Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis of an un-cooled turbine blade in an aero gas MARK

turbine engine
R.K. Mishraa,⁎, Johny Thomasb, K. Srinivasanb, Vaishakhi Nandic,
R. Raghavendra Bhattc
a
Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (Engines), C V Raman Nagar, Bangalore 560093, India
b
Engine Division, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, India
c
Central Material Processing Laboratory, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, India

AR TI CLE I NF O AB S T R A CT

Keywords: Failure of an un-cooled turbine blade in an aero gas turbine engine is analyzed to determine its
Fatigue failure root cause. The operational condition of the engine was studied and metallurgical investigations
Surface oxidation are carried out on the fractured blade. The failure has originated from the leading edge and has
Gas turbine engine propagated towards the trailing edge. Thermal cracks due to surface oxidation leading to fatigue
were found to be the cause of the blade failure. Operation at elevated temperatures due to
malfunction of sensors in the engine control system was found responsible for initiating the
thermal cracks.

1. Introduction

Aero gas turbine engines operate at extreme conditions with high throttle excursion which often leads to premature failures of
highly stressed hot end components, particularly turbine blades. Turbine blades generally fail because of creep, oxidation, low-cycle
fatigue (LCF) and high-cycle fatigue (HCF). Release of turbine blade or fractured part of the blade at high energy can cause
catastrophic failure of the engine and the airframe [1,2]. Statistics shows that fatigue failure alone accounts for more than 50% of all
component damages in gas turbine engines. Factors responsible for such damages or failures in turbine blades are generally depend
on the environmental conditions, corrosion and cyclic loads, delayed staring cycles and inadequate maintenance [3–5]. Mechanical
vibration arising from rotor imbalance, aerodynamic excitation occurring due to presence of upstream vanes and downstream struts
are the contributing factors for the fatigue failure of blades. Aeromechanical instability accompanying aerofoil flutter and acoustic
fatigue of sheet metal components in engine components can also attribute to high cycle fatigue in gas turbine engines [6–8].
Though there is a significant improvement in design philosophy as well as material and manufacturing technologies of turbine
blades over the years, the rapid change in operational requirements has increased the turbine blade failure cases. In aero gas turbine
engines vanes and blades of high pressure (HP) turbine are of short height but experience the highest mechanical and thermal
stresses. These vanes and blades therefore are provided with cooling arrangements to withstand the high thermal load to achieve its
design life. Contrary to this, the low pressure (LP) turbine positioned downstream of HP turbine handles gases at lesser temperature
therefore their blades are made uncooled. So any increase in gas temperature reduces the strength of turbine material. Also due to
their higher height and instabilities excited by upstream components like combustor and HP turbine, these blades often suffer more
damages [9].
Depending on the phase of flight, failure of turbine blade can lead to catastrophic failure of a single engine aircraft. Also,

⁎
Corresponding author at: Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (Engines), Bangalore 560093, India.
E-mail address: rkmishra.drdo@gmail.com (R.K. Mishra).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.05.042
Received 26 June 2016; Received in revised form 17 February 2017; Accepted 19 May 2017
Available online 25 May 2017
1350-6307/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

premature withdrawal of the aero engine due to such failures affects the fleet management and has become a great concern for the
designers and operators as well.
Therefore investigation of turbine blade failure in aero gas turbine engines is very important which may give some new inputs to
the designers or may add cautions or alerts in the operational manual. It is also equally important from the view point of engine
assembly and its maintenance. Though many references are available on analysis of turbine blade failures and fatigue failure of
turbine blades is a well-known phenomenon, the root cause in each case is unique [9]. The present paper is one such attempt to
analyze the failure of an un-cooled turbine blade in a fighter class gas turbine engine and to provide some vital inputs which are
generally not paid attention. Thermal cracks due to surface oxidation leading to fatigue were found to be the cause of the blade
failure. Operation at elevated temperatures due to malfunction of sensors in the engine control system was found responsible for
initiating the thermal cracks. The paper also presents various remedial measures to address the blade failures from manufacturing and
operational points of view.

