f/^7

Status of Titanium Blading for

Low-Pressure Steam Turbines EPRI
EPRI AF-445
A- ords: TPS 76-641
'earn Turbines Final Report
Titanium February 1977
Steam Turbine Blading
Water Droplet Erosion
Titanium Steam Turbine Blading

ny Tic JUL 1 1 t;

Prepared by
Battelle, Columbus Laboratories
Columbus, Ohio

asTwmmoN of this document is unlimited

E’ECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 DISCLAIMER

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an

agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States
Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees,
makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability
or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any
information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents
that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference
herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by
trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not
necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or
favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The
views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily
state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency
thereof.

D IS C L A IM E R

Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image

products. Images are produced from the best available
original document.
 STATUS OF TITANIUM BLADING
FOR LOW-PRESSURE STEAM TURBINES

ERR I AF-445
(Technical Planning Study 76-641)

Final Report

February 1977

Prepared by

BATTELLE
Columbus Laboratories
505 King Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43201

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
R. A. Wood

Prepared for

Electric Power Research Institute

3412 Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto, California 94304

EPRI Project Manager

Dr. R. I. Jaffee
Blank Page
 FOREWORD

This report was prepared by Battelle's Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio,

as a Technical Planning Study (TPS) for the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI). The work was initiated under EPRI Agreement No. TPS 76-641, "Status
of Titanium Blading for Low Pressure Steam Turbines", in support of the Thermal
Mechanical Conversion and Storage program area in the Fossil Fuel and Advanced
Systems Division. Dr. R. I. Jaffee, of this Division, was the project officer
and participated in a major portion of the research effort. Mr. R. A. Wood of
Battelle was the principal investigator. Dr. J. C. Williams of Carnegie-Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was consultant on titanium processing and
microstructure.

The research was conducted from May, 1976, to December, 1976, and included
field survey information collection and interviews with foreign and domestic
steam turbine manufacturers and titanium-oriented companies and individuals.
Letters of inquiry, telephone survey efforts, computer based and manual refer­
ence searches were used in collecting information. The final report was sub­
mitted in January, 1977.

The cooperation and contributions from the numerous participating companies and
individuals are gratefully acknowledged. As can be readily appreciated, the
assistance of the turbine manufacturers in contributing information was requi­
site for a report of this type. Companies and organizations contacted are
listed in the Introductory Section of the report.

iii
Blank Page
 ABSTRACT

Titanium is of interest for blading the last stages of low-pressure steam turbines.
It is stronger, lighter and more corrosion and erosion resistant than the standard
12Cr steel which has been used for blading for many years. A possible disadvantage
of titanium blading is its low damping capacity, which requires careful design to
tune out resonant vibrations that might be encountered in service, and the use of
mechanical damping using shrouds and lashing wires. The lower density of titanium
permits longer blades to be used for last stage rows, which would be useful in very
large units. The lower density of titanium also results in lower stresses on the
attachment to discs or shafts, reducing their susceptibility to stress corrosion
cracking.

Because of the above attributes of titanium, a survey was conducted by Battelle

Columbus to summarize the worldwide status of titanium blading in the low pressure
steam turbine. This report shows that steam turbine makers all over the world are
considering the use of titanium blades, particularly for larger turbines, but also
for present size turbines because of better corrosion resistance. Titanium blading
appears close to being introduced into production steam turbines, particularly in
Western Europe, and are in standard production in the Soviet Union. In the United
States, titanium blades are being evaluated for last stage and next-to-last stage
rows on a limited basis, and are routinely used for closing blade applications.
EPRI is using this information as guidance for R&D on titanium blading. A current
project, RP912 with Westinghouse, is evaluating the corrosion fatigue resistance of
Ti-6A1-4V alloy in steam.

v
Blank Page
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................ 1-1
2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ...................................... 2-1
3 THE EXAMINATION AND USE OF TITANIUM IN STEAM TURBINES........ 3-1
3.1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA........................................ 3-1
3.2 FRANCE................................................ 3-2
3.3 GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC................................ 3-2
3.4 JAPAN.................................................. 3-3
3.5 POLAND................................................ 3-4
3.6 RUSSIA................................................ 3-4
3.7 SWEDEN................................................ 3-7
3.8 SWITZERLAND............................................ 3-7
3.9 UNITED KINGDOM........................................ 3-9
3.10 UNITED STATES............................................ 3-10
3.11 UTILIZATION SUMMARY...................................... 3-19
3.12 REFERENCES.............................................. 3-23
4 RELATED OR PERTINENT TITANIUM UTILIZATION.................... 4-1
5 TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS RE TITANIUMBLADING. . . 5-1
5.1 EROSION PHENOMENA...................................... 5-1
5.2 CORROSION PHENOMENA...................................... 5-16
5.3 FATIGUE BEHAVIOR ...................................... 5_23
5.4 DAMPING PHENOMENA........................................ 5-36
5.5 OTHER PERTINENT PHYSICALPROPERTIES & CHARACTERISTICS. . 5-49
5.6 LOW PRESSURE TURBINESECTIONEFFICIENCY AND POWER. . . . 5-62
5.7 COST INFORMATION ANDCOST-BENEFITS....................... 5-67
5.8 REFERENCES.............................................. 5-71
6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................. 6-1
6.1 CONCLUSIONS............................................ 6-1
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS........................................ 6-2
APPENDIX A MICROSTRUCTURE CONTROL ANDTHE EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURE
ON THE PROPERTIES OFT1-6A1-4V......................... A-l

vii
 LEGAL NOTICE

This report was prepared by BATTELLE as an account of work sponsored by the

Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI), Neither EPRI, nor any member
of EPRI, nor BATTELLE, nor any person acting on behalf of either:

a. Makes any warranty or representation, express or implied, with res­

pect to the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information contained
in this report, or that the use of any information, apparatus, method, or
process disclosed in this report may not infringe privately owned rights;

b. Assumes any liabilities with respect to the use of, or for damages
resulting from the use of, any Information, apparatus, method or process dis­
closed in this report; or

c. If any item, (for example, a model, prototype or test-piece) is de­

livered pursuant to this Agreement, IT SHALL CARRY NO WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE
WHATSOEVER INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR PURPOSE OR OF MERCHANTABILITY.
 FIGURES

