh2011hot,mirzadeh2011constitutive}) it can be seen that partial differentiati
on with respect to temperature makes it possible to retrieve material constants,
$n', \beta$ and $n$. The slope of the plot of ln$\dot{\epsilon}$ vs ln$\dot{\si
gma}$ and the slope of the plot of ln$\dot{\epsilon}$ vs $\sigma$ can be used t
o obtain the values of $n'$ and $\beta$ respectively. This is shown in Fig. (\re
f{ln_peak_VS_lne}) and (\ref{peak_VS_lne})
The linear regression of these over 4 different temperature range gives an avera
ge $n'$ as 6.2085 and $\beta$ as 0.0221. Accordingly the $\alpha$ (=$\beta/n'$)
is found to be 0.0036.
Values of $n'$ for temperatures $900^\circ$C, $950^\circ$C, $1000^\circ$C and $1
050^\circ$C are obtained as 8.39, 6.29, 5.18 and 4.95. Interestingly, an immedia
te increase of $n'$ is observed when the deformation temperature decreases. If t
he deformation process is controlled by glide and climb, it is stated that the v
alue $n'$ should be equal to 5 \cite{frost1982deformation}, as in the case of $1
050^\circ$C and $1000^\circ$C. This increase is expected for $900^\circ$C becaus
e the PTT diagram shows that heavy precipitation is expected even for exposure t
imes as low as 1 minute.
However, according to Fig.(\ref{xiettt}) \cite{xie2005ttt} and Fig. (\ref{delta_
prec}) \cite{stotter2008characterization}, at $954^\circ$C the precipitation is
not expected before 6 and 12 minutes respectively. As the slowest test in this s
tudy was finished in 11.7 minutes, based on the PTT and TTT diagrams mentioned h
ere, under static conditions precipitation would not be expected for at least 3
samples. However, the increase in $n$ could be a sign of dynamic precipitation b
ehavior. In addition, around $950^\circ$C, the $\delta$ - $\gamma'$ precipitatio
n sequence is changed and $\delta$ starts to form earlier. Therefore, the detail
ed study of this temperature region could be interesting to see at what temperat
ure it is optimum to perform the last stages of hot work processes.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/delta_prec}
\caption{TTT DIAGRAM SHOWING $\delta$ PRECIPITATION \cite{stotter2008characteriz
ation}.}
\label{delta_prec}
\end{figure}

Similar to the treatment for $n'$ and $\beta$; $n$ can be calculated from the sl
ope of the plot ln$\dot{\epsilon}$ vs $ln(sinh(\alpha\sigma_p))$, as shown in Fi
g.(\ref{lnsinh_VS_lne}). The average value of n is found as 4.45.
After taking the logarithm of both sides and rearranging; the partial differenti
on of Eqs. (\ref{eq1})-(\ref{eq4}) with respect to strain rate makes it possible
to calculate $Q$, the activation energy of deformation. The plots used for thes
e calculations are shown in Figs. (\ref{inv_T_VS_lnpeak_eps})-(\ref{inv_T_VS_lns
inh_eps}).
The linear regression results of power law estimates the $Q$ as 535.7 kJ/mol. It
is 541.4 kJ/mol and 525.5 kJ/mol for exponential and hyperbolic sine laws repec
tively. The goodness of the fit is highest for the hyperbolic sine law with $R^
2$=0.978 (for power and exponential law, $R^2$ is 0.973 and 0.969 respectively).
Thus for further calculations $Q$ is selected as 525.5 kJ/mol.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/ln_peak_VS_lne_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE CONSTANT $n'$.}
\label{ln_peak_VS_lne}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/peak_VS_lne_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE CONSTANT $\beta$.}
\label{peak_VS_lne}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/lnsinh_VS_lne_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE CONSTANT $n$.}
\label{lnsinh_VS_lne}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/inv_T_VS_lnpeak_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE ACTIVATION ENERGY OF HOT WORK $Q$ VIA POWER
LAW.}
\label{inv_T_VS_lnpeak_eps}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/inv_temp_vs_peak_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE ACTIVATION ENERGY OF HOT WORK $Q$ VIA EXPONE
NTIAL LAW.}
\label{inv_temp_vs_peak_eps}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/inv_T_VS_lnsinh_eps}
\caption{PLOT USED TO DETERMINE THE ACTIVATION ENERGY OF HOT WORK $Q$ VIA HYPERB
OLIC SINE LAW.}
\label{inv_T_VS_lnsinh_eps}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/ln_sinh_VS_lnZ_eps}
\caption{PLOT SHOWING THE FIT OF EQUATION (\ref{eq4}).}
\label{ln_sinh_VS_lnZ_eps}
\end{figure}
Finally the the Zener-Hollomon parameter, Z and $\sigma_p$, can be fit via Eq. (
\ref{eq4}). This is done in the Fig. (\ref{ln_sinh_VS_lnZ_eps}) and the constant
A is found to be $3.5797$x$10^{20}$.

