Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 1202–1219

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure of a low pressure turbine rotor blade of an aeroengine

S.K. Bhaumik *, M. Sujata, M.A. Venkataswamy, M.A. Parameswara
Failure Analysis Group, Materials Science Division, National Aerospace Laboratories, P.O. Box 1779, Bangalore 560 017, India

Received 2 December 2005; accepted 3 December 2005

Available online 30 January 2006

Abstract

During a test run of an aeroengine, a low-pressure turbine rotor blade had failed. The turbine blades were made of Ni-
base superalloy of CM 247 LC grade and fabricated by DS investment casting. The blades were coated with platinum alu-
minide. Investigation revealed that the blade had failed by fatigue. It was concluded that the coating on the blade had
developed cracks due to excessive bending/vibration, which in turn propagated by fatigue leading to the failure.
Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Gas turbine; Rotor blade; Superalloy; Coating; Microstructure

1. Introduction

During the past few decades, the operating temperatures of gas turbine engines have been on the rise to
achieve higher and higher engine power and efficiency. This has necessitated a continuing advancement in
the temperature withstanding capabilities of materials used in their construction. In this context, the develop-
ment of turbine blades posed a great challenge. Ni-base superalloys are traditionally used in the hot section of
gas turbine engines to take advantage of their high temperature mechanical strength. The early superalloy
compositions contained sufficient amount of Cr (20 wt%) to provide satisfactory oxidation and corrosion
resistance at moderate temperatures (700 °C) [1]. But, the new generation aero gas turbines generally operate
at comparatively high temperatures. Turbine blade temperatures in advanced commercial aero gas turbines
may exceed 1000 °C for short times [2], but normally operate below 900 °C [3], whereas temperatures in mil-
itary engines are often above 900 °C [4]. In Ni-base superalloys, the high temperature mechanical properties
are enhanced by increasing the content of the alloying elements. One of the major requirements in this exercise
was to develop alloys with maximum creep-rupture strength. This could be achieved at the cost of Cr wherein
the Cr content of the alloy was brought down to a level of 6 wt% or less. However, combined with an addi-
tion of 6 wt% Al, this amount of Cr was found adequate to provide good oxidation resistance [5].
The advancement in the high temperature capabilities of the superalloys has been achieved by optimizing
the alloying contents to a maximum limit. This has impaired the workability of the alloys so much that the

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 080 2508 6277; fax: +91 080 2527 0098.
E-mail address: subir@css.nal.res.in (S.K. Bhaumik).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2005.12.002
 S.K. Bhaumik et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 1202–1219 1203

only option left for the fabrication of components is by the investment casting route. This has resulted in new
cast alloys along with the subsequent development of complex casting technologies. The new generation tur-
bine blades are invariably either directionally solidified (DS) with the grains oriented along the blade axis or
made as single crystal. This has enhanced the creep-rupture resistance of the blades to a great extent pushing
further the possible engine operating temperatures.
The development of alloys with enhanced mechanical properties as well as environmental resistance beyond
a limit was found unachievable. Hence, the use of coatings was pursued to provide surface protection for
desirable superalloy compositions with maximum high temperature mechanical capability [1,6]. Of the numer-
ous coatings that have been applied to Ni-base cast alloys, aluminizing appears to be the most suitable one to
provide high-temperature environmental protection [7].
Coating and the structural material differ from each other not only in their chemical composition and
microstructure but also in their physical and/or mechanical properties. Hence, the coating–substrate interac-
tions greatly influence the properties of a coated component and its lifetime. Most of the coatings employed
are brittle in nature and hence premature failure of a component due to insufficient strain tolerance is of major
concern. A critical property of either coating or substrate material generally governs the mechanical properties
of a coated component and its failure mechanism [8]. In practice, further complications arise due to the geo-
metrical situation and the loading conditions. Therefore, failures in these components are often complex and
difficult to analyze.
In this paper, a case history on failure of a platinum aluminide coated low-pressure turbine rotor blade of
an aeroengine is presented.