Figure Page

2-1. Steam Pressure, Temperature, and Specific Volume

Relationships in the Various Components of a
Large Steam Power Plant .................................... 2-2
2-2. Arrangement of Steam Turbine-Generator Components
and Steam/Water Flow Pattern in a Typical Modern
Cross-Compound Unit........................................ 2-3
2-3. Effect of Temperature on the Specific Tensile
Strength of Titanium Alloys and Steels...................... 2-5
2-4. Effect of Temperature on the Specific Fatigue
Strength of Titanium Alloys and Steels...................... 2-5
2-5. The 25-Year Growth of the Titanium Industry in
Terms of Mill Product Shipments............................ 2-8
2- 6. Price History of Sponge and Mill Product Titanium .......... 2-9
3- 1. T1-6A1-4V Last-Stage Blades of 8-Inch Length with
Two Damping Wires in the Blade and Three in the
Fir-Tree Root.............................................. 3-14
3- 2. Ti-6A1-4V Last-Stage Bladesof 23-Inch Length with
Two Shroud Bands Connecting Blade Groups of Five
by Weld Joints.............................................. 3-18
4- 1. Aircraft Gas-Turbine-Engine Front-Fan Blades................ 4-2
4-2. Binary Geothermal System Utilizing Titanium
Component Pumps ............................................ 4-6
4- 3. Components of a TypicalGas-Scrubbing System................ 4-7
5- 1. Steam and Water DropletVelocities ina Low-Pressure
Turbine Stage .............................................. 5-2
5-2. Relative Erosion Rates of Steam Turbine Blading ............ 5-3
5-3. Comparison of the Erosion Behavior of T1-6A1-4V Alloy
and 403 Steel Blades........................................ 5-6
5-4. Effect of Water-Jet Velocity on the Damage Depth
Observed in 12-Chromium Steel, Stellite, and
Ti-7Al-4Mo Alloy............................................ 5-7
5-5. Sea Water Jet Erosion-Corrosion Rates for Hydrofoil
Material Candidates ........................................ 5-9
5-6. Sea Water Cavitation Rates for Hydrofoil Material
Candidates.................................................. 5-9

ix
 FIGURES (Continued)

Figure Page

5-7. Erosion Behavior of Selected Alloys with Increasing

Time of Exposure.......................................... 5-11
5-8. Rain Erosion Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy at 1120 ft/s
(341 m/s) Droplet Velocity Compared with Other Ductile
Metallics.................................................. 5-12
5-9. Joint Shear Strengths Between Stellite and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
Alloy Made with Silver-Solder Alloys...................... 5-15
5-10. Hardnesses of Ti-15Mo-5Zr Overlay Deposit and Base
Metal After Welding and After Subsequently Age
Hardening.................................................. 5-16
5-11. Pitting Corrosion Observed in a Steel Blade of a
Fossil Fueled Steam Turbine................................ 5-18
5-12. The Effect of Various Surface Finishing Processes on
the Reversed Bending Fatigue Strength of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
Alloy...................................................... 5-24
5-13. Typical Constant-Life Fatigue Diagram for Annealed
T1-6A1-4V Alloy (Bar) at Room Temperature.................. 5-25
5-14. Effect of Test Temperature on the Smooth and Notched
Fatigue Behavior of Annealed Ti-6A1-4V Forging ............ 5-26
5-15. Effect of Microstructure on the Room Temperature
Notched Fatigue Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy Plate........... 5-27
5-16. Effect of Test Temperature and Microstructure on the
Smooth and Notched Fatigue Behavior of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
Alloy Bar Material........................................ 5-28
5-17. Fatigue Life of Stellite/Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Joints Prepared
by Brazing................................................ 5-29
5-18. Comparison of the Fatigue Behavior of the VT5 and TS5
Soviet Titanium Alloys .................................... 5-30
5-19. Comparison of the High Cycle Fatigue Behavior of
Soviet Titanium Alloy VT3-1 and 15Cr-llMoV Steel
with and Without Prior Low Cycle Fatigue Exposure.......... 5-34
5-20. Damping Characteristics of Three Engineering Materials
as a Function of Shear StressAmplitude..................... 5-41
5-21. Ranges of the Vibration Decrement for (a) VT5 and TS5
Alloys with Stress Amplitude and Temperature Variables
and (b) VT3-1 Alloy with Microstructure and
Temperature Variables...................................... 5-42
5-22. Ranges of the Vibration Decrement for VT3-1 and TS5
Alloys with (a) Processing and Stress Amplitude
Variables and (b) Stress Amplitude and
Temperature Variables...................................... 5-43
5-23. Volume Fraction of Alpha Phase (HCP) Observed After
Solution Treatment and Quenching .......................... 5-44

x
 FIGURES (Continued)

Figure Page

5-24. Schematic Phase Diagram for Titanium-Aluminum-Base

Alloys with Beta Stabilizing Additions .................... 5-45
5-25. Low Stress Damping Behavior of Three Titanium Alloys .... 5-47
5-26. High Stress Damping Behavior of Three Titanium Alloys. . . . 5-48
5-27. Effect of Aging Type Thermal Exposures on the Damping
Behavior of IMI-551 as Solution Heat Treated and
Quenched from the Critical Temperature .................... 5-49
5-28. Effect of Temperature on the Tensile and Compressive
Modulus of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy Sheet and Bar .................. 5-51
5-29. Effect of Temperature on the Tensile Modulus of
Selected Soviet Titanium Alloys............................ 5-52
5-30. Bent and Fractured Fan Blades from a CF6-50A Engine........ 5-54
5-31. Charpy V-Notch Impact Energy Absorption for Ti-6A1-4V
Alloy...................................................... 5-55
5-32. Fracture Toughness-Tensile Yield Strength Relationship
Observed for Annealed T1-6A1-4V Bars, Plates, and
Forgings.................................................. 5-57
5-33. Effect of Test Temperature on the Fracture Toughness
and Tensile Strength of an Annealed T1-6A1-4V Alloy
Forging.................................................... 5-58
5-34. Crack-Growth Resistance of a T1-6A1-4V Alloy Forging .... 5-59
5-35. Thermal Properties of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy (a) Mean Coefficient
of Thermal Expansion Between Temperature Indicated and
68 F, (b) Thermal Conductivity, and (c) Specific Heat. . . . 5-60
5-36. Exhaust Stage Efficiency Versus Axial Mach Number.......... 5-64
5-37. Exhaust Stage Operating Range for Various Steam Flows
and Condenser Pressures.................................... 5-65

