GE Power Generation

Gas Turbine Compressor Operating

Environment and Material Evaluation

R.W. Haskell
GECompany
Schenectady, New York

GE TURBINE REFERENCE LIBRARY

GAS TURBINE COMPRESSOR OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
AND MATERIAL EVALUATION
R. W. Haske ll
GE Company
Schenectady, New York
ABSTRACT
The reliability and pc,form:lIlce ofa gas Il lluinc
c<)UlI)rcssor is strongl y defM! udc nt upon tile e nviron.
ment in whi ch il ope rm!'s, th e malerials thm :Ire
used. and the f, I(IOI(ion sysce m. Erosion and. to a
(e"a;n exte nt, fouling ca n be controlled by the
fil tration system. but oolTO$ion is largely com rolled
through site and mate rial sclooion. TIle factors
which dete Tm in e the co r ro sivi ly of a silt: arc
humidity, th e co nce ntration of acid·fonnin g gases,
and the cOinposilion o f ,)".ti culates. The illlcrrcl,,-
,ions hillS of lh cse factors are discussed wilh :m aim
of reducing their imp;lci on compressor oper.llion.
A neceH;u)'co ndi\ion foroolTOSion is the preseno:c
o f moistu rc. l1u:: acidity of the moistu re resul ts from
ilS imc l'lIctio n wit h the g;ISCS and panieulmes o rt he
e nvirOlime nL The det:lils of th<:se in(cr:u:ti o ll s
whi ch arc irnponll rll 10 !Urnine opcnlto rs :1I'e dis-
cussed . A considenlblc amount o f corrosion lesti ng
ofb:lsc m:lteriah :lnd CO;ltin~ hasbcen IICrfonlled,
a nd Ihi s is rcvie,,-ed. A mbl e is prese ntoo for
sclt:<tion of compressor m:llcri:lb based o n Ihe
nalure of ,he sile <:nvironme nt and Ihe 1)1><: of
com l>l"essor fil tration.
INTRODUCTION
Th e envi ronment is a mosl impona nt factor in
dete mtining Ihe rc!i:lbil il Y a nd perfonnance o f a
g;1S Ilubine compressor. Th e nature of Ih e :Iir
entc t'ing Ihe compn:ssor in lemlS of ils humidity,
u~lce g;1St.'QUS species, ",'d Ila niculme detenni ne the
fouling, corrosion. ami erosion which occuron the
blading. T he erosion and, 10 a cenain e~t el1 t, Ihe
fouling can be co ntroll ed b y filtratio n, but the
ool'TOSio n may be ahno!)t indq><:ndent of flltnl1ion
li nd o nly limiled by Ihe sil e environme m a"d
compressor material$.
Compn:ssof corrosion i, " n aqueous phCllome-
non a nd, Ihere fo re, requires moisture . The amount
of moisture. ilS chemi$lry, and the coml"l'ssor
•natc liab i,wo h-ed ,,·i ll dete n nine the oolTosion nlte
and ultimalely how ofte" rcblading andl or Iccoat-
ing b necessary_
J'ining corrosion is Ihe USIl:lI Iype of cOlTosio n
found o n SI:linlcss-steei comprcssor blading. In
cascs wilen: severe pilling occ urs at pl:lccs of high
Slress. co rrosion fatigue wi ll result and blade f:.ilure
bct:ottles a possibility.
It follows thai gl·eat Gue should be taken in
choosin g the sit e for a gas lurbine, in lllise$Sing Ihe
n allIre of the etlvironmem. and in selecting the
l" o l><:r nmlel'ials for the ~:ompressor. Th is ~ec l11s
more impon:lnt IOd" y whe n il appears e nviron-
mentall y produced cOllosion 1)l'Oblem5 ha\'e in -
creased in r«e ll! years.
MOISTURE FORMATION
Compressor corl'Osio n i ~ the result of moi~Ui re­
cottl:li tting salts a nd acids co lleCli n g on 1he bl:ldi ng.