2. Background

During a test run of a developmental engine, a thud sound was heard when the engine was running at about
95% of the rated rpm followed by severe vibration, and the engine was immediately shut down. Preliminary
investigation revealed that fracturing of one of the low-pressure turbine rotor (LPTR) blades was responsible
for the engine failure. The blades were in service for about 220 h.
The LPTR blades were made of Ni-base superalloy of CM 247 LC grade (Table 1) and fabricated by DS
investment casting. The blades were coated with platinum aluminide by diffusion process.

3. Failure identification

3.1. Strip examination of the engine

Strip examination of the engine revealed fracturing of one of the LPTR blades in the airfoil near the blade
root platform (Fig. 1). All the blades of the low-pressure turbine rotor were found damaged to varying extents.
The damages were in the form of dent marks, cracking and tip rubbing. A number of high-pressure turbine
rotor (HPTR) blades were found to have dent marks caused by internal object damage (IOD). The mangled
airfoil section of the fractured LPTR blade was retrieved from the jet pipe. Preliminary investigation suggested
that the engine failure was due to the failure of this LPTR blade.

Table 1
Chemical composition of CM 247 LC alloy
Element wt% Element wt%
Co 9.0–9.5 C 0.07–0.08
W 9.3–9.7 Zr 0.007–0.02
Cr 8.0–8.5 Mg 80 ppm (max)
Al 5.4–5.7 B 0.01–0.02
Ta 3.1–3.3 S 0.001 (max)
Hf 1.4–1.6 Si 0.03 (max)
Ti 0.6–0.9 Fe 0.15 (max)
Mo 0.4–0.6 Ni Balance
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Fig. 1. Fractured LPTR blade-A.

3.2. Fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI)

All the LPTR blades were subjected to fluorescent dye penetrant inspection to ascertain the presence of
cracks, if any. Examination revealed crack like indications in three blades (Figs. 2–4). The FPI observations
are summarized in Table 2. In one of the blades, a series of parallel transverse cracks were observed on the
airfoil (Fig. 4). However, none of the blades showed any indication of peeling off of coating.

3.3. Visual and stereo-binocular examination

The blade-A had fractured at a height of about 26 mm from the blade root platform. The fracture surface
showed two distinct fracture regions (Fig. 5). Region I, up to about 28 mm from the trailing edge, was discol-

Fig. 2. LPTR blade-B with a crack revealed by FPI.

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Fig. 3. LPTR blade-C with multiple cracks (arrows) revealed by FPI.

Fig. 4. LPTR blade-D showing transverse cracks revealed under UV light after FPI.

Table 2
FPI observations
Identification Observations
Blade-A The blade had fractured in the airfoil near the blade root platform (Fig. 1)
Blade-B A crack noticed on the convex surface of the blade close to fillet radius at the blade root (Fig. 2)
Blade-C The blade showed presence of multiple cracks (Fig. 3)
Blade-D A series of parallel transverse cracks were present on the airfoil of the blade (Fig. 4)

oured due to oxidation. This region had a smooth and flat surface. The remaining fracture surface, region II,
had a fresh and rough surface, and had coarse crystalline appearance. The gross fractographic features in
region I were indicative of progressive failure. In the progressive crack propagation region, i.e. in region I,
fracture surface showed variation in colouration from gray to dark blue to light yellow starting from leading
edge. This indicates differential time exposure of the fracture surface to hot gas.
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Fig. 5. Fracture surface of blade-A showing different regions of fracture (TE: trailing edge; LE: leading edge).