\subsection*{Material Constants of Physically Based Approach}

As one can note, in the Eq. (\ref{eq5}), there are only two unknowns ($B$ and $\
alpha'$) and it is relatively simpler to implement this approach. The $(\dot{\ep
silon}/D(T))^{1/5}$ is plotted against $(\alpha'\sigma)/E(T)$ in the Fig. (\ref{
physical_overall_fit_eps}). It is immediately of interest that the $900^\circ$C
data behave differently than the rest. The PTT study shows that the kinetics of
$\gamma'$ precipitation is very fast at the temperature around $900^\circ$C-$925
^\circ$C, thus the different behavior of observed for $900^\circ$C is indeed an
expected result.
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/physical_overall_fit_eps}
\caption{MAIN TERMS OF PHYSICALLY BASED MODEL.}
\label{physical_overall_fit_eps}
\end{figure}
A direct non-linear regression is applied to the available data; however, since
the hot forming behavior of the alloy at $900^\circ$C is dramatically different
from the rest, two sets of parameters are prepared for further processing. When
the precipitation is not expected at deformation temperature (or temperature ran
ge) the constants of Eq. (\ref{eq5}); $B$ and $\alpha'$ 1300 and 311, respective
ly. However, when heavy precipitation is expected, $B$ should be taken as 340.7
and $\alpha'$ as 617.2.

\subsection*{Comparison of Apparent and Physically Based Approaches}

Figure (\ref{validation}) shows a verification plot, where the calculated and me
asured peak stresses are presented together. In the case of apparent approach, o
nly one set of parameters was suggested already in previous sections. While, in
the case of physically based approach, two sets of parameters was suggested base
d on the precipitation behavior. However, for the sake of a good comparison, in

the Fig.(\ref{validation}) only the stress values calculated via material consta
nts where second phase precipitation is not expected. As one can see, both appr
oaches give satisfactory results; however, it is thought provoking that although
a heavy precipitation process is going on at $900^\circ$C, why it is not possib
le to observe this by apparent approach even though only one parameter set was u
sed.
This suggests that physically based approach is more sensitive to the microstruc
tural changes that the apparent ones. This is in agreement with their natural de
finition. From the Fig. (\ref{validation}) it might be seen that apparent approa
ch performs better; however, when a double set of parameters is used for physica
lly based model, the same can be obtained with more physical meaning which in tu
rn gives more flexibility of further modelling.

\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/validation}
\caption{MAIN TERMS OF PHYSICALLY BASED MODEL.}
\label{validation}
\end{figure}

%--------------------------------------------%
\pagebreak
\vspace{25mm}
\section*{APPROACH}
\subsection*{Turbine Model Description}
The computational setup includes both the compressor turbine (CT) and the power
turbine (PT) as shown in Fig.~\ref{Model}. The CT and the PT are counter-rotati
ng and each turbine contains two stages. The stator vanes are referred to with
the letter ``V'' and the rotor blades with the letter ``B'' together with the st
age number from 1 to 4. This nomenclature will be used throughout the paper; fo
r example: B1 refers to the rotor blade of the first stage.
\vspace{25mm}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/mesh_cfd_ct_and_pt}
\caption{MODELED TURBINE SECTIONS; COMPRESSOR TURBINE (CT) AND POWER TURBINE (PT
).}
\label{Model}
\end{figure}
There are eight burner cans upstream of V1, and thus, a minimum of a $45^\circ$
periodic sector of the turbine is required. Due to the non-integer blade count
ratios, some blade rows were scaled in accordance with~\cite{Mayorca_etal_2011}.
The scaling is done such as to keep solidity and with negligible effects on th
e original axial gaps. The required scaling to eight-fold periodicity lead to t
he blade and vane counts listed in Table~\ref{counts}. It should be noted here
that the blade and vane count changes were lower than 5\% for all rows, and that
the original vane counts of V1 and V3 could be kept intact. Moreover, having a
twin-shaft configuration with the CT and PT operating at different rotor speeds
leads to a nonsynchronous interaction between B2 and B3. Note that the eight-f
old spatial flow periodicity of the scaled turbine remains valid also for this n
onsynchronous interaction.
\begin{table}[t]
\centering
\caption{BLADE AND VANE COUNTS OF
\begin{tabular}{ccccccccc}
Sector
& V1 & B1 & V2 & B2 &
$360^\circ$ & 40 & 56 & 40 & 64 &
$45^\circ$ & 5 & 7 & 5 & 8 &

THE SCALED TURBINE.}

V3 & B3 & V4 & B4 \\ \hline \hline
32 & 56 & 56 & 64 \\
4 & 7 & 7 & 8 \\ \hline \vspace{-3mm}