2. Problem definition

The present failure analysis corresponds to the un-cooled turbine blades in an aero gas turbine engine. The nozzle guide vane
segments of the turbine upstream to the rotor blades are with air cooling arrangements and are fitted to the turbine casing. The
turbine rotor assembly consists of a shaft, disc and equiaxed poly-crystal Nimonic 115 blades. The blades are keyed to the disc by fir-
tree roots and are un-cooled.
During the pre flight inspection, damages in turbine rotor blades were noticed. Dislodged materials were searched in the jet pipe
and vicinity of the aircraft, but could not be traced. Engine was withdrawn for investigation causing delay in missions. No
abnormalities were mentioned in the pilot's records related to the previous sorties.

3. Investigation of the failure

3.1. Preliminary investigation

A thorough systematic and well defined procedure was adopted for investigating the present case. Engine history, sortie profiles,
life of critical components, previous work carried out and any defects etc. in the said engine were reviewed which could not reveal
any abnormality [10]. Activities carried out during preliminary investigation are as follows.

• Engine exploitation hours are found to be about 65% of the time between overhaul (TBO) life since last overhaul.
• Review of operating and maintenance records could not reveal any abnormality or previous premature withdrawal.
• Analysis of flight data has shown that the engine had not exceeded any of the operational limitations. Also engine health
monitoring parameters were within limit.
• Visual examination of the engine air intake, inlet guide vanes and external casing was carried out. These components are found
free from dents, scratch marks, damages etc. ruling out ingestion of any birds or foreign object debris.
• Freedom of the rotor spools on hand rotation was satisfactory.
• Magnetic chip detectors were checked for any debris and found within limit.
• Tear down inspection of the engine was carried out and turbine blades of low pressure turbine were found damaged, details of
which are presented in subsequent paragraph. Physical condition of all other modules of the engine was satisfactory.
• Various accessories and systems were inspected and rig tested to confirm their functions and calibration [8,11]. The fuel
accessories and atomizers were found satisfactory as shown in Fig. 1.
• Engine control system was found with faulty sensors which control the fuel supply to combustion chamber as per the throttle
demand. Due to the faulty sensors, the sensor circuit sends a low temperature signal to the control system which in turn tries to
maintain the required temperature by allowing more and more fuel. This is possible in temperature based control logic without
transferring this abnormality to any other engine parameter such as engine rpm. With limited display parameters and absence of
fuel flow indication in the cockpit, the turbine operates at high temperature without any hints to the pilot.

3.2. Tear-down inspection

Physical condition of the turbine rotor blades were found satisfactory except two blades. One blade was fractured in its aerofoil
section at about 2/3rd height from root. The separated mating portion of this blade was not available inside or outside the engine.
Another blade had a deep cut of elliptical shape extending from about 15% to 35% of blade height from root. These two blades along
with an un-affected blade are shown in Fig. 2. These three blades will be described as fractured blade, damaged blade and unaffected
blade throughout this paper.

3.3. Chemical analysis

The chemical composition of the fractured blade was analyzed by spectrometric technique. The material was found to be of a
nickel-chromium-cobalt based alloy with 15% Cr, 15% Co and 53.4% Ni in addition to molybdenum, aluminum and titanium. The
composition conforms to Nimonic-115 material and meets the material specification of the blade [12].

837
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

1.05

1.04

1.03

Fuel Flow/Mean Flow Rate

1.02

1.01

0.99

0.98

0.97

0.96

0.95
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Circumferential Position, clockwise, looking from rear
Fig. 1. Circumferential distribution of fuel.