During OJ><:ration, mois"" 'e can be preS<:nt due to
th e ingeRion ofwaler from ra in. When the turbi ne
is not in operatio n, the compressor c:a n still become
.....et :IS a result of conde nsation from w-~ mt nloist air
circulatin g through Ihe compressor (clmsed by
chill.ney dTcrts). 'n,is circulat ion is substllnlial
when:t turbine firSI cum es dow n and 1:lI'ge lem pe r-
ature difTerences exist belwccn inside ~nd outside_
Conde nsation is aJso possible within :1 un il Ih"l is
not o perating " 'hen w-~Iln humid air COItl:.(U cold
metal surf:lces. -mis can happen to uni ts in storage,
Att often overlooked source of 11wislllre, but
peThal)s the most d~nu.ging in tenns of c:lusing
cOllIp ressot" conosion. is Ihm pl'Oduced whcn humid
air is :Iccclcr.ued :lI t hc comprcssor ittlet during
turuine o pcration. Wh e n airis:tC(cienIlL..:I, there is a
drop in its stalic telllllCrallJre. If Ihi, lel11IICral" re
drop is su fficient 10 ClIU S<: the air to become
saUintled wit h moisture, th e n co ntlcn sation will
occ ur if sufficient s uhmi cron !l:micle" c:IJied COlt-
de nsmion nuclei. arc presem. Mosl siles will ha ve
sufficietll nuclci. T:lble I shows the tellllICnlUire
depressio n for VllriOUS in le l Mach numbers :lnd Ihe
in let hum idity which would result in satu nttion . GE
co.npressors have inlet Mach numbers of about 0.5 .
which from Table 1 gives a lempermUre depre ssion
o f 24 of . If 80 OF ai r having a re lative humidity of
46% i5 cooled 24 ••.. its relalive humidity will reac h
1000and condensatio n wi ll occ nro n condc nsatiOIl
nuclei. upcrience shows that an ambient humidity
o f aOOut 50% wi ll result in co ndcnsa liOIl, and
humidities of 75% or greater res ult in extensive
droplet fonn alion .A model for droplet fonnation in
gas turb in e compressors has been deve lope d by
Ze rkle (l982.l>p, 101 -111).
Table I
TEMPERATURE DEPRESSION DUE TO
ACCELERATION AT INLET
(TI",b - 80 . F)
Inlet Humidity
Resulting in
TDEPJt£SSION
(' F) Mach No. Satul'ltion
1.0 0.1 98
U 0.2 88
9.5 0.3 73
16.7 0.4 55
24.2 0.5 46
37.6 0.6 'n
A$ air goes un'Ough a compre$$or, its tempe nilure
will rise due to compression. Calculations show
droplets will grow 10 aOOul a micro n in size before
they begin to evapomle. O f COUT5C. the droplets
fonned from oondellJalioll wi ll impinge on the
blading and coll ecL F.ve ntually. larger dl'Ops wi ll
fonn o n the blading, be removed by aerodynamic
forces, :md tnwel furthe r into the compressor. It is
difficu lt to ca lculate the detai ls of Ihis process, bUI
field obselV. llions make it clear Ihat liule moist ure
5ulV;ves the eig hlh oo mllrcssor siage as liquid
(Kolkman a nd Mom 1984). as oolTOsion is generAlly
nOI obscl>'ed be yon d Ihis stage in bascJoad
machines. T he reaso n for Ihis becomes dear whc n
one plou the OOil ing temllCr.lIure of W3te rand stage
tempcr~ture vc rsus Stage number. As shown in
Figure l.the CUlVel cross al aOOutthe eighth stage.
CORROSION, MOISTURE, AND
DEPOSITS
TII C £in c drops occuning because of oonde nsa-
tion of h umid air in the inlet, togel herwi\h Ihe ,,'ct
