Engineering Failure Analysis 84 (2018) 11–24

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Engineering Failure Analysis

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

Vibration analysis for failure detection in low pressure steam MARK

turbine blades in nuclear power plant
Wensheng Zhaoa,⁎, Yanhui Lia, Meixin Xueb, Pengfei Wanga, Jin Jianga
a
Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Machinery Transients (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430072, China
b
701 Institute, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Wuhan 430064, China

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

Keywords: This paper presents an investigation of the failure of a low-pressure steam turbine blade in a
Turbine blade pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant. The dynamical behaviour of the blade is
Resonant vibration analyzed theoretically and experimentally. A three-dimensional finite element model is used to
Failure analysis predict the blade resonances in the operational speed range. Natural frequencies and mode
High cycle fatigue
shapes of the blade at static condition are obtained, then natural frequencies of the blade at
Fretting fatigue
different rotational speeds are calculated with consideration of centrifugal force and steam flow
forces. A Campbell diagram is plotted to predict the likely operational conditions that may cause
resonant vibration of the blade. Vibration tests are conducted to determine the vibration char-
acteristic of the blade. It is found that the 2nd natural frequency of the blade is very close to the
9th rotor speed harmonic. The experimental natural frequencies are in good agreement with the
finite element predicted values. Fretting wear is observed at the concave root surfaces of the
blade trailing edge caused by resonant vibration. The fracture surface of the cracked blade shows
typical fatigue patterns. The fretting wear characteristics in the crack initiation regions are ob-
served.
Stress distribution of the blade at the 9th harmonic frequency is analyzed using an elastic-
plastic finite element model. Fretting fatigue experiments indicate that the fatigue life of the
blade is greatly reduced due to fretting wear. The results of the investigation show that the failure
of the blade is attributed to a combination of high cycle fatigue (HCF) and fretting wear.

1. Introduction

Turbine blades are the critical components in power plants which convert steam flowing into rotary shaft [1]. However, Failures
of turbine blades are widely observed in power plants that will shut off the power supply [2]. The failure mechanisms of blades may
include corrosion due to working fluids, low cycle fatigue caused by transient operations, high cycle fatigue induced by forced
vibrations, etc. [3–5]. Vibration induced fatigue is one of the predominant causes for blade failures in steam turbines [6]. Blades
vibrations are generally excited by the fluid flow, and they may become severe when resonances occur. The turbine blades subjected
to several sources of excitation are highly susceptible to undergo forced vibrations, which may occur at or near natural frequencies of
the blades [7]. The forced vibrations may enlarge the stresses resulting in degradations of the blades, which is referred as high cycle
fatigue (HCF) [8]. Furthermore, a large number of high-stress cycles are accumulated in the blades during startup of turbines.
During the past decades years, vibration analysis for failure detection in turbine blades have been conducted by many scholars
[9–11]. Research on the blades vibration focused on natural frequencies and mode shapes, which were analyzed by modal analysis,

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Zhao).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.10.009
Received 14 July 2016; Received in revised form 11 May 2017; Accepted 11 October 2017
Available online 16 October 2017
1350-6307/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
W. Zhao et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 84 (2018) 11–24

and the causes of cracked blades were also investigated. Static and dynamic finite element analysis were used to determine the
vibration characteristics of blades, modal and harmonic analysis were conducted to analyze the dynamical behaviour of blades, and
Campbell diagrams were used to reveal the critical conditions for resonances when the exciting frequencies are near the natural
frequencies of blades. It was concluded that the dynamic stress coupled with the maximum static stress due to the centrifugal force
may induce the blade fatigue damage.
Since resonance vibration of blades is inevitable, and can affect the fatigue life of blades, vibration analysis of blades is very
important in operational turbines. A three-dimensional finite element model was adopted to investigate the resonances of blades, and
tip timing technique was used to assess the vibration characteristics of blades by Madhavan et al. [12]. A contact stress measurement
method was used to analyze the responses of rotating blades by Robinson and Washburn [13], however, it has a few disadvantages
such as harsh operational conditions and failure of gauges at severe environments. A non-contact stress measurement method was
adopted to investigate the dynamical behaviour of blades by Zielinski and Ziller [14], it can overcome the disadvantages of direct
measurement method and monitor the vibration of blades effectively. Recently, a method was used to investigate the dynamics of
blades by means of monitoring casings vibrations [15–18]. A Lagrangian and Eulerian meshing approach based on signal analysis of
the casing vibration was adopted to study the dynamical behaviour of a single blade by Rao and Dutta [16–18]. In their research, the
vibration response of the casing excited by blade passing frequencies was analyzed to diagnose the status of the blade. A simple model
was used to investigate the dynamics of blades with snubbing effect by Pennacchi et al. [19], the effect of the snubbing on the blade
vibration reduction was studied experimentally, it was found that snubbing was effective when the blade was excited in resonance or
close to resonance.
In the present paper, the failure of the damaged blade is investigated theoretically and experimentally. A finite element analysis
(FEA) and vibration tests are performed to analyze the dynamical behaviour of the blade. The turbine operational conditions that
could lead to resonant vibration of the blade are predicted. The stress distribution of the blade working in resonance condition is
calculated using the finite element method (FEM). Fretting fatigue experiments are conducted to analyze the effect of fretting on the
blade fatigue life.