3.4. Fractography

The fracture surface of the blade was examined under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Low magnification (29 ×) SEM image
of the fracture surface of the blade is shown in Fig. 3. Features of fatigue failure are observed on the fracture surface. High
magnification SEM analysis showed presence of beach marks on the fracture surface of the blade as presented in Figs. 4 and 5 which
are indicative of transients through HCF conditions or sub-LCFs.
From the orientation of the striations, it appeared that fatigue failure had originated from the leading edge of the blade. High
magnification SEM image of the fracture surface captured towards the leading edge of the blade is shown in Fig. 6. Some portion of

Fig. 2. Fractured and damaged turbine blades belonging to the aero engine.

838
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Fig. 3. Low magnification (29 ×) SEM image of the fracture surface of the turbine blade.

the fracture surface in the vicinity of the leading edge showed presence of thick oxide products obscuring majority of the fracture
features underneath. In an attempt to remove the oxide products so as to reveal the underneath features, the fracture surface was
stripped by replicating technique followed by ultrasonic cleaning. The oxide products in this portion were so thick and adherent that
it did not get removed even after repeated steps of stripping and cleaning. High magnification SEM images captured in this portion of
the fracture surface showing presence of thick oxide products are given in Fig. 7. In a very small area of this portion of the fracture
surface, fatigue features (striations) were observed. This area is indicated in Fig. 6 and high magnification SEM images of this area are
shown in Figs. 8 and 9 at two different magnifications. Because of the thick oxide products on the fracture surface, the exact origin of
the fatigue failure at the leading edge could not be identified. However, from the gross fracture features and orientation of striations,
it seems to have been originated from more than one location at the leading edge of the blade. High magnification SEM analysis of the
region in the vicinity of the trailing edge showed the presence of dimples, i.e., ductile overload features which indicates the final
failure zone of the blade as depicted in Fig. 10 [13,14].

3.5. Micro examination of the blades

Micro examination of the blades showed average grain size of ASTM no. 1.5, 2 and 2.5 for fractured blade, damaged blade and
unaffected blade respectively. The grain size and structure of the all the three blades met the requirements specified in the material
specification. Sample was sectioned from the aerofoil of the blade at a location very close to the fracture surface of the blade to study

Fig. 4. High magnification SEM image showing presence beach marks on the fracture surface of the turbine blade.

839
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Fig. 5. High magnification SEM image showing presence of fatigue striations on the fracture surface of the turbine blade.

the microstructure alteration in the blade if any due to overheating in-service. Micro examination did not show any significant
evidence of overheating viz. coarsening, agglomeration, dissolution or re-precipitation of gamma prime and carbide particles in the
blade material at none of the locations, viz. trailing edge, and leading edge close to the surface or in the core. The other blades also
did not show any significant evidence of overheating in the blade material. But the transverse section micro analysis of leading and
trailing edges as well as the concave and convex surfaces of all the blades showed surface oxidation of varying thicknesses. In the
vicinity of the leading edge where the fatigue failure was originated, surface oxidation of thickness in the range of 60–90 μm was
observed. In addition to surface oxidation, oxide-filled intergranular crack was also observed at the leading edge underneath the
oxide layer as shown in Fig. 11. Other areas of the blade showed surface oxidation of thickness less than 50 μm. Numerous oxide-
filled intergranular cracks were also observed underneath the oxide layer in the region of trailing edge of the fractured blade surface
as shown in Fig. 12 [13–16]. There is no transgranular features could be seen on the microscopic analysis.
Similar to the fractured blade, other two blades also showed surface oxidation and numerous oxide-filled intergranular cracks

Zone showing thick

oxide products

Fig. 6. High magnification SEM image captured at the leading edge of the turbine blade.

840
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Fig. 7. High magnification SEM images showing thick oxide products in the portion of the fracture surface at the leading edge of the blade.

