As modern gas turbines are continuously being upgraded, mainly through the increase of their firing temperature and cooling optimization, the prime protection of the high technology and high-cost hot gas path parts is increasingly being transferred to the coatings. In order to avoid the risk of structural damage of these components, with its potential for greater economic losses — mostly traceable to unexpected prime time outages — refurbishment cycle should be dictated by the amount of the life actually expended by the coating.
To address the issues of quality and condition assessment of new and serviced high-temperature coatings applied on buckets and vanes, an innovative non-destructive system was developed based on a frequency scanning eddy current technique. It combines outstanding high frequency hardware with model based analysis of raw data.
In the paper, quantitative data on equipment qualification are presented, relating to its capability in measuring both the thickness and β-aluminide depletion of MCrAlY coatings applied on Ni-base superalloys. The results of an inspection campaign on serviced blades, performed during major overhauls of ENEL gas turbines, will also be reported, together with recent system upgrades, aiming at extending its applicability to newer coatings such as thermal barriers and over-aluminized MCrAlY’s.
A comparative study of optimization methods for eddy-current characterization of aeronautical metal sheets
