Development and Evaluation of Silicon Nitride Components for Ceramic Gas Turbine

Abstract

NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd. has been developing various silicon nitride materials, and the technology for fabricating components for ceramic gas turbines (CGT) using theses materials. We are supplying silicon nitride material components for the project to develop 300 kW class CGT for co-generation in Japan. EC-152 was developed for components that require high strength at high temperature, such as turbine blades and turbine nozzles. In order to adapt the increasing of the turbine inlet temperature (TIT) up to 1350 °C in accordance with the project goals, we developed two silicon nitride materials with further improved properties: ST-1 and ST-2. ST-1 has a higher strength than EC-152 and is suitable for first stage turbine blades and power turbine blades. ST-2 has higher oxidation resistance than EC-152 and is suitable for power turbine nozzles. On applying these silicon nitride ceramics to CGT engine, we evaluated various properties of silicon nitride materials considering the environment in CGT engine. Particle impact testing is one of those evaluations. Materials used in CGT engine are exposed in high speed gas flow, and impact damage of these materials is considered to be a concern. We tested ST-1 in the particle impact test. In this test, we observed fracture modes, and estimated the critical impact velocity. This paper summarizes the development of silicon nitride components, and the result of evaluations of these silicon nitride materials.