The crack in blade-B was pulled open after making a suitable cut. The mating fracture surface with the root
of the blade is shown in Fig. 6. The pre-existing crack surface and the freshly opened surface are marked.
Observation revealed that the pre-existing crack surface was smooth, shiny and golden yellow in colour. After
initiation, the crack had propagated over a distance of about 27 mm on the convex surface of the blade. It was
a through thickness crack on the convex side of the cooling passage and had encompassed the first bridge
(from the trailing edge) in the cooling passage. The crack had initiated in the airfoil of the blade just above
the fillet radius at a distance of about 18 mm from the trailing edge (Fig. 6).
Multiple cracks were seen in blade-C (Fig. 3). Some of the cracks were at the fillet radius region, while the
others were at the trailing edge at a height of about 26–28 mm from the blade root platform. All these cracks
were very tight and shallow. Attempts made to open the cracks for further study failed. However, a cross sec-
tion of the blade containing one of these cracks was metallographically prepared and observed under an opti-
cal microscope. The crack depth was measured to be about 30 lm (Fig. 7). This particular blade had
secondary damages at the tip near the trailing edge.

Fig. 6. Fracture surface of the blade-B (LE: leading edge; TE: trailing edge).
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Fig. 7. Optical micrograph showing crack depth on the airfoil surface of blade-C.

The parallel transverse cracks seen on the airfoil of blade-D (Fig. 4) were also similar in nature to those in
blade-C. These cracks were very tight, shallow and confined to the coating only (Fig. 8). Tip rubbing was
observed in this blade.

3.4. Scanning electron fractography

Fig. 9 shows the fracture surface of blade-A at the trailing edge (region I). Macrofractographic features
were indicative of progressive failure like fatigue though no distinctive beach marks were seen. At higher mag-
nifications, typical fatigue striations could be observed. The striations orientation and spacing were found
varying from place to place. Following the orientation of the striations at different locations, the fatigue crack
origins were identified. In Fig. 9, at location 1, the fatigue crack appeared to have initiated at the trailing edge,
whereas at locations 2 and 3, the cracks appeared to have originated at the concave surface and convex surface
of the blade, respectively (Figs. 10–12).

Fig. 8. Airfoil surface of blade-D showing coating cracks.

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Fig. 9. SEM fractograph at the trailing edge of blade-A.

Fig. 10. SEM fractograph of blade-A showing fatigue striations at the location marked 1 in Fig. 9.

Fracture surface near the cooling passage of the blade-A is shown in Fig. 13. A wide variation in fracto-
graphic features ranging from transgranular to intergranular to cleavage was observed (Figs. 14–16). There
were indications of multiple crack fronts (Fig. 14) and each of these crack fronts had propagated in a direction
depending on the local grain orientation and stress pattern. In some cases, these cracks were found to have
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Fig. 11. SEM fractograph of blade-A showing fatigue striations at the location marked 2 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 12. SEM fractograph of blade-A showing fatigue striations at the location marked 3 in Fig. 9.

emanated from the cleaved grain surface. Cracks on the convex side appeared to have initiated from the sur-
face (Fig. 15), whereas that on the concave side appeared to have progressed from within the blade at the trail-
ing edge side and exited at the concave surface (Fig. 16). In region II, i.e. at the leading edge, the fracture
surface showed dimple rupture typical of overload failure (Fig. 17).
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Fig. 13. SEM fractograph of blade-A at the cooling passage.

Fig. 14. SEM fractograph of blade-A showing beach marks at the location marked 1 in Fig. 13.

Fractographic features in blade-B were found quite different from those in blade-A. Fig. 18 shows a low
magnification fractograph near the crack origin region. In this blade, well-defined beach marks, typical of fati-
gue, were present on the fracture surface (Fig. 19). From the orientation of the beach marks, the fatigue crack
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Fig. 15. High magnification fractograph of the region shown in Fig. 14 showing fatigue striations.

Fig. 16. SEM fractograph of blade-A showing beach marks on a cleavage plane at the location marked 2 in Fig. 13.

origin could be identified unambiguously and it was found to be on the convex surface of the airfoil just above
the fillet of the blade root and at a distance of about 18 mm from the trailing edge. After initiation, the crack
had propagated at a faster rate in the coating than in the blade material resulting in beach marks with rela-
tively large radius of curvature.
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Fig. 17. SEM fractograph of the blade-A at the leading edge showing dimple rupture, typical of overload failure.