b ladin g. make for a very high sUlface arca and a n
ellCCllent scave nger (indeed Jeo,bber) for ...... riOU!
ga$CS emeri ng the oompres.sor. In scrubbing the air.
ule moist surfaces and Ihe droplets almost ce n:linly
,
... o
' ..
t '"
! ."
~ ...
...
'"
.... "," '."",,
"'00: ""'-IT
. ......
f'GA3eOH
Figure L Approximate temperature and boil-
in g point versus comprcssor stage.
become acidic. for the 1f.lS<:5 being Kr11bbed from
the ai r are usually C02. SOx. NO x, He l. and 02. A
possible exception to this might be NHs, but experi-
cnce h as show n th"t there is su fficie nt chloride and I
O~
sulfate in m05l environ ments to resu lt in deposits
whi ch are am monium s ulfatC$, nitrates. and
ch lorides. Solutions orthes<: 5..~lts are acid ic.
'n le acidity of [he moisture o n the bl ading. an d
certainly pal1 of it5 COlTOsive characte r. is deter-
mined by the partial pressures of the gases being
scavenged. Table 2 gives some idea of the magni-
wdel involved. He rc th e acidity of the moisture in
equi librium with ceruin le\'Cls of a ga5eOUS specie
has bee n cal culated. TIle two cases are for a gas
fonning a strong acid (hydrochloric) and a weak
acid (sulfurous). In the C-dSC orS<>.!, "mbienllcvcls
o f 100 ppo :.I'C not uncommon. which llCcording to
lhe table lead to a pH of ~5. For the strong :.cid-
fonner (HCI), even one PI'" can lead to extremely
acidic co nditio ns.
The imponant l)(Iint to be made from these
themlodyn:ul1 ic consider.otion5 is that low levels of
cen ain gases may result in very acidic cond itions:
Lhus, the imponance not only of where a tumine is
sited. but in wh at direclio n it face s. It should be
appreciated that the low le\'els o f 8".lSCOUI con-
tami n ants wh ich produce acidic moiSture C'..oll De
gene raled locally. T hus, ca reful conside rnt io n
should be give n 10 what is in the local e nvironme11l
ofthe lumin e. What chcmicalsare ncar the turbine?
Will Ihese c hem icals produce :m acidic d ew or
moisture? As noted ill Table 2. even minute a,,)(IUllts I
ofsoL11e chemical s can result in a very acidic dew or
 Table 2 by rillr"dlion and, ofcoursc, there i, no control O\"e~
AClDrIY OF AMBIENT GASES the moisture lirocl uced by condensation ....·hen
humid air enters the compressor as described
earlier.
Sulfurous Acid Deposits affect the colT05ion process b y COII-
Ambient Sulfur tributing Woller-soluble m:uerial snch as chl orides.
Dioxide Dissolved SO:! sulrates, and nitr~tes to the moistu re. In faCt, the
(ppb)- (ppm)- pH moisture is usually sa turated in these s,llts. Also,
1 0.20 55 dellOsit s sctup crcvices and baniers which promote
10 0.&1 5.0 elc<:trochc miea l activity.
11111 2.0 1.'
1111111 6.< <.0 MATERIALS AND COATINGS
10000 19.8 3.5
t ·OT handlin g l' wide vanety of e nvironmen tS, CE
Hyd roch loric Acid has used I he following ml.teri .. ls for the wet stages of
Ambient HCI Dissolved HCI co mpresso r bl:lding: nickd-cadmiulll (NiCd) or
(pp!» - (ppm)- pH Semtetcl cOlni ngs o n AISI4 03 stainless blades ;II1d
1 1600 1.44 unco:tteu GT I)-4~Oj , a precipiwtion-hardened
