Turbine inlet temperatures over the next few years will approach 1650°C (3000°F) at maximum power for the latest large commercial turbofan engines, resulting in high fuel efficiency and thrust levels approaching 445 KN (100,000 lbs.). High reliability and durability must be intrinsically designed into these turbine engines to meet operating economic targets and ETOPS certification requirements. This level of performance has been brought about by a combination of advances in air cooling for turbine blades and vanes, design technology for stresses and airflow, single crystal and directionally solidified casting process improvements, and the development and use of rhenium (Re) containing high γ′ volume fraction nickel-base superalloys with advanced coatings, including full-airfoil ceramic thermal barrier coatings. Re additions to cast airfoil superalloys not only improves creep and thermo-mechanical fatigue strength, but also environmental properties including coating performance. Re dramatically slows down diffusion in these alloys at high operating temperatures. A team approach has been used to develop a family of two nickel-base single crystal alloys (CMSX-4® containing 3 percent Re and CMSX®-10 containing 6 percent Re) and a directionally solidified, columnar grain nickel-base alloy (CM 186 LC® containing 3 percent Re) for a variety of turbine engine applications. A range of critical properties of these alloys is reviewed in relation to turbine component engineering performance through engine certification testing and service experience. Industrial turbines are now commencing to use this aero developed turbine technology in both small and large frame units in addition to aero-derivative industrial engines. These applications are demanding, with high reliability required for turbine airfoils out to 25,000 hours, with perhaps greater than 50 percent of the time spent at maximum power. Combined cycle efficiencies of large frame industrial engines are scheduled to reach 60 percent in the U. S. ATS programme. Application experience to a total 1.3 million engine hours and 28,000 hours individual blade set service for CMSX-4 first stage turbine blades is reviewed for a small frame industrial engine.
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July 1998
Research Papers
Development and Turbine Engine Performance of Three Advanced Rhenium Containing Superalloys for Single Crystal and Directionally Solidified Blades and Vanes
R. W. Broomfield,
R. W. Broomfield
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
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D. A. Ford,
D. A. Ford
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
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J. K. Bhangu,
J. K. Bhangu
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
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M. C. Thomas,
M. C. Thomas
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
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D. J. Frasier,
D. J. Frasier
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
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P. S. Burkholder,
P. S. Burkholder
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
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K. Harris,
K. Harris
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
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G. L. Erickson,
G. L. Erickson
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
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J. B. Wahl
J. B. Wahl
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
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R. W. Broomfield
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
D. A. Ford
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
J. K. Bhangu
Rolls-Royce plc, Elton Road Materials Center, P. O. Box 31, Derby and Bristol, U. K
M. C. Thomas
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
D. J. Frasier
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
P. S. Burkholder
Allison Engine Company (Rolls-Royce plc), Indianapolis, IN
K. Harris
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
G. L. Erickson
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
J. B. Wahl
Cannon-Muskegon Corporation, SPS Technologies, Inc., Muskegon, MI
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jul 1998, 120(3): 595-608 (14 pages)
Published Online: July 1, 1998
Article history
Received:
March 1, 1997
Online:
November 19, 2007
Citation
Broomfield, R. W., Ford, D. A., Bhangu, J. K., Thomas, M. C., Frasier, D. J., Burkholder, P. S., Harris, K., Erickson, G. L., and Wahl, J. B. (July 1, 1998). "Development and Turbine Engine Performance of Three Advanced Rhenium Containing Superalloys for Single Crystal and Directionally Solidified Blades and Vanes." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. July 1998; 120(3): 595–608. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2818188
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