2. Background

A nuclear power plant was shut down due to high vibration of a steam turbine, and several fourth stage blades were seriously
damaged. The turbine accumulated around 60,000 operation hours to failure. The fourth stage blades with four-tooth fir-tree fixing
roots are free-standing types, one of the fractured blades is shown in Fig. 1. The blade under investigation is a 3000 rpm fourth stage
blade of the 650 MW low-pressure steam turbine, it is made of 0Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb stainless steel, which is a Chinese GB standard
material with chemical composition of C 23.42, Cr 12.76, Ni 2.73, Cu 2.19, Si 0.68, Mn 1.49, Fe 56.73. A crack is observed between
the blade root platform and the first tooth with the use of dye penetration, as shown in Fig. 2. The crack propagates at an angle from
concave side to convex side of the blade root. The crack sizes on the concave side and on the convex side are, respectively, 22 mm and
8 mm.

3. Modeling and analysis

Dynamic analysis of the blade is performed using a finite element method. The three-dimensional model of the blade is estab-
lished, and the high quality meshes are generated. The natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the blade at static condition are
predicted. The natural frequencies of the blade at different rotational speeds are also calculated with consideration of centrifugal

Fig. 1. View of the blade root with crack.

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Fig. 2. Distribution of crack on the blade root: (a) concave side; (b) convex side.

force and steam flow forces. A Campbell diagram is plotted to calculate the likely resonant rotational speeds of the blade.

3.1. Modeling

In this study, a three-dimensional model of the blade is built using an optical scanner system, and the blade model with topology
is imported to the finite element software ANSYS. The three-dimensional model of the blade is shown in Fig. 3. The blade model
employs a mesh of 1,777,254 nodes and 787,828 solid hexahedral elements for this simulation. The computational grids for the finite
element model in the simulation are presented in Fig. 4. The geometric and the material parameters of blade are listed in Table 1.

3.2. Dynamic analysis of the blade

The natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the blade at zero rpm are analyzed, the mode shapes for the first four mode of the
blade are shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that, the 1st mode shape of the blade is in bending mode; the 2nd mode shape of the blade is
in bending-twisting coupling mode; the 3rd mode shape of the blade is in twisting mode; the 4th mode shape of the blade is in
bending-twisting coupling mode.
The four natural frequencies of the blade predicted by FEM are summarized in Table 2. The experimental first four natural
frequencies of the blade are obtained using a roving hammer test, they are also listed in Table 2. It is seen that the first four natural

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Fig. 3. Three-dimensional model of the blade.

frequencies of the blade predicted by FEM are only within 3% difference compared with the experimental results. The finite element
results are in good agreement with the experimental data.
In order to predict the operational conditions that could lead to resonant vibration, a Campbell diagram is plotted, as shown in
Fig. 6. The inclined lines plotted from zero point to the right of the vertical line are the nth harmonic lines. The nearly horizontal lines
plotted from left side to the right side are the natural frequency lines of the blade for different vibration modes. The intersections of
the natural frequency lines with the nth harmonics lines indicate the possible resonances for the blade in the operational speed range.
It can be seen in Fig. 6 that, the 1st vibration mode of the blade at 2042 rpm, 2502 rpm and 3482 rpm, respectively, have
frequencies of 203.4 Hz, 208.0 Hz and 231.5 Hz are very close to the 6th harmonic frequency of 204.2 Hz, the 5th harmonic fre-
quency of 208.5 Hz and the 4th harmonic frequency of 232.1 Hz; the 2nd vibration mode of the blade at 2525 rpm, 2828 rpm and
3214 rpm, respectively, have frequencies of 421.4 Hz, 423.3 Hz and 426.7 Hz are very close to the 10th harmonic frequency of
420.8 Hz, the 9th harmonic frequency of 424.2 Hz and the 8th harmonic frequency of 428.5 Hz. The first four natural frequencies of

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Fig. 4. Finite element model of the blade.

Table 1
Geometric and material parameters of the blade.

Length (L) 479.3 mm

Weight (W) 12.96 kg
Density (ρs) 7780 kg/m3
Young's modulus (E) 191 Gpa
Poisson ratio (ν) 0.27

the blade at corresponding speeds predicted by FEM are listed in Table 3. According to the operation guide for steam turbine given by
the manufacturer, the allowed operational speed range is from 2880 rpm to 3090 rpm. Due to the uncertainty in calculating the blade
natural frequencies, the 2nd blade vibration mode is more likely to be in resonance with the 9th harmonic.