10 ';00 0.9-\ m:,"ensi,ie Ml.inle ss steel.
11111 17600 0.44 NiCd/ AlSI 403
'~""W"'K ·Ille nickcl-cadmium (NiCtI) ekClroplated coating
moiMure. Although there may not be mnch choke Ims been usc<i foraoout 20 yean; byCE.ltcombines
whe re a turbine is to be sited. a choice should exist a tough banier COining, nickel, with a Il:lCrificial
:10$ 10 what dirCt:tion il wi ll face and ",·hal chemicals cadm iu m layer. The coating is applied by first
will be pl:lced nearby. dCt:lroplating about 0.2 mil o f nickel followed by
The che mi stry of the moist ure enlering a com- 0.1 mi l o f cadmium. TIle plate is the n chromate-
presso r is dcte nnined not on ly by the gascs in the dipped and heatol.rcated at 650 OF for an hour to
environment, but also by th e parneulate prese nt. C\-<e n out the cadmium o'<er the n ickel and to
IndUMrial gas lurbi llcs ingest hundreds of pounds promote a diffu sion bond. °lll is heat treatment also
of:lireach second and ....ith il aboul 0.03 to 0.3 ppm drives off an y absorbed hydrogen. Although the
of dust (fatge 1983). Muc h of this dust is relmively chromate coating is resllO'15ible forthe color of the
inso luhle and ca n be filtered o ut. Thatpa" of the coating, it serves no role other than protCt:lion of
dust wh ich is W"~ter soluble will tr.l.vel"$(' the fihcl"$ the cadmium byer I)rior to heat treatment (Its
when they are weI a nd ultimately e nter the com- usefulness is destroyed by Ihe heat ,reatment. ) This
pressor. ·Ilt is i$Shown by Ihe observation of puddles coat in g has outsta nding COIT05ion resistance in
ialUr;ued in wate r-soluble salts on filter comp:ln- ncutral (pH · 7) and near_neutr.ll e nviron ments. It
men! nool"$ beh ind the high·dliciency fiiten;, cer- is excelle nt :'8"~inst sea salt environments. It is al so
t:linly a res ult of the water moving through the Illore erosion reSistantlhan most coati ngs.
Hitcl"$, :lIld di ssolving matenal up to the salUnuion
limit.
C E experien ce is that most fouling deposits on
Se ..metel 5380/ AISI 403
compressor blading consist o f SOOt, lube oil, w:uer-
solub le constituents, insoluble ditt, and rust. These The Senu ctcl 5380 coating is an lt luminum spray
foulin g depos its arc probably held together by coating which contains chromate an d phosphate
moiS1\1'·e and lube oil. If con"Osion has occurred. it corrosion inhibitors. The COilli ng is spmye d on and
wilt help in ho ldin g the deposit together by in- cured:ll 650 OF for 30 min and then burnisht."d to
creasing the adh esion with the substrdte. Ccnainly prolllote electrical conductivity. A ehromate-tfP<:
'he hulk of ,he pankulate which would enter a t0l'co:tt is applied :Uld abo cured :It 650 OF for 30
com pressor and foml deposits can be controlled by min. °111is co;lIiug has better colTOSion resiMance
f,ltr.ltion· but fine material « I"m) is not removed than NiCd in acidic ellvironmenlS. TIlis b a result of
th e hetter colTOSion resiMance o f alunlinum rdat;'·e
' 1I ~n<y fih ... ohouId . . - _ po".d•• p .......... "
......,.c """"""'"_t.. tO_ _ larJ«wilp«><Iw<- ...........