\end{tabular}
\label{counts}
\end{table}
The predictions of excitation forces are performed by 3D unsteady CFD using ANSY
S CFX$^{\rm TM}$ with a high-resolution advection scheme and the k-epsilon turbu
lence model. The mesh was generated with ANSYS Turbogrid$^{\rm TM}$. A mesh co
nvergence study was conducted with respect to steady-state behavior, encompassin
g several meshes of varying density. A relatively coarse grid was found to be a
dequate, showing sufficiently good agreement in terms of blade loading when comp
ared against models with more refined meshes. The used number of nodes per blad

e row passage and in the expanded $45^\circ$ sector is presented in Table~\ref{g

riddim}.
\begin{table}[b]
\centering
\caption{NUMBER OF NODES IN SINGLE-PASSAGE AND $45^\circ$ SECTOR DOMAINS.}
\begin{tabular}{ccccr}
Blade row & & Single-passage & & $45^\circ$ sector \\ \hline \hline
V1
& & \hspace{1.75mm}96,255 & &
481,275 \\
B1
& & 101,410 & &
707,870 \\
V2
& & 122,724 & &
613,620 \\
B2
& & 155,245 & &
1,241,960 \\
V3
& & 134,571 & &
538,284 \\
B3
& & 111,684 & &
781,788 \\
V4
& & 238,374 & &
1,668,618 \\
B4
& & 166,347 & &
1,330,776 \\ \hline
Total & &
& &
7,366,191 \\ \hline \vspace{-3mm}
\end{tabular}
\label{griddim}
\end{table}
Tip gaps were implemented in the unshrouded CT blades (B1 and B2). Tip shroud l
eakages in the PT blades (B3 and B4) and hub shroud leakages in the vanes were o
n the other hand neglected, which is motivated by expected small leakage flows a
nd the associated uncertainties. Ignoring hub and tip shroud leakages will undo
ubtedly modify to some extent the time-averaged radial flow profiles and consequ
ently affect also the radial re-distributions of the burner can-induced flow per
turbations. However, these effects are expected to be fairly proportional and t
hus insignificant with respect to overall uncertainties.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.286\textwidth]{figs/cooling_illustration}
\caption{V1 COOLING FLOW MODELING.}
\label{Cooling}
\end{figure}
Cooling flow is included for all CT vanes and blades, while PT cooling is consid
erably lower (only V3 is cooled) and therefore not included in the CFD model. C
ooling is modeled by assigning flow inlets at mesh patches in different location
s, with specified mass flow, temperature, and direction as shown in Fig.~\ref{Co
oling}. The implemented cooling jets will interact with the inlet total tempera
ture profile and thereby have an influence on the circumferential and radial tem
perature profile development along the stages. In view of this, the performed s
caling of B1, V2, and B2 may affect the results to some extent. It is expected
that the changes in blade counts could affect the distribution of the temperatur
e profile in a manner essentially proportional to the level of blade count modif
ication. However, this should primarily affect the higher-order circumferential
variations, i.e., on the order of blade counts. Hence, with only marginal chan
ges made to the blade counts, this aspect is not expected to have a significant
impact on the development of the low-order circumferential temperature wave indu
ced by the burner cans. Recall also that V1 remains unscaled. This implies tha
t a significant part of the cooling flow release into the turbine is as accurate
ly modeled as simulations allow, i.e., without any influence of scaling.
For the transient simulations, convergence was achieved when the time-varying fo
rces on all blades reached a periodic behavior. Periodicity was judged qualitat
ively by inspection in terms of periodic features and general appearance, and al
so quantitatively by requiring less than 0.5\% deviation in maximum force repeat
ability. Incidentally, achieving a time-periodic forcing on B3 implies that the

nonsynchronous excitation on B3 from counter-rotating B2 wakes is negligible.

This could be verified by Fourier decomposition of the B3 integrated force time
trace, showing an insignificantly small force contribution at the proper nonsync
hronous frequency. This is not entirely surprising given the axial distance fro
m B2 trailing edge to B3 leading edge in this configuration (see Fig.~\ref{Model
}).
\subsection*{Temperature Profile Cases}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/BCS_temperature_profile_cropped}\\(
a) BCS\\ \vspace{4mm}
\includegraphics[width=0.475\textwidth]{figs/BCM_temperature_profile_cropped}\\(
b) BCM
\caption{TOTAL TEMPERATURE PROFILES FROM BURNER CAN SIMULATION~(a) AND BURNER CA
N TEST RIG~(b); CIRCUMFERENTIAL VS.\ RADIAL DISTRIBUTIONS FOR THE $45^\circ$ SE
CTOR.}
\label{TempProfiles}
\end{figure}
For the time-marched simulations, two main analyses are performed considering di
fferent inlet temperature profiles. The first analysis uses the total temperatur
e profile depicted in Fig.~\ref{TempProfiles}(a), which was obtained from a prev
iously performed burner can simulation by CFD. The boundary conditions used in
this simulation correspond to peak load operation. The maximum to minimum tempe
rature ratio for this case is 2.3. The maximum temperature is 22\% higher than
the average temperature.
The second analysis is based on a different distribution of the profile, which w
as obtained from a burner can test rig running at ambient conditions. The profi
le was scaled up such as to achieve the average total temperature corresponding
to peak load conditions. Since temperature measurements were not available exac
tly at the wall positions, the temperatures in these near-wall regions were appr
oximated to the minimum temperature measured. The applied profile is shown in F
ig.~\ref{TempProfiles}(b). The maximum to minimum temperature ratio for this ca
se is 1.35, i.e., much lower than the one obtained in the simulation case. The
maximum temperature is in this case 18\% higher than the average temperature, i.
e., also lower than the BCS.
The two different profiles will give two quite different excitation levels. One
could consider that the temperature distribution from the simulation case is a
conservative option, due to the higher gradients in terms of minimum to maximum
temperature. Additionally, the test data distribution accounts for more localiz
ed effects, similar to a sinusoidal distribution at mid-span. This is different
in the simulation case, where a more square shape can be observed in the circum
ferential direction. This circumstance would be expected to translate into stro
nger higher harmonics in the BCS case.
\subsection*{Excitation Level Determination}
The harmonic forces on the surfaces of all rotor blades are obtained through dis
crete Fourier transformations of the corresponding time-varying forces extracted
from the transient CFD analyses. The harmonic forces are then back-scaled to t
he original blade counts in accordance with~\cite{Mayorca_etal_2011}. The backscaling considers a correction in both frequency and amplitude. The integrated
harmonic forces are first compared between the two profile cases (BCS and BCM).
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering

\includegraphics[height=0.425\textwidth]{figs/bd_4x} \hspace{12mm}
\includegraphics[height=0.425\textwidth]{figs/ba_4x}
\begin{flushleft}
\hspace{21mm} (a) \hspace{37mm} (b)
\end{flushleft}
\caption{B4 STRUCTURAL MESH; CYCLIC BLADED DISK MODEL~(a) AND ENLARGED VIEW OF T
HE BLADE~(b).}
\label{FEmesh}
\end{figure}
In this study the excitation level on B4 is of special interest. B4 is an inter
lock shrouded blade with fir-tree blade-to-disk attachment. The used cyclic sym
metric bladed disk finite element model is depicted in Fig.~\ref{FEmesh}. The t
otal damping used here is 1\% in terms of critical damping ratio. For this conf
iguration the total damping is comprised of aerodynamic damping as well as frict
ion damping stemming from interlock shroud and blade root contact interfaces. A
total damping level of 1\% is therefore considered plausible in the absence of
detailed damping predictions or experimental data.
The generalized forces are obtained for the resonance crossings inside and close
to the operating range by projecting the distributed harmonic forces onto the r
espective mode shapes. The modal vibration amplitude levels are then estimated
in a mode-by-mode manner based on the obtained generalized forces and the assume
d level of damping. With the modal amplitudes in place, the high cycle fatigue
risk is assessed by comparing the corresponding stress amplitude with the maximu
m allowable stress in the most critical location on the blade according to the H
aigh diagram.
\subsection*{Hot Streak Evolution}
A phenomenological study is also performed with the aim to correlate the annular
temperature distribution evolution along the stages with the level of excitatio
n on the rotor blades. The circumferential non-uniformity of the total temperat
ure in a stationary frame could then translate into pressure non-uniformities an
d consequently into unsteady forces in the rotating frame of reference. For thi
s reason, the circumferential total temperature distributions are extracted behi
nd every stationary row at different spans. Spatial Fourier transformations are
performed to determine the different annular waves (or possible harmonics in th
e rotating frame).
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\section*{RESULTS}
\subsection*{Harmonic Force Levels}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.481\textwidth]{figs/stimuli_test_vs_sim} \\
\caption{INTEGRATED HARMONIC FORCE STIMULI OF DIFFERENT ENGINE ORDERS FOR EACH R
OTOR BLADE; SIMULATION PROFILE (BCS) AND MEASURED PROFILE (BCM).}
\label{EOmap}
\end{figure}
To estimate the strength of the excitation, the stimuli of the different harmoni
c forces have been calculated. The force stimulus is here defined as the ratio
between the integrated harmonic force and the integrated mean force on a blade.
In Fig.~\ref{EOmap} it can be observed that the stimuli generated from the BCM
profile are lower than the ones generated from the BCS profile. The differences

