A multi-scale framework for life reduction assessment of turbine blade caused by microstructural degradation

The prolonged thermal exposure with centrifugal load results in microstructural degradation,which ultimately leads to a reduction in the fatigue and creep resistance of the turbine blades.The present work proposes a multi-scale framework to estimate the life reduction of turbine blades,which combines a microstructural degradation model,a two-phase constitutive model,and a microstructure-dependent fatigue and creep life reduction model.The framework with multi-scale models is validated by a Single Crystal(SC)Ni-based superalloy at the microstructural length-scale and is then applied to calculate the microstructural degradation and the fatigue and creep life reduction of turbine blades under two specific service conditions.The simulation results and quantitative analysis show that the microstructural degradation and fatigue and creep life reduction of the turbine blade are heavily influenced by the variations in the proportion of the intermediate state,namely,the maximum rotor speed status,in the two specific service conditions.The intermediate state accelerates the microstructural degradation and leads to a reduction of the life,especially the effective fatigue life reserve due to the higher temperature and rotational speed than that of the 93%maximum rotor speed status marked as the reference state.The proposed multi-scale framework provides a capable approach to analyze the reduction of the fatigue and creep life for turbine blade induced by microstructural degradation,which can assist to determine a reasonable Time Between Overhaul(TBO)of the engine.

Geomechanical and water vapor absorption characteristics of clay-bearing soft rocks at great depth

The geological and physico-mechanical properties characterization of deep soft rocks is one of the critical scientific issues for deep soft rock engineering. In the present study, X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis,scanning electron microscope(SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry experiments were carried out to investigate the mineral compositions, microstructure and porosity characteristics of the 13 claybearing soft rock samples collected from a deep coal mine in China. Water vapor absorption and uniaxial compressive experiments were also performed to examine water absorption characteristics and waterinduced strength degradation effect of the investigated deep soft rock samples. The results show that the dominant mineral components in mudstone, coarse sandstone and fine sandstone samples were calcite, quartz and clay respectively. The contents of clay minerals in all samples were relatively high and ranged from 12.3%(N-4) to 56.5%(XS-1). Water vapor absorption processes of all the soft rock samples follow an exponential law which is very similar to the water vapor absorption behavior of conglomerate samples reported in our earlier study. Correlation analyses also suggested that there were good positive correlation relationships between water absorptivity and clay minerals for both mudstone and sandstone samples. Furthermore, it was found that vapor absorption was not correlated with the porosity for mudstone, however, positive correlation relationship was found between them for sandstone. Correlation analysis between UCS, modulus of elasticity and water content demonstrated that both of them tend to decrease with the increase of their water content due to water absorption.

Thermal cycling creep properties of a directionally solidified superalloy DZ125

Aero-engine turbine blades may suffer overheating during service,which can result in severe microstructural and mechanical degradation within tens of seconds.In this study,the thermal cycling creep under(950℃/15 min+1100℃/1 min)-100 MPa was performed on a directionally solidified superalloy,DZ125.The effects of overheating and thermal cycling on the creep properties were evaluated in terms of creep behavior and microstructural evolution against isothermally crept specimens under 950℃/100 MPa,950℃/270 MPa,and 1100℃/100 MPa.The results indicated that the thermal cycling creep life was reduced dramatically compared to the isothermal creep under 950℃/100 MPa.The plastic creep deformation mainly occurred during the overheating stage during the thermal cycling creep.The thermal cycling creep curve exhibited three stages,similar to the 1100℃isothermal creep,but its minimum creep rate occurred at a lower creep strain.The overheating events caused severe microstructural degradation,such as substantial dissolution ofγ'phase,earlier formation of raftedγ'microstructure,widening of theγchannels,and instability of the interfacial dislocation networks.This microstructural degradation was the main reason for the dramatic decrease in thermal cycling creep life,as the thermal cycling promoted more dislocations to cut intoγ'phase and more cracks to initiate at grain boundaries,carbides,and residual eutectic pools.This study underlines the importance of evaluating the thermal cycling creep properties of superalloys to be used as turbine blades and provides insights into the effect of thermal cycling on directionally solidified superalloys for component design.