Gas Turbine Tribology

Gas Turbine
-Internal combustion engine
-Uses air as the working fluid
 Gas Turbine Applications
-Aircraft
-Generators
-Ships and powerboats
-Racing cars
Gas Turbine Tribology Research

Gas turbine roughness-related articles published

 Turbine Component Wear
-Erosion
Suspended particles with the air intake
passing over the compressor section

-High temperature corrosion

High temperature air fuel mixture in contact
with the turbine section
 Erosive Wear in Gas Turbine
Erosive wear is caused by the
impact of particles of solid or
liquid against the surface of an
object.

Severely eroded turbine

compressor blades

Impingement angle of a particle causing

erosion of surface
 Erosive Wear in Gas Turbine

Schematic representation of the effect of impingement angle on wear rates of

ductile and brittle materials
Erosive Wear in Gas Turbine

Effect of temperature on the erosive wear rate of stainless steel

 Erosive Wear in Gas Turbine
-Turbine vane/blade surface deterioration is strongly
dependent on the turbine geometry
-In common with other forms of wear, mechanical
strength does not guarantee wear resistance and a
detailed study of material characteristics is required
for wear minimization
-New blade coatings and materials are continuously
being developed to meet the challenging
requirements of modern gas turbine engines
 Hot Corrosion in Gas Turbine
During combustion sulfur from
the fuel reacts with sodium
chloride from ingested air at
elevated temperatures to form
sodium sulfate. The sodium
sulfate then deposites on the
hot-section components
resulting in accelerated
oxidation. This is commonly Hot corrosion of gas turbine
referred as “hot corrosion.” component
 Hot Corrosion in Gas Turbine
-Abradable coatings are provided to resist thermal
corrosion.
-Turbine designers need to decide on a case-by-case
basis whether metallic or ceramic abradables should
be used
Materials Used in Gas Turbine

Evolution of materials used in gas turbine

 Gas Turbine Performance
-Aerodynamic loss.
-Thermal/heat loss.
 Gas Turbine Performance
Yun et al. conducted performance tests in a low-
speed, single-stage, axial flow turbine with roughened
blades.
 Gas Turbine Performance
J. P. Bons’s review article
 Lubrication in Gas Turbine
-Bearings
-Gears
-Other rotating and rubbing components

Any oil used in an aero engine has to be approved for

that engine type before it can be used in service

Common lubricating oil grades for gas turbine are:

SAE5
SAE5W10
SAE5W20
 Other Gas Turbine Degradations
Fouling
Caused by the adherence of particles to airfoils and
annulus surface.

Damage
Caused by large foreign objects striking the flow path
components.

Abrasion
Caused when a rotating surface rubs on a stationary
surface.
 Other Gas Turbine Degradations

Erosion sample from suction surface leading Fuel deposition sample from pressure surface
edge region trailing edge region
Thank You