are around a factor of three. The larger forces are expected for the BCS due t
o the larger ratio of maximum to minimum temperature in the BCS when compared to
the BCM.
A first observation from the simulations is that the burner cans seem to generat
e excitations of considerable strength. It is further noted that not only the f
irst burner can harmonic (BC) is present, but also the higher harmonics (2BC and
3BC) at significant levels. However, there is a general exponential decrease o
f the excitation with increasing BC harmonics. Only B1 exhibits a dominant seco
nd BC harmonic for the BCS case, but this is not observed for the BCM.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.473\textwidth]{figs/campbell_hcf_rpmfit_diagram_cropped
} \\
\caption{B4 CAMPBELL DIAGRAM; MAXIMUM VS.\ ALLOWABLE STRESS FOR RELEVANT RESONA
NCE CROSSINGS.}
\label{Campbell}
\end{figure}
The burner can-related excitation is strong for all the blades, i.e., not only f
or the first stage. This is an indication that the hot streak is not highly mix
ed out through the turbine, having relevant effects even in the last stage rotor
blade (B4). For the BCS case, the levels of the BC excitation are comparable w
ith the unsteadiness caused by the potential field and wakes from the vanes dire
ctly upstream. For instance, in B4 the force stimulus from the first BC harmoni
c is even higher than that of the upstream vane (V4)\,---\,7\% vs.\ 6\%. Howev
er, for the BCM case the BC excitation levels are lower than the upstream vane e
xcitations for all blades.
It can also be noted that the vane frequency excitations on the rotor blades are
essentially unaffected by the total temperature profiles. This becomes clear w
hen looking at the engine orders (EO) of V1 acting on B1, V2 acting on B2, V3 ac
ting on B3, and V4 acting on B4. For both BCM and BCS they preserve the same le
vels. Two major differences are observed in EO V3 acting on B2 and B4, respecti
vely. This is believed to be due to an interaction between the fourth BC harmon
ic and the V3 wake and potential field, which are of the same engine order (32EO
).
\subsection*{Modal Response Levels}
The B4 resonant response levels and thus the fatigue risk can be observed in the
Campbell diagram presented in Fig.~\ref{Campbell}. Since the highest forcing l
evels were obtained with the BCS profile, only the estimated response levels for
this case are presented here. The fatigue risk for each resonance crossing is
estimated by a stress factor that relates the maximum stress that each mode expe
riences with the maximum allowable stress according to the Haigh diagram.
Stress factors below one mean that the stress levels are below the respective fa
tigue limits. Evidently, this is the case for all resonance crossings inside an
d close to the operating range for this blade. It can be seen that the highest
level is experienced by mode~2 (Fig.~\ref{Modes} right) when excited by the firs
t BC harmonic. In Fig.~\ref{Haigh} the alternating vs.\ mean stress distributi
on shows the critical point with respect to fatigue for this mode~2 resonance.
The second highest stress factor is that of mode~1 (Fig.~\ref{Modes} left), also
from the first BC harmonic. However, both resonance crossings exhibit predicte
d stress levels that are well below the respective fatigue limits. It is furthe
r noted that they are both located outside the normal operating range.
\begin{figure}[t]

\centering
\includegraphics[height=0.37\textwidth]{figs/mode1} \hspace{10mm}
\includegraphics[height=0.37\textwidth]{figs/mode2}
\begin{flushleft}
\hspace{18mm} Mode 1 \hspace{34mm} Mode 2
\end{flushleft}
\caption{FUNDAMENTAL MODES OF B4.}
\label{Modes}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.435\textwidth]{figs/HCF_diagram_cropped} \\
\caption{B4 HAIGH DIAGRAM FOR MODE 2 RESONANCE WITH FIRST BC HARMONIC (8EO); CRI
TICAL POINT HIGHLIGHTED.}
\label{Haigh}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[height=0.355\textwidth]{figs/8eo_harm_forces_cropped} \hspace{
5mm}
\includegraphics[height=0.35\textwidth]{figs/8eo_harm_forces_legend_cropped}
\caption{FIRST BC HARMONIC (8EO) ABSOLUTE FORCE DISTRIBUTION ON B4.}
\label{8EOforces}
\end{figure}
Upon closer inspection it is evident that the harmonic forces extracted at the f
irst BC harmonic (8EO) are primarily concentrated to a region below mid-span. T
his is depicted in the scatter plot in Fig.~\ref{8EOforces}. Having the forcing
mainly concentrated below mid-span causes the mode excitability for modes~1 and
~2 to be less critical, since these modes have the largest deformation (or energ
y) mainly above mid-span\,---\,see Fig.~\ref{Modes}.
It is further observed in Fig.~\ref{Campbell} that even if the integrated force
from V4 wakes acting on B4 is of the same order of magnitude as the first BC har
monic excitation (see Fig.~\ref{EOmap}), the fatigue risk associated with this E
O excitation is much lower. The reason for this is that the upstream vane EO on
ly affects very high modes and the generalized forces for those are typically mu
ch lower than for the first few modes.
\subsection*{Hot Streak Phenomenological Study}
The total temperature unevenness is not fading out completely along the turbine
due to the low mixing in the circumferential direction. This can be better obse
rved in the mid-span total temperature contours displayed in Fig.~\ref{MidspanTe
mp}. As Fig.~\ref{MidspanTemp} illustrates there is a rather wide hot streak at
the inlet, while the low temperature regions are more localized in this case.
The cold regions are not aligned with any of the blades in V1, and thus they tra
vel rather unaffected before hitting B1. After B1 the sharp cold region is then
modified by the rotating rows. It can also be seen that there is an interactio
n between the low temperature region and the wake behind rotor blade B1.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.42\textwidth]{figs/cfd_total_temperature_mid_span}
\begin{flushleft}
\hspace{12.5mm} V1 \hspace{0.5mm} B1 \hspace{0.5mm} V2 \hspace{0.5mm} B2 \hspace
{4.5mm} V3 \hspace{4.5mm} B3 \hspace{1mm} V4 \hspace{2mm} B4
\end{flushleft}