xi
Blank Page
 TABLES

Table

1- 1. Causes and Hours of Forced Outages of Fossil and

Nuclear Fueled Steam Turbines.............................. 1-2
2- 1. Selected Characteristics and Properties of the
Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Alloys.......................... 2-7
3- 1. Summary of Titanium Utilization in Steam Turbines........... 3-20
4- 1. Comparison of JT9D and CF6-50 Fan Blades with
Steam Turbine Blades of Same Length........................ 4-3
4- 2. Results of Corrosion Tests in Zone 6 of Stack-Gas
Wet Scrubber Using Salt Water for Scrubbing................ 4-7
5- 1. Material Erosion Resistance Ranking ........................ 5-8
5-2. Cavitation-Erosion Resistance of Titanium Alloys,
Steels and Stellite Determined at Room Temperature
in 10-Hour Exposures........................................ 5-10
5-3. Experimentally Observed Erosion in Components of a
Test Compressor............................................ 5-13
5-4. Experience for Titanium Tubular Heat Exchangers
in Petroleum Refining Applications.......................... 5-20
5-5. Room Temperature Fatigue Strength of VT3-1 and TS-5
at 10® Cycles.............................................. 5-32
5-6. Fatigue Behavior of the IMI-680 Titanium Alloy in
Solution Treated Plus Aged Conditions ...................... 5-35
5-7. Static and Dynamic Properties of Titanium, Ti-4A1-Mn,
and Type 403 Steel Materials................................ 5-40
5-8. Beta Transus Temperatures and Critical Temperatures
for the Retention of Untransformed Beta Phase as
Solution Quenched for IMI-318, IMI-551, and IMI-680 ........ 5-45
5-9. Room Temperature Tensile Properties of Three Titanium
Alloys as Solution Treated and Quenched .................... 5-46
5-10. Plane Strain Fracture Toughness Data for Ti-6A1-4V
Alloy Annealed Forgings and Plate .......................... 5-56
5-11. Physical Properties of Titanium Alloys VT5 and VT8.......... 5-61
5-12. Comparison of Dimensions and Operating Data for a Small
Industrial Steam Turbine Before and After Reworking ........ 5-66

xiii
Blank Page
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The survey conducted for the Electric Power Research Institute by Battelle's
Columbus Laboratories had the primary objective of determining the status of
titanium technology and utilization regarding steam turbine blading. Steam
turbine companies and companies with a related interest in titanium were ques­
tioned to identify turbine companies having titanium programs or interests, to
collect their developmental or operational information, and to solicit their
opinions and information regarding the potential payoff for titanium blading in
terms of: titanium for longer last-row blades, titanium for more reliable
blades, and titanium blades for improving turbine efficiency.

Responses from a representative sample of steam turbine companies from the

United States, Europe, and Asia revealed that there is a strong interest in
titanium for blading and other components among many companies and several
have active development programs. Further, titanium blading has production
status for steam turbines of some organizations. Twenty-two cases of titanium
turbine blade production, operational test, or development (four, thirteen, and
five, respectively) were identified. Production titanium blades are found in
small to medium size turbines—test blades are found in the full range of tur­
bine sizes although predominately for the larger machines.

Very long titanium blades (about 50 inches) are being developed in Russia and
Switzerland for the last-stage blading of very large turbines (e.g., 1200 MW).
However, most companies currently appear to have a reduced interest in long
titanium blades because the trend toward increasingly larger turbines has expe­
rienced a reversal. Nevertheless, some of these same organizations have active
titanium blade test programs. Last-stage titanium alloy blades in the 20 to
30-inch size are in operational testing by several companies. Production
blades in this size range were identified for machines manufactured in Russia
and for the closing blade application in American machines. American manufac­
turers of small turbines offer 4 to 15-inch long titanium blades for several
production turbine models.

xv
The small-turbine manufacturers substituted titanium blades for steel blades
in designs where steel would have been unsatisfactory for operating conditions
planned. The titanium blades have exhibited excellent erosion and corrosion
resistance — very few problems with the blades in either small or medium size
machines were reported.

The erosion resistance of titanium in wet steam appears better than 12-chromium
steel and nearly as good as Stellite shielding in some of the operational test­
ing in progress. The corrosion, corrosion-fatigue, fatigue, modulus, damping,
and thermal characteristics of titanium blades appear to afford trouble-free
service. However, much of the testing is being done under conditions which are
not very demanding. Operational testing of long titanium blades is still in
progress. Thus, so far, there is little basis for estimating an improved reli­
ability for titanium blades. It appears that a case for titanium is building,
but much more data under the most severe conditions for long blades are needed
before a definitive position can be established.

The high cost of titanium blading was frequently cited as one factor against
its more prevalent use. A manufacturer of turbine blades estimated that tita­
nium blades would cost from 10 to 25 percent more than Stellite-shielded, 12-
chromium steel blades of the same geometry. However, it has been estimated
that design and installation costs (e.g., in-situ shroud welding operations)
might raise the total cost for titanium blading to about three times the cost
for steel blading. This might translate into a 1 percent rise in total turbine
costs for a large machine. The cost differential can be viewed as very small
in terms of the cost of forced outages (about $10,000 per hour). If titanium
blading were only 20 percent effective in reducing forced outage due to blade
problems, the benefit would equal the higher titanium cost with the avoidance
of only a few outages over the turbine’s life.