Fig. 8. Fatigue striations at the leading edge of the blade as captured by SEM at a magnification of 670 ×.

underneath the surface oxide layer at the leading and trailing edges and on the concave and convex surfaces of the blades. The
leading edge of the damaged blade showed a surface oxidation of about 75 μm thickness. Rest of this blade surface including trailing
edge showed surface oxidation of less than 50 μm. Analysis shows that the second blade damage was of secondary nature.
On careful examination of the fracture surface indicated crack was initiated at the leading edge, microscopic analysis on the failed
blade shown intergranular cracks originating from the leading edge, i.e., from the surface oxidation. Hence, the above observation
significantly suggests that the fatigue crack had initiated due to the surface oxidation and propagated through intergranular nature.
Further, no breakage of grain was seen on the fracture surface suggestive of no transgranular or mixed modes.

841
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Fig. 9. Fatigue striations captured at the leading edge of the blade by SEM at 1480 × magnification.

Fig. 10. High magnification SEM image showing presence of dimpled overload features in the final failure zone at the trailing edge of the fracture surface of the blade.

4. Conclusions

Based on the analysis carried out on fractured turbine blade, the following conclusions can be drawn.

1. Chemistry, grain size and grain structure of the affected blades conformed to the material specification requirements. Further, the
microstructure of these blades was satisfactory as per overheat check guidelines. These rules out the possibility of failure due to
improper material and manufacturing defects [6,7].
2. The fractured turbine blade had predominantly failed by fatigue. The orientation of the fatigue features indicated that failure had
originated from the leading edge of the blade. Thick and adherent oxide products were present on the fracture surface at the

842
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

Fig. 11. Photomicrographs captured at the leading edge of the fractured blade showing surface oxidation and intergranular cracks.

Fig. 12. Photomicrographs captured at the trailing edge of the fractured blade showing surface oxidation.

leading edge which prevented to identify the exact location of the failure. However, from the gross fracture features and
orientation of striations, there is a likelihood that the failure could have originated from more than one location [5,13].
3. The leading and trailing edges as well as the concave and convex surfaces of the fractured blade showed surface oxidation of
varying thicknesses beyond permissible limit. Also numerous oxide-filled intergranular cracks were noticed underneath the oxide
layer appeared to be thermal fatigue cracks. Excessive surface oxidation on the surface of the blades is the most probable cause of
these cracks. These cracks in turn have initiated the failure of the blade. However, during fractography, this could not be
substantiated as the fracture features at the leading edge of the blade were completely obscured due to presence of thick and
adherent oxide products.

843
R.K. Mishra et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 79 (2017) 836–844

4. The possibility of the blade failure due to malfunction of fuel system is ruled out [8,11].
5. The faulty sensors in the engine control system are the root cause responsible for allowing higher fuel flows and causing thermal
fatigue cracks in turbine blades.

5. Remedial measures

Several approaches are commonly employed in gas turbine industries to combat the failure arising from fatigue. The following
remedial measures are the recommended long term solutions to prevent such type of failures.

• Better material and manufacturing process for withstanding high cyclic thermal loads [17,18].
• Application of high temperature oxidation and corrosion resistant coatings for longer blade life [19–22].
• Periodic boroscopic inspection for early detection of surface oxidations.
• Good maintenance of fuel accessories to avoid any malfunction during flight and during rapid throttle excursion which in turn
affects the temperature pattern of turbine blades [23].
• Engine control system should be capable of controlling the turbine entry temperature within the limit in event of fuel system
malfunction or air starvation due to any blockage. Highly reliable control sensors need to be used to avoid such incidents [24,25].
• Monitoring the fatigue life consumption for each critical part of the engine.
References

