Morgan to present innovative approach to IGT repairs at Turbine Forum 2015

12th March 2015
Posted By : Jacqueline Regnier
Morgan to present innovative approach to IGT repairs at Turbine Forum 2015

Morgan Advanced Materials looks set to make a big impression at this year's Turbine Forum, which is taking place in Nice, France, from 22-24 April 2015.

Morgan is hosting the welcome reception at this highly respected international event, which is focussed this year on “Effective Repair & Life Extension of Turbine Components”, with experts in the field from many of the industry’s leading companies expected to participate. However, Morgan's involvement does not end there: the company will also host an exhibit at the event and is teaming up with a customer, Turbine Controls Inc. (TCI), for a presentation on the innovative use of brazing technologies in the repair of industrial gas turbine (IGT) components.

The presentation, entitled 'Brazing Technologies - Creating Value in IGT Component Restoration', will describe how Morgan Advanced Materials and TCI have together developed a novel approach that restored components in the IGT hot-section which would otherwise have been scrapped. The refurbishment of these components resulted in significant savings for the turbine operator as the repair was a fraction of the price of new replacement components, known to be in the range of US$500K to US$700K per set, and resulted in a more viable process than traditional repair techniques. 

The use of pre-sintered pre-forms (PSP) of speciality alloys offers several advantages over typical repairs, such as hard face welding or high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings. While these traditional approaches tend to require high-quality materials and the careful matching of repair material to substrate qualities, PSP alloys can be tailored to comply with the customer's specific chemistry and properties, and fulfil any wear requirements. PSP repairs can also heal superficial cracks that have been caused by previous welding or during operation, and have porosity equal to or better than the OEM and HIPed casting.  Furthermore, the use of PSP is not restricted to a single alloy; other materials can be used, in order to best meet the mechanical properties and repair requirements of any given job.

By employing PSP to braze repair turbine parts, it is possible to restore parts to OEM dimensions.  Further healing of cracks and surface build-up can also be achieved in a single furnace run for an entire set of turbine engine components.  The metallurgical bond at interface and restored surface has been reported to be as good as or better than the original. PSP restoration far exceeds the properties conferred by PLASMA or HVOF coatings and eliminates the heat affected zone produced by welding.   The PSP repair requires only minimal finishing and is durable with excellent wear characteristics. It typically reduces turn around times to return turbines back to service

Luca Leone, Morgan Advanced Materials' Business Development Lead - Europe, will be co-presenting at Turbine Forum with Alan Demmons, Development Engineer, who leads the project and Hemann Munasinghe, Principal Engineer, from TCI. TCI is an FAA approved repair station focused on the overhaul and repair of components and accessories for commercial, military, industrial and airframe applications.

Luca believes that PSP repairs offer major advantages over alternative techniques: “Welding cobalt alloys has value as a common approach to some IGT repairs, but is dependent upon welder skills to obtain the quality standards needed.  Also, newer, nickel base precipitation hardened alloys used currently are either difficult to weld or un-weldable due to hot cracking during welding or strain-age cracking in post weld heat-treatment. Morgan and TCI recognised the need for an alternative solution that avoided these problems, and so developed the innovative PSP T800 braze repair.  We are very much looking forward to making our presentation in such illustrious company, and to discussing co-development of PSP repairs with industry experts from around the world."

 


You must be logged in to comment

Write a comment

No comments




Sign up to view our publications

Sign up

Sign up to view our downloads

Sign up

GISEC Global
23rd April 2024
United Arab Emirates Halls 2-8 - Dubai World Trade Centre
The Magnetics Show US
22nd May 2024
United States of America The Pasadena Convention Center
2024 World Battery & Energy Storage Industry Expo (WBE)
8th August 2024
China 1st and 2nd Floor, Area A, China Import and Export Fair Complex