The potential for titanium last-stage blading in improving the power and effi­
ciency of turbines through optimization of annulus area and hub/tip ratio
appears to be an area meriting study. However, it would appear applicable only
for areas having adequate cooling water. Studies of this type, continued
operational testing, and systematic investigations to generate a data base for
optimizing titanium blade designs are needed to develop accurate cost-benefit
information. The titanium blading in steam turbine experience revealed by this
survey appears sufficiently successful to merit additional study.

xv i
 Section 1

INTRODUCTION

The steam turbine has been in existence for almost a century, and steam plants
for generating electrical power were introduced around the beginning of the
twentieth century. Present day turbines are powered by either fossil or
nuclear fuels, both old and new machines are usually large and expensive, and
the matter of keeping them running on a more or less continuous basis continues
to be a concern. There are scheduled downtimes for maintenance purposes to
contend with, and there are forced outages (FO) due to malfunctions.

Forced outages of electric power generating plants can be caused by malfunction

of any one of the several components of the total system: malfunctions in the
boiler and in the steam turbine per se are major causes. All outages are
costly: the downtime for a large plant generally equates to a cost for lost
power generation of about $10,000 per hour for machines of 200-MW size and
larger. Needless to say, there has been a concerted effort through the years
to construct highly reliable steam turbines to minimize this source for FO.

Turbine blade failures represent one of the largest sources of FO in both fos­
sil and nuclear fueled steam turbines. Data available from the Edison Electric
Institute (EEI) for a 10-year period (1964-1973) indicate that blade failures
result in about 15 percent of fossil turbine FO and 17 percent of nuclear tur­
bine FO. In addition, it has been estimated that at least half of the FO
caused by the uncontrolled vibration of turbine-generator units has been due to
turbine blade malfunction (i.e., additionally about 9 and 12 percent of FO
causes for fossil and nuclear machines, respectively). The EEI FO data are
given in Table 1-1. These data reveal that the cost of turbine FO is extremely
high — on the order of $61,000,000 per year for FO due to blade failure alone.

Most of the turbine blade failures occur in the larger turbines (200 MW or
greater; see Table 1-1), where machines utilize very long blades. Many fail­
ures are in the long last-stage blades of the low-pressure (LP) steam turbine

1-1
 Table 1-1
CAUSES AND HOURS OF FORCED OUTAGES OF FOSSIL
AND NUCLEAR FUELED STEAM TURBINES

(1964-1973 Edison Electric Institute Data)

Fossil Turbines
(60 to eOC^MW) Nuclear Turbines
Cause of FO FO Hours % Rank FO Hours % Rank

Blade failures 56,593(1) 14.9 2 1,702 17.0 3

Vibration of turbine-
(2)
generator unit 67,990'' ' 17.9 1 2,336 23.3 1

Lubrication system
and bearings 37,569 9.9 4 1,756 17.5 2

Control, turbine, and

reheat stop valves 28,455 7.5 5 1,120 11.2 4

Shaft 41,170 10.8 3 — — —

Shell leaks — — — 890 8.9 5

36,887 FO hours for machines of 200 MW or greater.

(2)
v y48,530 FO hours for machines of 200 MW or greater.

Note: (1) value plus 1/2 of (2) value equals 61,152 FO hours or about
6,100 FO hours per year attributable to turbine blade failure
(see text).

1-2
sections. Last-row LP blades can be up to 50-some inches long in machines
where rotation speeds are sufficiently low (e.g., in 1500 RPM European nuclear
machines) or 40-some inches long in European fossil fueled machines or in U.S.
nuclear machines. More commonly, 30 to 33-inch-long LP blades are used in the
large U.S. fossil fueled machines operating at 3600 RPM. Turbine blades of all
sizes are subject to steady state loading (mainly due to centrifugal forces),
and long LP blades, in particular, are subject to severe vibrational loading.
Blades and machines are designed to minimize the risk of resonance at normal
speeds and to control amplitudes when resonance occurs during runup or other
operational anomalies.

The cause of most blade failures generally is conceded to be high-cycle fatigue

aggravated by environmental effects. Examination of failed blades suggests
that, in numerous cases, fatigue failure has been accelerated by corrosion pro­
cesses in the presence of condensed corrodents. The effect of gaseous steam
impurities is difficult to estimate, but may be quite important. Other causes
for blade failure are known, of course (e.g., blade rubbing due to localized
temperature anomalies), but corrosion augmented fatigue is certainly the major
problem area.

That a good start had been made toward the development of titanium alloy blad­
ing into steam turbines was widely known for several years. Titanium alloys
are 40 percent lighter than the 12-chromium steels most commonly used for
blading, and equally strong. Thus, titanium blades would be subject to 40 per­
cent lower centrifugal stresses. Also, it is believed that titanium is less
sensitive to the environment of steam turbine blading: more corrosion resis­
tant and more resistant to water droplet erosion than annealed 403 stainless.
Thus, it appeared that a widespread titanium application to LP steam turbine
blading might well eliminate some of the blade failure problems that prevail.
This prospect was sufficiently interesting to the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) that the subject area, titanium for steam turbine blading, is
being evaluated by the present TPS and such as RP 912, which compares the
corrosion-fatigue characteristics of 12-chromium steel with Ti-6A1-4V in wet
steam.

However, little was known about the status of the development of titanium steam
turbine blading. Who was doing what? Was the time for widespread application
near at hand or was the R&D in an initial or intermediate stage? EPRI support

1-3
of R&D might well accelerate the timetable for titanium steam turbine blading
and afford a considerable payoff for the utilities in terms of reduced turbine
FO. But first, it was apparent that the need to know the status of the devel­
opment and the problems foreseen in integrating the technology into commercial
machines was a prerequisite for funding direct R&D programs. Therefore, a sur­
vey phase of the investigation was initiated.

The primary objective of the survey was to determine the status of titanium
technology and utilization regarding steam turbine blading. Ancillary objec­
tives included determinations regarding the titanium blading operating experi­
ence, identification of those participating in the development effort on a
world basis, potential cost-benefits of substitution (or introduction) of tita­
nium for steel blading, and recommendations, if merited, toward an EPRI
research and development program on titanium for steam turbine blading.

The survey research was initiated in May of 1976. The report and periodical
literature was searched using machine and manual methods. Systems searched
included: Chemical Abstracts, Engineering Index, Mechanical Engineering Index,
Metals and Ceramics Information Center Data Base and Card Files, Defense
Documentation Center Data Base, Battelle's Foreign Science Library, and Metals
Abstracts. Generally, holdings only for the last 10 years were requested.
Later, the holdings further back in time for some systems were searched. Based
on the limited references identified in this search, the activities relative to
applying titanium to steam turbines is not well documented.