[1] B.A. Cowles, High cycle fatigue in aircraft gas turbines – an industry perspective, Int. J. Fract. 80 (1996) 147–163.
[2] Hakan Ozaltun, et al., An energy-based method for uni-axial fatigue life calculation, ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea, and Air, American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, 2009.
[3] E. Poursaeidi, M. Aieneravaie, M.R. Mohammadi, Failure analysis of a second stage blade in a gas turbine engine, J. Eng. Fail. Anal. 15 (8) (December 2008)
1111–1129.
[4] Jianfu Hour, Bryon J. Wicks, Ross A. Antoniou, An investigation of fatigue failures of turbine blades in a gas turbine engine by mechanical analysis, J. Eng. Fail.
Anal. 9 (2) (April 2002) 201–211.
[5] S. Suresh, Fatigue of Materials, second ed., Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 256–257.
[6] C.B. Meher-Homji, George Gabriles, Gas turbine blade failures-causes, avoidance and troubleshooting, Proceedings of 27th Turbomachinery Symposium, 1995.
[7] T.N. Mehdi, et al., Failure analysis of gas turbine blades, Proceedings of the 2008 IAJC-IJME International Conference, (2008) 978-1-60643-379-9.
[8] H. Cohen, G.F.C. Rogers, H.I.H. Saravanamuttoo, Gas Turbine Theory, John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
[9] R.K. Mishra, K. Srinivasan, Failure of low-pressure turbine blades in military turbofan engines: causes and remedies, J. Fail. Anal. Prev. 16 (4) (2016) 622–628.
[10] H. Kazempour-Liacy, S. Abouali, M. Akbari-Garakani, Failure analysis of a first stage gas turbine blade, J. Eng. Fail. Anal. 18 (1) (January 2011) 517–522.
[11] A.H. Lefebvre, Gas Turbine Combustion, Taylor & Francis, 1998.
[12] R.B. Ross, Metallic Materials Specification Handbook, Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
[13] Julie A. Bannantine, Jess J. Comer, James L. Handrock, Fundamental of Metal Fatigue Analysis, Prentice Hall Inc., 1990, pp. 40–87.
[14] S.K. Bhaumik, et al., Failure of a low pressure turbine rotor blade of an aeroengine, Eng. Fail. Anal. 13 (8) (Dec 2006) 1202–1219.
[15] R.K. Mishra, Thomas Johney, K. Srinivasan, Nandi Vaisakhi, Bhat Raghavendra, Investigation of LP turbine blade failure in a low bypass turbofan engine, J. Fail.
Anal. Prev. 14 (2) (April 2014) 160–166, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11668-014-9793-7.
[16] R.K. Mishra, Johny Thomas, K. Srinivasan, Vaishakhi Nandi, Raghavendra R. Bhatt, Investigation of HP turbine blade failure in a military turbofan engine, Int. J.
Turbo Jet Engines (September 2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/tjj-2015-0049 (ISSN (Online) 2191-0332, ISSN (Print) 0334-0082).
[17] G.F. Vander Voort (Ed.), Handbook, A. S. M. “Metallography and microstructures”, 9 ASM International, 2004.
[18] Pierre Caron, Tasadduq Khan, Evolution of Ni-based superalloys for single crystal gas turbine blade applications, Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 3 (8) (1999) 513–523.
[19] Hiroshi Harada, High temperature materials for gas turbines: the present and future, International Gas Turbine Congress, Tokyo, Japan, November 2003.
[20] N. Eliaz, G. Shemesh, R.M. Latanision, Hot corrosion in gas turbine components, J. Eng. Fail. Anal. 9 (1) (Feb. 2002) 31–43.
[21] Sudhangshu Bose, High Temperature Coatings, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011.
[22] J. Kameda, et al., High temperature environmental attack and mechanical degradation of coatings in gas turbine blades, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 229 (1) (1997) 42–54.
[23] Karen B. Marais, Matthew R. Robichaud, Analysis of trends in aviation maintenance risk, an empirical approach, Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 106 (Oct 2012) 104–118.
[24] Ladislav Madarász, Ladislav Fozo, Rudolf Andoga, Intelligent Technologies in Modeling and Control of Turbojet Engines, INTECH Open Access Publisher, 2010.
[25] D.G. Mac Martin, T.G. Tillman, Flow Control Opportunities in Gas Turbine Engines, (2000).

844