Fig. 18. SEM fractograph of the blade-B at the crack origin region.

Similar to that mentioned for blade-A, in blade-B also, there were wide variations in fractographic features
from region to region. In some regions, the fracture appeared to be completely brittle in nature (Fig. 20). Pro-
gressive crack growth along the cleavage planes was also observed in some of the areas (Fig. 21).
 S.K. Bhaumik et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 1202–1219 1213

Fig. 19. SEM fractograph of the blade-B at a location marked 1 in Fig. 18; note the radius of curvature of the beach marks.

Fig. 20. SEM fractograph of blade-B at a location marked 2 in Fig. 18; note the brittle nature of fracture.

The fracture in the platinum aluminide coating was extremely brittle in nature. There were no abnormalities
in the coating as such and it was found uniform throughout. No cracking was observed along the coating –
base material interface in any of the blades. The thickness of the coating on the fracture surface was measured
to be about 70 lm. No cracking was observed at the coating – base material interface.
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Fig. 21. SEM fractograph of the blade-B at a location marked 3 in Fig. 18; note fatigue striations on cleavage planes.

4. Metallurgical characterization

4.1. Blade material

The microstructure of the blade material is shown in Figs. 22–25. It consisted of c-nickel solid solution, c 0 -
precipitates, carbide particles and c-c 0 eutectic pools. The c 0 -precipitates were found uniform throughout the
cross section of the blade, and exhibited typical cuboidal shape (Fig. 25). This is the normal microstructure of
cast CM 247 LC alloy. There were no evidences of overheating of the blade.

4.2. Coating

A sample was cut from the failed blade close to the fracture surface and electroplated with nickel for surface
protection. The sample was then mounted on its cross section, metallographically prepared and observed in
scanning electron microscope in the back scattered electron mode. A typical microstructure of the coating
is shown in Fig. 26. It consists of three layers namely, outer two phase layer (PtAl2 + NiAl) followed by NiAl
layer and interdiffusion layer. The thickness of the coating excluding the interdiffusion zone was measured to
be about 70 lm.

4.3. Hardness survey

A suitable sample was cut from the fractured blade-A, polished metallographically on its cross section and
hardness survey was conducted from trailing edge to leading edge using a microhardness tester at a load of
500 g. The hardness values measured were in the range 380–395 HV and it was uniform throughout the blade
cross section.
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Fig. 22. Optical microstructure of the blade material consisting of c-nickel solid solution, c 0 -precipitates, carbide particles and c-c 0 eutectic
pools.

Fig. 23. Optical microstructure showing c/c 0 eutectic pool.

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Fig. 24. Optical microstructure showing dendritic and interdendritic carbides.

Fig. 25. SEM micrograph showing cuboidal c 0 -precipitates in the c-matrix; note the uniform precipitate size.
 S.K. Bhaumik et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 1202–1219 1217

Fig. 26. Back scattered electron micrograph of the coating on blade-A showing different zones of microstructure.