Survey methods yielding most of the information for this study included writ­
ten, telephoned, and personal interview requests for information from foreign
and domestic steam turbine manufacturers, associated organizations, and from
companies well oriented in titanium technology such as aircraft gas turbine
engine and airframe companies. Organizations contacted are listed at the end
of this introductory section. While questions posed varied with the character
of the companies contacted, the principal queries to turbine people related to,
"Have you examined titanium for steam turbine blading and what is your assess­
ment?" The companies were asked to speak to the payoff potential for titanium
blading in terms of:

• Titanium for longer last-row LP blades

• Titanium for more reliable turbine blades
• Titanium blades for improving turbine efficiency

1-4
The cooperation of the participating organizations is gratefully acknowledged.
Understandably, some of the detailed information available could not be
reported for proprietary reasons. However, sufficient information was released
to indicate an active interest in titanium for blading and considerable poten­
tial for this relatively new material in this application.

ORGANIZATIONS CONTACTED

Aerojet Liquid Rocket Company Sacramento, California

Allgemaine Electrizitaets-Gesellschaft AG German Federal Republic
Allis-Chalmers Corporation, Power Systems Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Division
American MAN Corporation, Steam Turbine New York, New York
Generator Department
Battelle's Columbus Laboratories Columbus, Ohio
The Boeing Company, Boeing Marine Systems Seattle, Washington
Division
Brown Boveri & Company, Ltd., Research Switzerland
Department
C. A. Parsons & Company, Ltd. England
Central Electricity Generating Board England
Cie Electro-Mechanic France
Contimet GmbH German Federal Republic
Crucible, Inc., Colt Industries Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Electricite de France France
English Electric-AEI Machines, Ltd. England
Escher Wyss GmbH German Federal Republic
Fuji Electric Company, Ltd. Japan
G.E.C. Turbine Generators, Ltd. England
General Electric Company:
Aircraft Engine Group Evendale, Ohio
Large Steam Turbine Division Schenectady, New York
Medium Steam Turbine Department Lynn, Massachusetts
Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd., New England
Metals Division
Ingerso11-Rand Corporation, Turbo­ Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Products Department
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Ltd. Japan
Kobe Steel, Ltd.: Japan
Research Department
Titanium Metals Department
Kraftwerk Union AG German Federal Republic

1-5
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Livermore, California
(University of California)
Martin Marietta Aluminum, Titanium Torrence, California
Division
Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nurnberg AG German Federal Republic
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Japan
U.S. Navy Sea Systems Command Washington, D.C.
U.S. Navy Ship Engineering Center
Philadelphia Division Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Oregon Metallurgical Corporation Albany, Oregon
Peter Brotherhood, Ltd. England
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Division of E. Hartford, Connecticut
United Aircraft Corporation
RMI Company Niles, Ohio
Rockwell International, Inc.:
Columbus Aircraft Division Columbus, Ohio
Los Angeles Aircraft Division Los Angeles, California
Rocketdyne Division Los Angeles, California
Scientific Council for Structural Soviet Union
Materials of the USSR Academy
of Sciences
Siemens-Electrogerate GmbH German Federal Republic
Skoda Works, Turbine Department Czechoslavakia
Stal Laval Turbin AB Sweden
Sulzer Brothers, Ltd. Switzerland
Terry Steam Turbine Company Windsor, Connecticut
Titanium Fabrication Corporation Fairfield, New Jersey
Titanium Metals Corporation of America,
Timet Division
Corporate Headquarters Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Henderson Research Laboratory Henderson, Nevada
Los Angeles District Office Los Angeles, California
TRW, Inc., Compressor Components Cleveland, Ohio
Division
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Research Laboratories Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Steam Turbine Division Lester, Pennsylvania
W. H. Allen Sons & Company, Ltd. England
Zaklady Zamech Poland

1-6
 Section 2

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The better part of a century has passed since the conception and demonstration
of the modern steam turbine by Charles A. Parsons of Great Britain. An excel­
lent account of the development history and the technical aspects of steam
turbines is presented in the April, 1969, issue of Scientific American by
Walter Hossli.[2-1] He describes early, fairly small (2,100 HP), turbines for
ship propulsion as well as recent, much larger (110,000 HP), turbines for this
use. Also, turbines for electric power generation are reviewed, from the first
small one of 250 KW (in 1900) to the giants of the 1970's (e.g., 1,300,000 KW).

Further, Hossli describes the principles of steam turbine design and operation.
His representation of variations in steam temperature, pressure, and specific
volume, as steam passes through a typical system, is shown in Figure 2-1.
Figure 2-2 illustrates the arrangement of components in a typical modern cross­
compound unit wherein steam passes through double-flow high-pressure and
intermediate-pressure sections and finally to double-flow low-pressure sections
before entering the condenser and passing back to the boiler.[2-1, 2-2]

The 1000 F steam temperature indicated in Figure 2-1 did not become an opera­
tional reality before the mid-1940's, having increased in stages over a 40-year
period from the relatively low-temperature steam utilized in the early, small
machines.[2-3] The size of turbines also increased continuously during this
period. Steam pressures increased too, along with steam temperatures for elec­
tric power generating turbines, and by the mid-1950's, a few HOOF, double­
reheat, supercritical pressure machines were operating, and later, the 1200F,
5000 psi Eddystone plant of the Philadelphia Electric Company was oper­
ated. [2-3,2-4,2-5] However promising these higher temperature, higher pressure
steam machines appeared to be, difficulties in their reliable operation were
encountered, resulting in a retreat to the more widespread use of 1000F steam
units in the 1970's. A few HOOF machines continued in operation: high equip­
ment costs prevented their more common usage.[2-6]

2-1
 5 — 1000

— 100

£
'55
a
3 io «;
co
o

S
3
a)
£ 2
i

0.01

rCpVl rCpy) rj=Boiieripl n rlHPT^pl A l\

1 Condensate pump 7 High-pressure turbine

2 Low-pressure feedwater heaters 8 Reheater
3 Boiler feed pump 9 Intermediate-pressure turbine
4 High-pressure feedwater heaters or reheat turbine
5 Boiler 10 Low-pressure turbine
6 Superheater 11 Condenser

Figure 2-1. Steam Pressure, Temperature, and Specific Volume

Relationships in the Various Components of a
Large Steam Power Plant[2-1]

The growth of turbine application and size during the twentieth century estab­
lished trend lines which planners utilized to project the desirability of up to
2000-MW machines before the year 2000 (e.g.. Reference 2-1, 1969). The world's
turbine makers were largely together in this projection and most had plans for
very large turbine generator sets. To say that some of these designs extended
the capacity to produce hardware beyond the state of the art is perhaps unfair
because materials people had kept pace with designers on a historical basis.