\caption{MID-SPAN TOTAL TEMPERATURE EVOLUTION ALONG TURBINE; BCS CASE.}

\label{MidspanTemp}
\end{figure}
The local distributions of total temperature have been extracted at the interfac
es at the inlets and outlets of the vanes and are presented in Fig.~\ref{SectorT
emp}. It can be noted that already behind V1 the single hot streak covering the
annular sector is broken up and four hot spots and one cold spot are then creat
ed. This change of the temperature distribution is mainly due to the cooling on
V1 and wake interaction (five vanes in the $45^\circ$ sector).
\begin{figure}[h!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.408\textwidth]{figs/cfd_annular_to_contour_plots_new2}
\caption{TOTAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS AT VANE INLET AND OUTLET INTERFACES; LO
CAL MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM COLOR DISTRIBUTION; BCS CASE.}
\label{SectorTemp}
\end{figure}
After the flow passes the first rotating row (B1) the distribution at the V2 inl
et is again affected, but hot and cold spots similar to those found at the V1 ou
tlet can still be identified. Between the V2 outlet and the turbine exit the te
mperature profile is rather distorted and there are not only variations from the
original profile in the circumferential direction but also radially. The obser
ved radial shifts of the temperature distortion are particularly troublesome in
the context of formulating a simplified analysis approach, which will be discuss
ed briefly later on.
A general observation from Figs.~\ref{MidspanTemp} and~\ref{SectorTemp} is that
the eight annular waves pattern (or one per sector) can be seen all the way unti
l the exit of the turbine. This is an expected outcome that is also consistent
with previously published analytical work, where flow distortions with long circ
umferential wavelength have been seen to survive and propagate with significant
strength much farther downstream than more local, short-wavelength features such
as wakes. It should also be noted that the obtained relative levels of prevail
ing temperature distortion at turbine exit are found to be in reasonable agreeme
nt with measured annular temperature variations in actual industrial gas turbine
s.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.458\textwidth]{figs/stimuli_evolution_blades_8eo_crop}
\\
\includegraphics[width=0.458\textwidth]{figs/stimuli_evolution_blades_16eo_crop}
\\
\caption{INTEGRATED FORCE STIMULI ON ROTOR BLADES ALONG THE TURBINE.}
\label{Stimuli}
\end{figure}
The evolution of the force stimulus due to the burner can harmonics along the tu
rbine can be observed in Fig.~\ref{Stimuli}. For the 8EO excitation (first BC h
armonic) the force stimulus is not decreasing monotonically with axial position.
There is a slight decrease for the first three rotor blades, but then a slight
increase for the last stage rotor blade. The uncharacteristic increase in forc
e stimulus seen for B4 is further illustrated and touched upon later on. A simi
lar force stimulus behavior is observed for both inlet profiles considered (BCM
and BCS). On the other hand, the 16EO force stimulus (second BC harmonic) decre
ases rather dramatically between B1 and B2, after which the dynamic forcing decr
eases at a considerably slower pace. This behavior is observed mainly for the B
CS profile. Hence, in contrast to the first BC harmonic, the second BC harmonic

forcing exhibits in the BCS case an exponential-like decay with axial distance,
i.e., similar to the behavior of wake disturbances. The underlying reason for
this distinctively different behavior in force stimulus between the first and se
cond BC harmonic has so far eluded the authors.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.51\textwidth]{figs/50span_annularTo_and_FFT_V4outlet}
\\
\caption{TOTAL TEMPERATURE ANNULAR DISTRIBUTION (top); FFT DECOMPOSITION (bottom
); V4 OUTLET 50\% SPAN.}
\label{V4_FFT}
\end{figure}
The annular total temperature distributions in the stationary rows (i.e., before
and after the vanes) are obviously related to the unsteady pressure distributio
ns in the rotating frame (i.e., rotor blades). The induced annular variations i
n static pressure could be related to the effects of the hot streak on the poten
tial field perturbations. On the other hand, the total pressure distortions cou
ld be related to hot streak viscous effects. In an effort to further elucidate
the hot streak evolution along the turbine and to understand its relation to the
pressure unsteadiness, Fourier decompositions were made of the annular distribu
tions of total temperature, static pressure, and total pressure at different axi
al and span-wise positions. The axial locations were here taken at the inlets a
nd outlets of the vane rows. A representative sample from the performed Fourier
decompositions is included in Fig.~\ref{V4_FFT}, showing the circumferential va
riation in total temperature (top) and the corresponding harmonic amplitudes (bo
ttom) at mid-span behind V4. Note that the non-uniformity is here presented in
terms of percentages with respect to the mean annular distribution. The Fourier
decomposition at the bottom of Fig.~\ref{V4_FFT} clearly shows that a strong ei
ght-fold annular wave in total temperature remains present even at the last stag
e (B4 inlet). The resulting evolutions through the turbine of total temperature
, static pressure, and total pressure of the first and second BC harmonics are p
resented in Figs.~\ref{AxialBCS} and~\ref{AxialBCM}. The maximum axial position
shown corresponds to the V4 outlet.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
& \multicolumn{1}{l}{\hspace{28mm} To \hspace{55.5mm} Ps \hspace{55.5mm} Po}
\\
\rotatebox{90}{\hspace{10.5mm} 8EO} &
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_8eo_T
o_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_8eo_P
s_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_8eo_P
o_crop} \\
\rotatebox{90}{\hspace{9.5mm} 16EO} &
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_16eo_
To_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_16eo_
Ps_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_sim_16eo_
Po_crop}
\end{tabular}
\caption{TOTAL TEMPERATURE, STATIC PRESSURE, AND TOTAL PRESSURE NON-UNIFORMITY A
LONG SPANS AND AT DIFFERENT AXIAL POSITIONS FOR 8- AND 16-FOLD ANNULAR WAVES; BC
S CASE.}
\label{AxialBCS}

