Metallurgical Failure Investigation of Minor Leakage in a Fuel Oil Return Line of a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Engine

Abstract

AbstractA small fuel oil return line of a stationary gas turbine engine failed by high cycle fatigue cracking. In the metallurgical root cause investigation, performed by the original equipment manufacturer's laboratory, it was determined that insufficient support of the fuel line and the ensuing vibration led to dynamic alternating bending stresses, that had their maximum immediately adjacent to the connector weld of the flange. The piping system was made of metastable austenitic stainless steels. Constraint in the system at the flange, geometric notches in the weld caused by root reinforcement and excess weld metal at the weld toe, were all determined to have been contributing factors. What is more, the unavoidable metallurgical notch represented by the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the weld joint with its coarse-grained microstructure, may also have contributed to the cracking. The root cause of the failure was a design problem, because sufficient pipe support was not specified. The primary cause of failure was assembly, where the missing supports were not realised to be a potential problem. The organisational cause of failure was insufficient training of design and assembly personnel. Finally, the metallurgical or physical cause of failure was fatigue. It was recommended to provide for additional support brackets in the affected pipe length, in order to prevent the fuel oil return line from vibrating excessively.