,
to cad'nium in acid e nvi ronments. An app roxi'nate
represcnlalioll oflhe depellde nce oflhe corrosion
rolle on pH for thesc melals is shown in Figure 2.
,, I
I
\ I
\" I AISI 403 and GTD-450 in th"sc tests. It was found
~ ,,\
i
\
.I"
1 Resuhs of (he acid sail exposure for NiCd and
,, • ! I 7 1011 un
eo
PGA36OI ·2
Figure 2. Re la tive corrosion rate of ca dmium
a nd a luminum versus pH (adapted
from Uhlig 1948, 842; Uhlig 1963,
GTD·450
299).
GTD450 is an age-hardenable, marten~ilic slain-
less sleel, reccndy int roduced by CE for Ihe com_
presso r in the MS700 1F. It has the st renglh
characleristics o f a martensilic sla inlo:u steel
comhined wilh a corrosion resiSlance comparable
to a n 18 Cr. 8 Ni stainless.
Its excellent corrosion resistance derives from
a composilion which incl udes IS% Cr. 6% Ni and
0.8% Mo. Its Slre ngth and corrosion-res istance
properties relative 10 other stainleu steels are
shown in Figure 3. GTD-450 o ffers imprm'ed stress-
corrosion cracking resistance al higher strength
levels than docs a conventional man ensitic steel
such as AIS! 410. TIlis is shown in Figltre 4.
GTD-450 has an advantage over coated AISl 403
becauscthecoali ngs wearawayon the pre$Sure side
of the first stator and rotor bl:lding. Th is side oflhe
bladi ng on the early Slages is subjt.'Ct 10 both erosion
and corrosion. Th is is tme eve n for turbines having
high-efficiency fillration. In add ition, the usc of
nutshelling 10 clean a C0111pres~r is acceptab le wilh
GTD450bul is nOI good prdclice where coati ngs are
present
Corrosion tests ha"e been 11m on the above Ihree
matcl;als a nd a variety of others. TIu'se tests con·
4
sisted of Ihe ASfM 8 117 salt fog tesl (S% N..CI, ( '
'1' - 9S OF) .. nd a CE-devised acid salt im'ne rsion teSt
T he latler u:st in"olved the inl mersion o f specime ns
in S% NaCI wilh sulfurous acid 10 give p H _ 4 at
170 0.". A 2: I mixture of oxygen to nitrogen was
bubbled into the solution. This lest was considered a
worsH:asc compre$SOr environment.
Most coatings providedexcellelll re~ista nce in the
ASfM B 117 sa lt fog test Figure 5 shows Ihe
protection provided by NiCd ove~ AlSl 103 in this
test. The results of the acid Sollt l:lbor:l\ory te~s arc
shown in Figure 6. Coatings were applied to both
that uncoated GTD-450 was comparable or belle r
than a ny coating applied to AISI 403, and W'dS
superior to coated GT M50 for aluminum .spray-
.. nd-hake-type coatings and NiCd.
Se rmelcl S3$O ove r AISI 403 arc shown in Figure 7.
ll1esc results show the limit:lIions of NiCd in an
acid environmetH. TIley also showlhat the Sermetel
cO:lIingisauacked in this e nviron ment. T he blisters
shown on lhe Scrmelel coating arc sites where
auackof the underlying AlS[ 403 has occurred. The
mst fonn;uion in the AIS! 403 produces a blister on
the surf<lce o f the Sennelel coating. Figure 8 shows
that pitti n g o f GTD-450 docs occur in Ihe add sa lt
test but the ,mack is minor, the pit size be in g about
C .
I mi l in 3000 hr.
In St.,,"ere acid ic environments in the field the
NiCd coaling is u ndermined and a\lack o r the basc
me.al occurs as shown in FigllTe 9. Our investiga-
tions show the NiCd coming Can endure loss of
cadmium and nickel over $111all areas (al)proxirnately
0.2S in.) 3S the surroun ding cadmium will sacrifice
itselffor the eXllOscd steel. Cadmium loss o\'er largc
areas is 1110re likelytooccll rin acid icenv;ronmen ts.
If the nickel is breached in such e nvironments.
scrious pitting corrosion C:UI occu r, dl;ven hy the
prcsence of a large cathode (nickel) and a sllmll
anode (steel).
Although Sermetcl 5380 is more resistant than
NiCd in acidic e nvironmeuts. it exhibits 3 similar
attack, ;IS shown in Figure 10. Here Ihe coming has
become !>re"ched or is penneable to the environ-
ment, allowingallackofthe hase metal. FUlhe n nore,
the cO<l ting must have become p;tss;ve, as it is no
longer sacrificing itself for Ihe AISI 403.
Although il is e<lrly in our field (esting of GT D-
450, it is clear that CTD-450 provides corrosion
resistance al least equal to or belief than the
co<ltings ove r AIS I 403staillless steel. Results from a (
TQl0rone rainbow test in a severce nvironmelll for a ' -
domestic !{lIS turbine are given in Table 3. The
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MECHANICAL PROPERTIES (STRENGTH) PGA36(l1·3