5. Failure analysis

From the fractographic features, it is evident that the blade-A had failed by fatigue. Fatigue crack had ini-
tiated in the airfoil above the blade root platform near trailing edge and progressed over a period of time
before final rupture. From fractographic examination, it was evident that there were multiple fatigue crack
origins. The fatigue cracks had initiated at the coating – base material interface.
The microstructure of DS CM 247 LC alloy is highly anisotropic and hence the fracturing process during
fatigue crack growth is complex. The fracture mode changes drastically from transgranular to intergranular
and vice versa depending on the local microstructural variation. Also, the crack growth rate and the crack
growth direction have strong dependence on the crystallographic orientation of c-matrix with respect to
the principal stress axis. Secondary crack initiation was frequently observed at the grain boundaries. Another
fractographic feature that has to be noticed in the present case is the crack arrest marks/striations on the cleav-
age planes. From the relative proportion of the slow crack propagation region and fast fracture region, and
the microfractographic features, it is inferred that the fatigue was of high cycle – low stress type.
Fractographic features suggest that the fatigue cracking of the blade-A had taken place in two steps. In the
first step, the crack has initiated in the brittle platinum aluminide coating and propagated laterally in the coat-
ing itself. At this stage, the depth of the crack was confined to the coating layer only. In the second step, a
number of fatigue cracks initiated at the coating-blade material interface and propagated simultaneously.
Probably, the above mechanisms can explain the crack arrest marks/striation being too straight near the blade
surface and also, the fatigue cracks always being initiated at the blade surface irrespective of its location, i.e.
trailing edge, concave surface, convex surface, etc.
In a coated blade, the load is transferred from the blade material to the coating by shear stresses at the
interface. If the bond strength at the interface is lower than that of the shear stress, the coating fails by delam-
ination. On the other hand, if the interfacial strength is sufficient, the coating follows the strain in the blade
material [8]. A brittle high modulus coating such as the platinum aluminide has a very limited ductility even at
temperatures as high as 900 °C. The stress intensity required to initiate a crack is often very close to critical
1218 S.K. Bhaumik et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 1202–1219

fracture stress intensity, KIC, for this class of materials [9]. Therefore, if the blade is subjected to bending
beyond a limit, the coating immediately develops cracks. Once initiated, the cracks propagate instantaneously
in the transverse direction and encompass the whole blade surface while the depth of the cracks remains con-
fined to the top platinum aluminide coating layer (see Fig. 4).
Similar explanations hold true for blade-B as well. The large radius of curvature of the beach marks is basically
due to faster propagation of the crack in lateral direction than that in the crack front direction. This also resulted
in striations, which appeared too straight especially near the blade surfaces. Once the crack enters the blade mate-
rial, the crack front deviates depending on the grain orientations resulting in multiple fatigue crack fronts.
Shallow parallel cracks seen on blades-C and D appear to be secondary in nature and subsequent to the
primary failure of the blade-A. The excess bending of the blade caused due to tip rubbing or hitting with solid
objects after the primary failure is believed to have resulted in such cracking in the coating layer.
Microstructure of the blade material was normal and found to be typical of that observed in cast CM 247
LC alloy. There were no metallurgical abnormalities in the blade material. Microstructure of the coating was
also found satisfactory. The coating thickness was measured to be about 70 lm, which is in compliance with
the specification.

6. Most probable cause of failure

Gas turbine blades are generally designed to avoid high cycle fatigue (HCF). Hence HCF failure is rare in
turbine blades, unless some form of initiating damage is present [10]. Analysis shows a similar failure mech-
anism in the present case. It is believed that the fatigue failure of the LPTR blades was a result of cracking of
the platinum aluminide coating. The cracking of the coating material can be attributed to excess bending of
the blades and the causative factor for this appears to be excessive vibration in the engine.

7. Conclusions

The engine failure was due to fatigue fracturing of a low pressure turbine blade. Excessive vibration in the
engine is believed to have resulted in generation of shallow cracks in the brittle platinum aluminide coating
layer. These cracks have acted as stress raisers and subsequently, a number of fatigue cracks had initiated
at the coating – blade material interface, which propagated progressively across the thickness of the blades.
Once the fatigue crack had reached a critical length in blade-A, it had fractured leading to other damages
in the engine. The fatigue crack in blade-B was still below the critical length. Coating cracks in blades-C
and D were developed during secondary damages following the primary failure in blade-A.

Acknowledgments

The help rendered by Mr. C.R. Kannan and Ms. Kalavathi for NDT and Scanning Electron Microscopy
work, respectively, is acknowledged. Mr. R. Rangaraju and Dr. T.A. Bhaskaran were members of the inves-
tigating team. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. A.C. Raghuram, Dr. R.V. Krishnan and Dr.
R. Krishnan for fruitful discussions during the course of this analysis. The authors are thankful to Director,
NAL for permission to publish this work.

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