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Fig. 5. Mode shapes of the blade: (a) 1st mode shape; (b) 2nd mode shape; (c) 3rd mode shape; (d) 4th mode shape.

Table 2
Natural frequencies of the blade at static condition.

Mode FEM frequency (Hz) Experiment frequency (Hz) Error (%)

1 191.7 188.3 1.81

2 412.9 408.7 1.03
3 645.1 629.3 2.51
4 795.0 778.8 2.08

Fig. 6. Campbell diagram of the blade.

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Table 3
First four natural frequencies of the blade at different rotational speeds.

Mode Rotational speed (rpm)

2042 2502 2525 2828 3214 3482

Natural frequency 1 203.4 208.0 208.2 212.6 218.3 231.5

(Hz) 2 418.8 421.1 421.4 423.3 426.7 428.5
3 648.9 650.5 650.8 651.6 653.7 656.8
4 797.4 798.0 798.2 799.1 801.2 803.1

4. Experimental analysis

4.1. Experimental set-up

Sinusoidal vibration tests are conducted to determine the dynamic behaviour of the blade under different excitation conditions.
The experimental set-up for measuring the natural frequencies and the vibration responses of the blade is presented in Fig. 7. The
blade root is fixed with two clamps, which are pressed down by two plates on top surfaces of the clamps and are fastened by twelve
bolts. Meanwhile, two pieces of metal blocks are plugged into the blade root groove, an upward vertical force is thus generated,
which is used to simulate the centrifugal force caused by the blade rotation. The schematic diagram of the fixture assembly for the
blade root is shown in Fig. 8. Two acceleration meters are mounted on the inner side of the blade trailing edge and the inner side of
the blade leading edge. The output signals from the acceleration meters are filtered and recorded by a data acquisition system, and
the vibration frequencies and the vibration responses of the blade are analyzed by a signal analysis software. The experimental results
are used to compare with the finite element predictions.

Fig. 7. Photograph of the experimental set-up.

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Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of the fixture assembly for the blade root.

4.2. Natural frequency analysis

The frequency spectrum of the measured blade is shown in Fig. 9. It is seen that the 1st natural frequency of the blade is 189 Hz,
the 2nd natural frequency of the blade is 418–477 Hz, and the 3rd natural frequency of the blade is 511 Hz. The 2th natural frequency
is very close to the 9th rotor speed harmonic. The experimental natural frequencies are in good agreement with the theoretical
predictions.

4.3. Vibration response of the blade

The vibration accelerations of the blade are measured under eight different exciting frequencies, where the frequencies are
respectively f = 175 Hz, 191 Hz, 276 Hz, 313 Hz, 408 Hz, 413 Hz, 525 Hz and 657 Hz. The vibration responses of the blade root are
shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 10(a) shows the vibration response of the inner side of the blade trailing edge, and Fig. 10(b) shows the
vibration response of the inner side of the blade leading edge.
It can be seen in Fig. 10 that, the vibration accelerations of the blade vary with increasing the exciting frequencies, when the
exciting frequency is close to the 2nd natural frequency of the blade, the vibration acceleration of the blade reaches the maximum
value, the exciting frequency is in the vicinity of 408–413 Hz, which corresponds with resonance in the 9th harmonic.
The blade resonant vibration is excited at the 9th harmonic frequency of 413 Hz for 50 h. The fretting wear is observed at the
concave surfaces of the blade root, as shown in Fig. 11.

5. Blade failure analysis

5.1. Metallurgical investigation of the blade

The cracked part of the blade root is cut, polished, cleaned, and then examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The
crack shape on the concave side of the blade root is shown in Fig. 12. It can be seen that there are sub-cracks exists in the crack
initiation area, and the crack tip propagates to two cracks. The typical morphology of the cracked tip is shown in Fig. 13. The damage
seems appear in the form of intergranular cracking. The normal tempered martensitic microstructures are observed, and other
abnormal microstructures do not exist.

Fig. 9. Frequency spectrum of the blade.

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Fig. 10. Vibration responses of the blade root: (a) inner side of the blade trailing edge; (b) inner side of the blade leading edge.

Fig. 11. Fretting wear of the blade root: (a) fretting blade root; (b) fretting surface.