Figure 3. Comparison of corrosion resistance versus strengt h for GTD450 and

ol her stainle!l$ steels (Henthorne, Debold. a nd Yinger NACE).
)
GTO-4S0 (l150 °F 14 HRS.) VS. 410 (DO UBLE TEMPER. 12 00 °F)
TEST CONDITIONS: , % NaCI + 5% ACETIC ACID + H, S

'"
.• "
0
,,
••
••" " "-
,•0 '-- ---
•t "
" ...
10 100 1,000 10 ,000
.....,.,,~
TIME TO f"'LURE (lit o.)

figure 4. Comparison of applied stress versus lime to failure (stress-corrosion

cracking) be tween GTD450and Type 410 (adapted fro m Schmidt a nd Henthor ne).
5
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Figure 5. Results of ASTM 8117 salt fog test.

6
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PREDOMINANT
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o~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~~ __ __
BARE COATED AL MICtI + CEJU.MIC NICD BA.AE
COATINGS TOPCOATS

) GTO -4 50 A ISI4 03

Figure 6. OIaft of r elative corrosion resista nce. Test conditions: pH .. 4.5

sulrurous acid, 5% NaCl, 170 of , immersion.

rai nbow consisted of aluminum spray and bake
comings (Serrnctech'$ Semletel 538() and Alloy
SUlface'S Microfi n ish) over AISI 40l and uncoated
GTD-150. TIle NiCd va lue of 50 mil is b~d on
previous experie nce. A problem with the coatings
wh ich docs not :' ppocar in laoor.ltory corTQSio n leSUi
is that the coatings arc removed from the pressure
si de of the rolorbladil 'g oc><:;l.USf! of erosion. 'nl is is
an added adva11lagc o f Gll)..450, as shown in lhe
mule.
Ex lledencc shows that inlet g\'idc va nes usually
have more COlTOsive activity lhan olh er compressor
IIlading. It is bel ieved th is is bt:cause the residence
time o r the moisture on th ese blade~ i~ the longest.
Rece nt e~pt: rie nce o n ink"1 gu ide vanes for a
nondomestic nn it in a severt:: enviro nment sho ....-ed
that neither NiCd<oated nor Sennelel·538O<0at<.-d
AISI 403couJdgivc more than oneyear'sservice. ln
the case o f NiCd, the blades were 5Cr.lppcd [n the
cue o f Sennele!, the blades wen: stripped and
rccoated. Now after a year's sen; ce .....ith CTD450,
inspection has shown this material to be in excelle nt
condition ..... ith no obscrvable [lini ng.
A snide to mme rial selection has been cOll$lructed
~nd is given in T~ble <I. The table is based on the
material I'rollenies and environmemal factors
al ready discussed. The mlUerial propcnics art:::
CT 0-450 gives e1luivalent o r lleueT COfTOSion ....,..
sismnce than Sc n netel !">380 over AIS I 403, and
supc riorCOfTOSion resismncelo NiCdoverAIS1403.
Ikinga base material, it is not su bject 10 the e ros io n
restrninls of it coat ed m;uerial. TIle environm e ntal
f"ctors ;Ire: compressors will llin wet when humi-
dities exceed aoom 50%, a nd the :oggress iveness of
th e moi ~lure wi ll depend on its acid ity, ltS deter-
mi ned from trncecontami n allt s in thee nviTon ment
;lUd water-so luble species in the deposiu.
CONCLUSION
Site consi de ration s are most imponant in deter-
mi n ing what environmenl a compressor will experi-
e nce. Th e consi der-uion. a re win d d irection ,