2-2
 1 Condensate pump 8 Reheater
2 Low-pressure feedwater heaters 9 Intermediate-pressure turbine (double flow)
3 Boiler feed pump 10 Two Low-pressure turbines (each double flow)
4 High-pressure feedwater heaters 11 Condenser
5 Boiler 12 Generators
6 Superheater A, B, C Steam extraction points for
7 High-pressure turbine (double flow) preheating feedwater.

Figure 2-2. Arrangement of Steam Turbine-Generator Components

and Steam/Water Flow Pattern in a Typical Modern
Cross-Compound Unit[2-1,2-2]

Nevertheless, some new turbine designs presented significant material chal­

lenges. But new and improved materials and technology for processing large
components were coming on the scene which permitted designers to consider
advances in turbines quite beyond previously established limits. One of these
materials was titanium.

Although titanium metal became available shortly after the turn of the century,
ductile metal (in small amounts) was not available until the late 1940's.[2-7]

2-3
The United States Bureau of Mines successfully developed a pilot-plant opera­
tion to produce batch lots of ductile titanium in 1946 by a process devised by
Dr. Wilhelm Kroll, a native of Luxembourg, who later worked in the United
States. Since the several outstanding properties of titanium metal were known
in a general way, U.S. military development support dollars became available in
the years following World War II to determine if titanium was the solution to
many aircraft and ordnance design needs.[2-7,2-8] In particular, titanium
appeared to be an attractive material for utilization in gas turbine engines,
then predicted to become the dominant aircraft power plant in military air
vehicles.

The important characteristics of titanium, its low density, high strength, and
corrosion resistance, were developed and exploited by both military and indus­
trial interests during the late 1940's and 1950's period. England, Japan, and
the Soviet Union became titanium metal producers during this time. While
numerous development and application programs on a world basis contributed to
the advance of titanium as a structural material, the U.S. became the techno­
logical leader in titanium. Its development for and utilization in the Pratt &
Whitney Aircraft J57 gas turbine aircraft engine dominated — the program con­
sumed over 50 percent of the total United States production of titanium for a
number of years.[2-8]

As might be expected, the titanium alloys initially developed and used, for
example the Ti-3Cr-1.5Fe (T1-150A) and the Ti-2Cr-2Fe-2Mo (Ti-140A) evaluated
and tested in the first J57 Models (1952), were replaced by materials having
superior characteristics, as for example, the still viable T1-6A1-4V alloy,
developed in the early 1950's.[2-8,2-9] The tensile and fatigue strengths of
Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-8Al-lMo-lV alloys, the latter developed in the late 1950's,
are shown in Figures 2-3 and 2-4 in comparison with the strengths of selected
steels, on a density-adjusted basis.[2-8]

The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company, and later the General Electric Company
and other major aircraft gas turbine engine producers, selected, for primary
engine use, the Ti-6A1-4V alloy, the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy (excellent weld­
ability) , and unalloyed titanium. Foreign titanium producers and users had
available other sets of alloys, but the above three were usually available as
well. Additional alloys have since been developed and introduced into service
by titanium producers and the gas turbine engine manufacturers (e.g., the

2-4
 1000

■6
.E
co
° 800
>

S
Q
05
600

C/3

H
sre 400
.§
*■*
D

200 1
200 400 600 800 1000
Temperature, F

Figure 2-3. Effect of Temperature on the Specific Tensile

Strength of Titanium Alloys and Steels[2-8,2-11]

Ti-8AI-1Mo-1V
Ti-6AI-4V

AMS 5616

AMS 6304

403 Annealed

Temperature, F

Figure 2-4. Effect of Temperature on the Specific Fatigue

Strength of Titanium Alloys and Steels[2-8,2-11]

2-5
Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr [called Tl-17 alloy] alloy developed by the General
Electric Company, Large Gas Turbine Engine Division, Evendale, Ohio). However,
the Ti-6A1-4V alloy continues as the "workhorse" material for engines and many
other applications both in this country and abroad. Mechanical and physical
properties of currently available titanium alloys are listed in several hand­
books; for example, References 2-10 and 2-11. Selected characteristics and
properties of Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloys are summarized in Table 2-1.

The post-World War II period thus included industrial requirements for greater
electric generating capacity (with the apparent need for larger size turbine-
generator sets) and an advanced metallurgical technology base (with the avail­
ability of new and improved materials such as titanium). Quite naturally,
steam turbine materials and design people began examination and exploitation of
titanium. Examination of titanium alloys for use in steam turbines began in
the early 1950's. The U.S. Navy R&D people recognized the potential for tita­
nium in this application as early as anyone.[2-12,2-13] Exploitation of the
early-available titanium alloys (e.g., T1-150A) by the Navy in the form of
steam turbine blades led to some hardware failures, however, and postponement
of vigorous attempts to apply titanium steam turbine blading extensively.[2-14]
Elsewhere, industrial steam turbine R&D people were looking at titanium for
blading too. For example, by 1959, the Leningrad Metallurgical Plant had manu­
factured 665-mm ('v 27-inch) length blades from the T1-5A1 alloy (Soviet desig­
nation VT5) for use in a low-pressure steam turbine of 50-MW size.[2-15]

The domestic and foreign steam turbine manufacturers were looking at titanium
for two basic reasons: as a material for improving turbine reliability and as
a material with characteristics suitable for increasing turbine blade size
beyond the limiting size imposed by the characteristics of steel. The excel­
lent corrosion resistance and the good fatigue strength of titanium were char­
acteristics of titanium that appeared attractive relative to turbine blade
reliability. The high strength-to-weight ratio of titanium alloys was the
characteristic that made it a candidate for very large blades. As turbine size
increases, the last-stage blades of the low-pressure section(s) can be advanta­
geously designed to great lengths; to sizes and lengths which, if made from
steel, could not be retained by the rotor and blade root hooks due to the cen­
trifugal forces involved. Light weight, high strength, corrosion resistant
titanium alloys appeared as a possible solution to the very large size last-
stage blade problem for the larger turbines being planned.