\end{figure*}
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\vspace{4mm}
\begin{tabular}{cc}
& \multicolumn{1}{l}{\hspace{28mm} To \hspace{55.5mm} Ps \hspace{55.5mm} Po}
\\
\rotatebox{90}{\hspace{10.5mm} 8EO} &
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_8eo_
To_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_8eo_
Ps_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_8eo_
Po_crop} \\
\rotatebox{90}{\hspace{9.5mm} 16EO} &
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_16eo
_To_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_16eo
_Ps_crop}
\includegraphics[width=0.314\textwidth]{figs/contour_spans_vs_temp_test_16eo
_Po_crop}
\end{tabular}
\caption{TOTAL TEMPERATURE, STATIC PRESSURE, AND TOTAL PRESSURE NON-UNIFORMITY A
LONG SPANS AND AT DIFFERENT AXIAL POSITIONS FOR 8- AND 16-FOLD ANNULAR WAVES; BC
M CASE.}
\label{AxialBCM}
\vspace{3.35mm}
\end{figure*}
One main observation is that the total temperature non-uniformity is dominant fr
om V1 inlet to V2 outlet (or for the first stage). In the BCS case (Fig.~\ref{A
xialBCS}) the eight-fold total temperature annular variation with respect to the
mean total temperature is reduced from 15\% to around 8\% from the turbine inle
t to the second stage outlet. After B2 the non-uniformity is slightly reduced a
long the stages, with higher gradient at the higher spans. This behavior is sim
ilar for both BCS and BCM profiles. However, the BCM originally shows a more lo
calized gradient between 50\% and 90\% span. The 16-fold annular wave is also d
ominant between the inlet and outlet of the first stage, but it is then reduced
and kept rather low after B1.
The evolutions of static and total pressure annular unevenness do not follow the
exact same behavior as the total temperature. For the static pressure, there i
s higher perturbation between V1 and B2, with especially high perturbations belo
w mid-span at the second stage. This is similar for both BCS (Fig.~\ref{AxialBC
S}) and BCM (Fig.~\ref{AxialBCM}), but with maximum perturbations of 4\% and 1.5
\%, respectively. Moving downstream from B2 the static pressure unevenness decr
eases until the inlet of V4. Then, a slight increase is experienced again behin
d V4. This final increase of the eight-fold annular wave of the static pressure
can be seen clearly also in the BCM profile case. This increase in static pres
sure perturbation could be due to an additional eight-fold annular wave created
by the vane count difference between V2 (40 vanes) and V3 (32 vanes) in the scal
ed model. However, this V2-V3 vane count difference effect should logically be
at its strongest immediately behind V3 and thus be even more pronounced in B3, b
ut this is evidently not the case.
The variation in total pressure for the eight-fold annular wave is rather neglig
ible between V1 and B1. Eight-fold annular total pressure perturbation amplitud
es of any significance appear first after B1; around 2\% in the BCS case and aro
und 0.5\% in the BCM case. They remain at about the same level until V4 outlet.