7
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.. ~

"
/, , '
l'
"

H!Cd + 403 SERMETEL 15380

1300 HR 2 100 HR

Figure 7. Results or acid salt immersion tesl. Tesl conditions: pH . 4.5 sulfurous
acid, 5% NaO, 170 of , immersion.

humidity, and what chem ica ls an: I)resent :u par-
ticul ate or ~s.l..ocal condilions are imponarll. It
has been shown thaI minute amOllillS of ([lain
chemicals can Tl:sult in very acidic conditions and
signifICantly comprom ise the life ort he compressor
blading.
A way 10 dctennine if a site will Imvc (om:)5,ol1
problems is to conside r first Ihe humidity. As we
have ~ n , if hum idities an: above 50% fo r sub-
$tamial periods, Ih e n moisw re willl>e roml ed ;u th e
8
I>cllmouth and corrosion is possible. Nexl. olle
should consider if the cnvirollnlC!n! will be acidic
' 11;s can be de te rmined by notin g the acidity of the
dews an d the r... ins in the areas. A knowledge o f
what add-fonnin g gases are prese nt in the air is also
useful. Inform3tion about their con cenumion can
give some idea o f their acidity as show n in TlIlll e 2.
l.oeal co nditio ns, in temll o f emi:l5iolls o r ehemic:al
storage, should TlOI be O\'Criooked in dctennining
the suitability of a site. Corrosion experien ce 31lhe
<.
 PGP3601·8
Figure 8. Fine black spots are corrosion pits which developed during 3000 he of

c exposure. (Scratches were present prior 10 testing.)

PGP3601-9
Figure 9. Corrosion pits und er cadmium-depleted NiCd coating (300X).

9
 eorr()llon
Pili

PGP3601-10
Figure 10. Corrosio n pits underSermetel 5380 coating (500X).

Sile, if a .... ilable, should be collsidered. If lime
penniu, corrosion specime ns shoul d be placed
where Ih e lurbine will be siled and given a ye ar's
exposure.
We have JCCn that wme Ir.lses are greatly concen-
traled in moisture (iU shown by the examples in
Table 2), causing quile acidic conditions for very low
concentr.lIioll5 in the .... por phase. Ifall e nviron-
ment conl:lim such If.ues, th en Ihe mOSI corrosion-
resistant materials should be se lected. However, il
sho uld be appr~iated Ih:1I ifp Hs drop bclow about
".0 for the condensing moisture. a colT05ion prob-
lem will exist. AI; mentioned previously, fihration
d~s nOt hal'e mueh efTecl on reducing corrosion.
Watcr·wLubl e salIS are If"dnsllOncd through filters
" nd gases are nOi. Slopped by them.
The results of corrosion les\s were TC\'iewcd. An
acid s;oh cO'Tosion teM represe nti ng a worst-case
cO lnpressor e ' lVironmetlt was shown to cause scve re
piuingofNiCdlAIS I <l03 a nd bli ste ring of St:mletel
5380/ AISI 403.
Examples from the field for severe e nvironments
werc cited ill this repan and showed similar results.
GTl).450 showed minor pitting a!lack in the acid $lIlt
te51 and has show n superior IlCrfonmlllce in Ihe
field.
To assist those involved in choosing com pressor
b lade materials, a gu ide is prc5Cnted in T able <I
whi ch shows what materi:.ls co uld be used IInder
what e nvirol unenl:ll condilions.