2-6
 Table 2-1
SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS AND PROPERTIES OF THE
TI-6A1-4V AND Ti-5Al-2.5Sn ALLOYS[2-10,2-11]
(Annealed Condition, Room Temperature Values)

Characteristics
and Properties Ti-6A1-4V T1-5A1-2.5Sn

Alloy type Near alpha, alpha-beta alloy All alpha alloy

Annealed microstructure Equiaxed alpha with 10-15% Equiaxed alpha with
beta phase intergranularly trace of beta phase
Density, Ibs/in^ 0.160-0.161 0.162
Mean coefficient of thermal
expansion per degree F'10“6 4.9 (32 to 212 F) 5.2 (32 to 212 F)
5.1 (32 to 600 F) 5.3 (32 to 600 F)
Modulus of elasticity, ksi-lO^
2-7

Tension 16.0-16.5 ^16.0

Torsion ^6.10 ^ 7.0
Typical tensile properties:
Ultimate strength, ksi 133-143 116-138
0.2% offset yield strength, ksi 123-133 117-129
Elongation, percent 12-15 13-16
Reduction in area, percent 28-45 27-45
Fatigue behavior at R = 0
10^ cycle strength (Kt = 1), ksi ^50 40-60(1)
10? cycle strength (Kt = 3), ksi ^30 VL5
Fracture toughness, Kjq, ksiv'’in" 55-80(2) v70
Typical charpy V-notch impact, ft-lb 21 23
Hardness, Rockwell C scale 36 36
Heat treatability Can be solution treated and Not heat treatable
aged to moderately high strength
Weldability Good Excellent

^^Highly dependent on surface preparation.

(2)
Highly dependent on heat chemistry, processing, and annealing variables.
The very young titanium industry experienced numerous technical and economic
problems but continued to grow, at times with setbacks, as illustrated by the
titanium mill products shipments data of Figure 2-5. The applications were 90
to 95 percent aerospace applications, and the developing technology was so
oriented. The major technical problems of hydrogen embrittlement and alloy
segregation were basically solved by utilizing a double vacuum melting proce­
dure with consumable electrodes (a once melted ingot became the electrode for
second melting). The role of the interstitial elements, carbon, oxygen, and
nitrogen, became better understood, and amounts of interstitials in alloys were
better controlled. The high cost of titanium was trending downward (Figure
2-6) and users, particularly aircraft gas turbine engine and airframe manufac­
turers, were increasingly winning at the game of applying titanium in sophisti­
cated designs at lower costs.

Forecast: about 25,000 short tons by 1980.

1 5,000 short tons

10,000 short tons

5,000 short tons

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970

Figure 2-5. The 25-Year Growth of the Titanium Industry

in Terms of Mill Product Shipments[2-7]

While much was written and information on the use of titanium in the aerospace
role became widely known through various media, information on the application
of titanium in steam turbines was not readily available. The titanium efforts

2-8
 Composite
Titanium Mill Products

Mix of Alloys
Percent of Total
and Products
Product Used
1971 1973

Ti-6AI-4V 56 57
Unalloyed Ti 19 22
Ti-5AI-2.5Sn
Ti-6AI-6V-2Sn
All Others

Sponge
Titanium

Figure 2-6. Price History of Sponge and

Mill Product Titanium[2-7]

by the steam turbine groups were of course quite small in relation to the pro­
grams conducted by aerospace groups, very little government funding (U.S.) was
applied to the efforts, and since proprietary interests were foremost, suc­
cesses and failures in the steam turbine application of titanium were not well
publicized. The idea of titanium for steam turbine blades was abandoned by
some companies as a result of failures experienced with the still developing
technology of titanium or as a result of their determining that goals could be
achieved by designing with improved steels. Additional steam turbine companies
worked intermittently and at low key in applying titanium, while others post­
poned active programs. Further, the trend toward increasingly larger machines
was interrupted. Currently, increased electric generating capacity is being
supplied by greater numbers of highly reliable intermediate sized turbines.

The mature steam turbine industry and the youthful titanium industry have had,
as briefly described in the above history, an association of 25 years. The
Electric Power Research Institute posed the question, "What is the status of
titanium for last-stage steam turbine blading after this quarter-century rela­
tionship?" The present survey project attempts to answer this query and pre­
sents some augmenting information as well.

2-9
REFERENCES

2-1 Hossll, W., "Steam Turbines", Scientific American, Vol. 220, April 1969,
pp. 100-110
2-2 Reinhard, K., et al., "Experience With the World's Largest Steam
Turbines", Brown Boveri Review, Vol. 63, No. 2, February 1976. (A compo­
site pictorial from the above and other sources.)
2-3 Delorenzi, 0., "3,000,000 KW Operating Experience With Modern Reheat",
Proceedings of the American Power Conference, Vol. 15, 1953
2-4 Fiala, S. N., "First Commercial Supercritical Pressure Steam Electric
Generating Unit for Philo Plant", ASME Transactions, 1957, p. 389
2-5 Harlow, J. H., "Engineering the Eddystone Plant for 5000-lb 1200-Degree
Steam", ASME Transactions, August 1957, p. 1410
2-6 Baker, R. A., "Mercer Generating Plant - The Case for 1100 F Steam”,
Proceedings of the American Power Conference, Vol. 24, 1962, pp. 437-449
2-7 Burke, J. J., "The U.S. Army Use of Titanium", National Defense, Journal
of the American Defense Preparedness Association, in press
2-8 Bradley, E. F., "Development of Titanium Alloys for Gas Turbine Engines",
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, East Hartford, Connecticut, presented at
Schenectady, New York Chapter, American Society for Metals, on
February 11, 1975
2-9 Jaffee, R. I., et al., "Titanium Base Alloys", U.S. Patent No. 2,754,204,
July 10, 1956 (the basic patent covering the Ti-6A1-4V composition)
2-10 Wood, R. A., Favor, R. J., Titanium Alloys Handbook, Metals and Ceramics
Information Center, Battelle's Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio,
MCIC-HB-02, December 1972
2-11 Aerospace Structural Metals Handbook, Vol. 4, Mechanical Properties Data
Center, Belfour Stulen, Inc., AFML-TR-68-115, 1975 Publication (with 1974
Supplement VII incorporated)
2-12 Williams, W. L., "How Titanium Behaves at Temperatures to 900 F", The
Iron Age, Vol. 167, June 14, 1951, pp. 81-84
2-13 Williams, W. L., "The Elevated Temperature Tension, Creep, and Stress-
Rupture Properties of Some Commercial Titanium Alloys", U.S. Naval
Engineering Experiment Station, Annapolis, Maryland, Engineering Ship
Structures Report No. 040038F, November 6, 1953
2-14 Maykuth, D. J., "Failure of T1-150A Blades in NBTL Steam Turbine",
Titanium Metallurgical Laboratory, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus,
Ohio, Memorandum of December 20, 1955
2-15 Glazunov, S. G., et al., (Tumanov, A. T., Ed.), The Use of Titanium in the
National Economy, Chapter on Titanium in Machine Construction, Tekhnika,
Kiev, 1975, pp. 131-142