5.2. Fracture surface analysis of the blade

The cracked part of the blade is extracted and opened after cooling in liquid nitrogen. After a cleaning in an ultrasonic alcohol
bath the opened specimen is examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an X-ray electron dispersive spectroscopy
(EDS). The fracture surface of the cracked blade is shown in Fig. 14. The beach marks in Fig. 14 indicate that high cycle fatigue (HCF)
propagates the crack. The fatigue striations are observed on the fracture surface, as shown in Fig. 15. The average striation spacing
varies in the range of 0.8–0.9 μm in the crack propagation regions.
The fretting wear characteristics in the crack initiation regions are observed, as indicated by a box in Fig. 16. Magnification SEM
view of the microstructures on the indicated fretted position is shown in Fig. 17. The chemical compositions of the microstructures
are determined by X-ray EDS, they are mainly composed of Fe, O and Cr, as shown in Fig. 18.
Fretting wear of blade undergoing vibrations may occur when the clearance between the blade root serration and the disc slot is

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Fig. 12. Crack shape on the concave side of the blade root.

Fig. 13. Typical morphology of the crack tip.

small. The fretting action significantly accelerates the successive crack propagation.
It may be concluded that the failure of the damaged blade is caused by a combination of high cycle fatigue (HCF) and fretting
wear. The crack initiation and propagation of the blade may be attributed to high cycle fatigue (HCF) and important fretting wear
contribution, which is induced by the contact between the blade root and the rotor disc when vibrations occur.

5.3. Static stress of the blade

The static stress of the blade at rotational speed 2828 rpm is analyzed, centrifugal force and steam flow forces are considered in
the elastic-plastic stress calculation. The contact between the blade and the rotor is non-linear boundary condition.
The Von Mises stress distribution of the blade due to centrifugal force and steam flow forces is shown in Fig. 19. It is seen that the
maximum Von Mises stress is about 579 MPa, which is located at the concave root side of the blade trailing edge. The Von Mises stress
at the crack initiation position is about 324 MPa. The maximum stress of the blade is lower than the yield strength of the blade
material σs = 707 MPa.

5.4. Evaluation of the fretting fatigue of the blade

Fretting fatigue experiments are conducted to analyze the influence of fretting on the blade fatigue life. The experiments are
conducted on a servo-hydraulic testing machine with a frequency of 15 Hz. The experimental specimens cut from the cracked blade

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Fig. 14. Micrograph of the cracked blade fracture surface.

Fig. 15. Typical fatigue striations on the fracture surface.

are rod structures with diameter d = 8 mm. Frictional pairs made of turbine rotor steel are used to contact with the experimental
specimens, the loading force extends from 0.4 to 4 KN, which ensure that the contact stress on the contact surface is lower than the
yield strength. The fretting fatigue tests are performed with a stress amplitude of 560 ± 350 MPa on the specimen after 106 cycles of
fretting. The fatigue life of the fretted specimen is 166,724 cycles, while the fatigue life of the unfretted specimen is 1,074,301 cycles.
The fatigue life of the specimen is reduced by 85% due to fretting wear.
The high-magnification SEM fractography of the fretting fatigue specimen is shown in Fig. 20. It is seen that an amount of wear
debris adheres to the fretted surface. The accumulated debris may induce stress concentration and cause the crack initiation, the
fretting action may accelerate the crack propagation. The micro-scaled oxide particles on the wearing surface show typical fretting
fatigue characteristics.

6. Conclusions

In this study the finite element analysis and the experimental investigation are conducted to investigate the failure of the turbine
blade. The fracture surface of the cracked blade shows typical high cycle fatigue patterns. The fretting wear characteristics in the
crack initiation regions are observed. It may be concluded that the failure of the blade is attributed to a combination of high cycle
fatigue (HCF) and fretting wear, which is induced by the contact between the blade root and the rotor disc when resonant vibration

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W. Zhao et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 84 (2018) 11–24

Fig. 16. Wear patterns near the crack initiation position.

Fig. 17. Microstructures on the fretted surface.

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Fig. 18. Chemical compositions of the microstructures.

Fig. 19. Von Mises stress distribution of the blade.

occurs.
The three-dimensional finite element analysis is performed to predict the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the blade.
The first four natural frequencies of the blade at static condition predicted by FEM are only within 3% difference compared with the
experimental results. The finite element results are in good agreement with the experimental values. The Campbell diagram shows
that the 2nd vibration mode of the blade at 2828 rpm is more likely to be in resonance with the 9th harmonic. The vibration tests
indicate that the vibration response of the blade reaches the maximum value as the exciting frequency is in the vicinity of
408–413 Hz, which corresponds with resonance in the 9th harmonic. Fretting wear is observed at the concave root surfaces of the
blade trailing edge for 50 h resonant vibration.
The maximum Von Mises stress of the blade at 2828 rpm located at the concave root side of the blade trailing edge is about
579 MPa, which is lower than the yield strength. Fretting fatigue experiments show that the fretting wear has a strong influence on
the fatigue life of the blade, which is reduced by 85%. The wear debris accumulated on the fretted surface may cause the crack
initiation and propagation.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51409197) and
Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2015CFB253).

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Fig. 20. High-magnification SEM view of the specimen fracture surface.

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