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Compressor Blade Corrosion Limits: Applicable To

This document provides new corrosion pit limits for compressor blades made of AISI 403 steel with NiCd coating. It establishes maximum allowable pit sizes depending on the operating environment being dry, humid, or corrosive. For blades operating in corrosive environments or those showing evidence of pitting or corrosive deposits, replacement with GTD-450 or GECC-1 coated blades is recommended during the next major inspection. Annual inspections of inlet guide vanes and first stage rotor blades are also advised along with checking all blades during major inspections when casings are removed.

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156 views2 pages

Compressor Blade Corrosion Limits: Applicable To

This document provides new corrosion pit limits for compressor blades made of AISI 403 steel with NiCd coating. It establishes maximum allowable pit sizes depending on the operating environment being dry, humid, or corrosive. For blades operating in corrosive environments or those showing evidence of pitting or corrosive deposits, replacement with GTD-450 or GECC-1 coated blades is recommended during the next major inspection. Annual inspections of inlet guide vanes and first stage rotor blades are also advised along with checking all blades during major inspections when casings are removed.

Uploaded by

Kees
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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COMPRESSOR BLADE CORROSION LIMITS

APPLICABLE TO:

MS5001N/P/R, MS5002, MS6001A/B, MS7001B/C/E/EA, MS9001E

PURPOSE

This TIL revises the allowable corrosion pit sizes on the compressor blades and stator vanes.
The limits are dependent on the operating environment and apply equally to stator vanes or
rotor blades. For machines with earlier version AISI 403 blades/vanes, in severe operating
environments, a replacement with present production components is recommended during or
prior to the first major inspection.

BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION

Under certain environmental conditions, corrosion occurs on compressor blades (stationary


and rotating). The primary cause is corrosive chemical elements in aqueous environments
including condensate on the blade surface. On earlier machines, Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)
plating was used on AISI 403 blades to minimize the corrosion attack. In recent production, to
further counter the effects of corrosive environment, the blade material was changed to GTD-
450 or 403CB, depending on the stage design GTD-450 material is much better suited to
corrosive environments and eliminates the need for coating. Also, in some cases, the old NiCd
coating has been superceded by GECC-1 which is a ceramic type coating. Both GTD-450 and
GECC-1 are in current production.

Recent testing has yielded a further understanding of corrosive environments and new
corrosion pit limits which differentiate between operating environments. Tests on AISI 403 with
NiCd show that the environmental factors are crucial in determining the allowable corrosion pit
sizes.

In recent experience, field observations have detected cracks on first stage stator vanes on
five MS7001E’s with AISI 403 blades with NiCd coating. One of these five units sustained a
stator vane failure with consequential damage to the compressor. In addition, a MS9001E
stage 1 stator blade of this type has also exhibited these cracks. In all cases, these blades had
over 50,000 hours of operation in very corrosive environment. To date, the cracks have been
observed on stationary blades only. Another important field observation is that these cracks
are difficult to detect and can propagate during normal operation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1) New Corrosion Pit Limits for AISI 403 with NiCd coating.

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Page 2 of 2

It is recommended that the inlet guide vanes (IGV’s) and first stage rotor blades be inspected
for corrosion pitting on an annual basis or when the unit is down for a scheduled inspection. All
blading should be inspected during a major inspection when the compressor casings are
removed. If corrosion pitting is found that exceeds the limits in table 1, all blades of that stage
should be replaced with GTD-450 blades or AISI 403 blades coated with GECC-1 coating.

MAXIMUM CORROSION PIT WIDTH - MILS (MM)

-------------------ENVIRONMENT----------------

Zone Dry Humid Corrosive


Environ- < 60% pH = 5.5 to 7.0 pH < 5.5
ment Note: Relative
Humidity

A 30 (0.76) 15 (0.38) 10 (0.25)

B and 80 (2.03) 80 (2.03) 30 (0.76)


C

Table 1

NOTE: Field observation shows most pitting in zone B and C and in the root fillet of zone A.
Corrosive environment is defined as operation where the deposits on the blades show a
presence of sulfides and/or chlorides or when pH is lower than 5.5 (acidic environment).

2. It is recommended that AISI 403 stationary and rotating blades, including the IGV’s with
NiCd coating, operating in a corrosive environment or blades which have evidence of pits
or deposits with sulfides and/or chlorides be replaced during or prior to the first major
inspection. The recommended replacements are GTD-450 blades, or blades that have
GECC-1 coating (the current design is specific to the individual stage).

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