Generally, the maximum hot streak influence on the potential field effects (se
e static pressure) is around two times stronger than on the viscous effects (see
total pressure). The same proportion is seen for both BCS and BCM.
From Figs.~\ref{AxialBCS} and~\ref{AxialBCM} there is no clear relation between
the evolution of total temperature distortion and the static and total pressure
annular unevenness and consequent blade excitations. The reason for this might
be the large interaction between the cooling flows, viscous and potential field
effects, especially in the rotating rows in the compressor turbine as they featu
re significant amounts of cooling. Additionally, the hot streak exhibits rather
important variations of annular unevenness between the spans along the turbine
stages.
The significant row-wise differences in circumferential and radial distributions
of the total temperature distortion and consequent pressure perturbations are c
rucial \emph{albeit} unfortunate findings in the quest for a simplified approach
to estimate burner can-induced excitation of the blades downstream of B1. If t
he total temperature annular unevenness would instead have been preserved rather
constant along the turbine stages, one could have employed a linearized harmoni
c solver to resolve the excitation strength with sufficient fidelity. This woul
d have implied modeling the blade row of interest only and setting up the burner
can-induced flow perturbations as approximate harmonic inlet boundary condition
s. However, the predicted hot streak evolutions of the two inlet profile cases
investigated here indicate that a simplified and thus faster solution approach i
s unlikely to succeed for multi-stage turbine configurations.
In an attempt to condense the obtained results to some kind of correlation despi
te aforementioned irregularities, it is noted that the 8EO (first BC harmonic) f
orce stimuli are found to be in the range 4--7\% for the BCS case (see Figs.~\re
f{EOmap} and~\ref{Stimuli}) when the eight-fold annular wave in turbine inlet to
tal temperature has an amplitude of around 15\% for most of the span positions (
see Fig.~\ref{AxialBCS}, upper-left). No statement can be made regarding the ge
nerality of this correlation, however. The BCM case does not readily lend itsel
f to the same type of correlation, due to the much larger span-wise variability
of the eight-fold total temperature wave (see Fig.~\ref{AxialBCM}, upper-left).
It must be recalled here, however, that although an integrated measure like for
ce stimulus provides a basic indication of excitation strength, it is the force
distribution on the blade that in the end determines mode excitability and hence
the modal response.
Finally, it would seem prudent to reflect on certain aspects of the scaling to e
ight-fold periodicity, which constitutes one of the key approximations made in t
he presented analyses. In the real engine, where eight-fold periodicity is gene
rally not present, there will be an aperiodic break-up of the hot streaks in the
stators. Similarly, with real vane counts the interaction between cooling flow
and hot streaks will be aperiodic in nature. The aperiodic hot streak break-up
and cooling flow interactions should result primarily in a richer high-engine o
rder spectrum of the excitation forces compared to the presented, scaled situati
on. Consequently, the imposed eight-fold periodicity is not believed to affect
significantly the strengths of the lower burner can harmonics (8EO and 16EO), wh
ich are the ones of primary interest in this investigation.
Moreover, having all vane counts as multiples of eight will lead to vane count d
ifference excitations that are concentrated to 8EO, 16EO, and 24EO (see Table~\r
ef{counts}). Consequently, excitation forces stemming from this source will her
e add to the first, second, and third BC harmonics, whereas they will be distrib
uted over a different set of engine orders in the real engine. However, prior e
xperience indicates that vane count difference excitations are virtually non-exi
stent in similar turbine configurations. The contributions of the artificial, s
caling-induced excitations of this kind to the low-order BC harmonics are theref

ore expected to be minimal also in this case.

As argued in the preceding paragraphs, the impact of scaling is expected to be n
egligible relative to overall uncertainties. Nevertheless, the imposed periodic
ity will affect the simulation results to some\,---\,presently unknown\,---\,ext
ent. For future reference, a fully featured four-stage full-annulus simulation
would therefore be highly desirable to facilitate a qualitative and quantitative
evaluation of the impacts of the presently imposed eight-fold periodicity on ho
t streak evolution, cooling flow interaction, unsteady blade forces, etc. This,
however, is beyond the scope of the presented investigation.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\section*{SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS}
The rotor blade excitation levels due to hot streaks generated by burner cans we
re estimated by means of unsteady 3D time-marched CFD calculations. Two turbine
inlet temperature profiles were considered, which differed in both annular and
radial distributions as well as in gradient strength. Together with material fa
tigue data and representative damping the fatigue risk for the last stage rotor
blade was estimated to be low with predicted resonant stresses well below fatigu
e limits.
The propagation of the annular flow distortions through the turbine was explored
in some detail. It could be observed that the first burner can harmonic blade
force stimuli stayed roughly the same through all stages. In contrast, the seco
nd burner can harmonic stimuli decayed in an exponential manner by approximately
one order of magnitude to turbine exit. The hot streak-induced flow perturbati
ons were found to vary significantly in both circumferential and radial directio
ns from one blade row to the next. It was also shown that the total temperature
annular distribution had a larger influence on the static pressure annular dist
ribution, and rather less influence on the total pressure annular distribution (
a factor of two). This means that the excitations perceived by the blades from
hot streaks are mostly related to the potential field effects.
Due to the large amount of time invested in 3D transient CFD calculations it was
aimed at understanding the hot streak mechanisms and its relation to the final
stimuli on the blades. If the total temperature annular unevenness would have b
een preserved rather constant along the turbine stages, one could employ lineari
zed harmonic solutions encompassing only the blade row of interest with the burn
er can-induced flow perturbations as harmonic inlet boundary conditions. It was
here shown that this is not the case for multi-stage turbines. Both the annula
r and radial distributions change significantly along the stages and this transl
ates into different interactions with potential and viscous excitation effects a
t different axial positions. Even if the integrated force stimuli on the rotor
blades could remain roughly constant for some stages, the radial and annular var
iations would affect the final distributed force on the blades and thus mode exc
itability.
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\begin{acknowledgment}

The authors wish to thank Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB, Finspong, Sweden
, for the permission to publish this material. Additionally, the authors gratef
ully acknowledge all individuals who have supported the process of writing this
paper.
\end{acknowledgment}
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