Failure of a Rotating Blade of a 200 MW Steam Turbine LP Rotor and Options for Eliminating other Similar Breakdowns

Abstract

This contribution deals with the analysis of the failure of a rotating blade of the third wheel (L-1 stage) of the LP rotor of a 200 MW turbine at the power station in Počerady. Material analysis of the blade showed that the cause of the blade fracture was the initiation and growth of a fatigue crack from a corrosion pit. Failures of low-pressure blades have occurred repeatedly on machines of the same design in the power stations of the ČEZ group in recent years and by a similar mechanism. Therefore, based on the knowledge obtained by EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), ČEZ, a.s. has developed a methodology which can, in real conditions during checks of turbines, reliably detect the parameters of corrosion pits and predict the possibility of development of fatigue damage from these pits. The work summarizes the methodology and the conditions of its use with an emphasis on the fields of its application.