Table'
COMPRESSOR BlADE RAINBOW RESULTS
l!<I,OOO·HR TFST IN MS7001
(SEVERE El'o.'VIRONMENT)
MateriaVCoating
AIS I <103" NiCd
Max. Pit Dia. (Mil)
50
,.
Erosion
PreS$ul"e Side ,
"ok

AISI <l0~" AI Sluny I'ressure Side 2

CTI>450 2Q None 1

10
( Table 4
MATERIAL SELECTION GUI DE
Reco mmended II Relative Is Moisture Is High -
Mate rial' H umidily>5O% Acidity' Efficiency
(Mi nim um M05l o hhe pH>5? FIltration
corr~on/e~on Time? Present?
resistance required)
NiCd/AIS I 403 ITS vrs vrs
GTl}.450 vrs YES NO
Se nneld 5380/AIS1403 vrs NO ITS
GID<50 ITS NO NO
NiO:VA ISI 403 NO "'~ YfS
GTD-450 NO YfS NO
NiCdJAISJ 403 NO NO YfS
(;T045O NO NO NO
.om
'Corn>oIonruiow>< •• C1'f1.4.'.,O>_)3IIO > ~!Cd.~"" _ _ _ ,,",~_" ' Sl401
Anr ......".u,j in .... 1»1< rnooId ... ~od ...h "'" ......rn.I
- . _" M«>m>Iion ~ ~...".."., Ioodi"l"
01,...-
-....i_..,.
«>m>Iion ....nw-. dq><n<Ii", ....
fikr>lioft..,........ and_
~ <Ita"'n.-..kIio><l""' n """"'l~n .. l n ' h<l>D<r<aO<.C'ftl..4~hlh<~-nalun<l<f
011",,_..
'Co,up,,,,,,,, cIq>ooit 'h<mill'}';' ;m,_.'" In ....... iI_r. .. I~ ..1< """".'" d ....;....,. I, may<"'''r< """.ri..
«qui"" .. ,, .... No loCI mdOOd j, ....il..,.. fu< delermi"'"1 romf"l''''''- """ .. ,,,. _1'T.lonol pli ........ faJI<" ..
of "'I" ...... ,. 'kw. nlt<Hompa'UII<", pudd ..... ,ot! bb... dq>osit..... "oro to eotlm ...... 10... o.pooiI pi' ;, ,.I.e"

(
-,.
.. 'Il< I,ll of do.,..l,odW>lt,,,,,,,ihln<<<' wh ........... ror8 hr ... c""".nu'.oo., ofl pn old<pooitper loocc ol

REFERENCFS Tatge. R.S.. 1983, "Gas Turbine Inlet Air Treat-

He nthorne, M.. llebold, T " a nd Vingt:r, It, "CuStom
4!)(). A New High-Strcligth Sice!." Corrosirm172,
NACF~
Kolkmall, HJ .. and Mom, AJ A ., 1984. "Corrosion
and Corrosion Co,llIol in Gas T urbines Pa ll I: T he
Compressor Sectio n," AS ME 84-GT·255.
Sc hmid" N. S. and He",honle, M., " Precil'ita'io n-
mene. Cf. Compa ny, CER-34 19.
Uh lig, 1-1 .. 1948, (,.orT(Uio .. Ha mibooJl, John Wiley and
So ns.
Uhlig, H ., 1963, CornlSio"",,dConwiofi (;o"I.-oI, J o hn
Wiley and Sons..
Zerkle. R.D. et al.. 1982, '"Analysis of Moi$lure
Conde nsatio n in En gi ne Inlet Duel$. l'roceedings H

Hardening Stainless Stttb, An E.....lluation o fThcir of the SymllOsiUln o f Paniculate-Laden How in

ltesi5lance to SU"ess-Corrosion Cracking, C;uventer H Turbomachinel)', edited by W. Tabakoff et al.,
Technology-Corp. ASME, New Yor!r.. pp. 101 -111.

II
 (

For fUlther information,

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or write 10 Turbine Marketing O perations

GE Power General; '

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