2-10
 Section 3

THE EXAMINATION AND USE OF TITANIUM IN STEAM TURBINES

The steam turbine industry in the United States, Europe, and Asia was surveyed
to determine the extent of the manufacturers' interest in titanium for blades.
Sampling methodology included field trips and written and telephone communica­
tions, as well as literature surveys. In the short time alloted for informa­
tion collection purposes, it was not possible to obtain a thorough coverage of
manufacturers. Further, some companies contacted did not have sufficient time
to prepare a contributing response. Nevertheless, it is believed that a repre­
sentative sample of the total information available was obtained and the
results pertaining to the examination and use of titanium for steam-turbine
applications are presented in this section of the report. The information is
organized by country.

3.1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA

The Skoda Works in Plzen has developed the technology of forging and machining
turbine blades from Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy.[3-1] Ten experimental blades of this
composition were fitted in the last stage of a 55-MW turbine and operated for
40,000 hours prior to examination. Blade properties were found to be unaf­
fected by this use and blade erosion was less than unprotected 13-chromium
steel blades (about the same as steel blades having a hardened leading edge).
The details of blade design (about 500 mm or 20 inches overall length) and
method of shrouding were not revealed in this account. Follow-on studies, con­
nected with the development of another titanium alloy (not identified) blade
having an active length of 1200 to 1300 mm (47 to 51 inches) for a 3000-rpm
turbine, were reported, but details were not given.

The problems associated with the use of titanium alloys for blades were dis­
cussed in two references.[3-2, 3-3] One mentioned was the insufficiency of the
aerodynamic design of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn blade profiles for operation at 'v Mach 2 tip
speeds. The 47 to 51-inch blades for large-capacity machines operating at
3000 rpm were cited and undoubtedly this was in reference to the previously

3-1
mentioned development of Reference 3-1. A specific detail of learning how to
control the detwisting of long blades over the full operating range of the
machine was mentioned. The other problem cited was the need to solve the
erosion resistance difficulties associated with peripheral speeds of more than
600 m/s (about 1970 ft/s). Research on the latter problem using hard coatings
and brazed-on Stellite shielding was described (see section on Erosion
Phenomena).

The use of floating damping wire is cited in Reference 3.1 as the fix mostly
used for the minimizing of the lowest mode of tangential blade vibration.
Solid damping wires of titanium alloy (not identified) are used for blades
having an active length of 840 mm (33 inches). The report also described the
price of titanium blades as much higher than the price of steel blades (no
elaboration).

3.2 FRANCE

Reportedly, there is some interest but not much activity on titanium for last-
stage turbine blading at Electricite de France (EDF).[3-4] On the other hand,
EDF is very active in developing the use of titanium tubed condensers for
steam turbines and has specified titanium for all new plants utilizing high
chloride content cooling water. No information on titanium for turbines was
found in the French literature.

3.3 GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC

About 10 years ago, Allgemaine Electrizitaets-Gesellschaft (AEG) in Berlin

installed eight moderate-sized blades of titanium (648 mm or 25.5 inches long)
without erosion shields in a 100-MW turbine.[3-4] The turbine has been running
without any trouble from the titanium blades. Also, about 10 years ago,
Contimet GmbH forged T1-6A1-4V alloy blades for Siemens, who tested six of them
in the low-pressure section of a 160-MW turbine and experienced good results,
but apparently prefer to continue using 12-chromium steel blades for present-
size turbines. Recently, Contimet has supplied Boehler of Germany with 22 tons
of titanium (Ti-6A1-4V) to be forged into blades for Brown Boveri Company (BBC)
use.

It was reported that Kraftwerk Union AG (KWU), formerly held 50 percent by

Siemens and 50 percent by AEG Telefunken — now 100 percent by Siemens, is not

3-2
now considering the use of titanium alloy for end blades up to and including
the length of 42.5 inches for 3600-rpm machines.[3-4] (It should be noted that
this length blade for 3600 rpm operation is considerably greater than the long­
est blades offered commercially by U.S.-based manufacturers, e.g., 33-inch
blades made by the General Electric Company for 3600-rpm machines.) A develop­
ment program for free-standing steel blades of the above length has been quite
successful and the need for titanium regarding an increased blade length does
not now exist. Erosion problems are minimized by the use of hollow last-row
stationary vanes for taking off water in machines operating with exit steam of
greater than 7 to 8 percent water content. The details of a KWU examination of
titanium for turbine blading, which occurred several years ago, were not
reported, except that the decision against immediately using titanium was made.

There is a large German program on corrosion-fatigue which has been going on

for at least 4 years.[3-4] It was organized by an insurance company R and D
center (Allianz-Zentrum fur Technik GmbH) and involves four producers of steam
turbines: BBC, KWU, AEG, and MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Niirmberg AG). The
German government provides matching funds to that of the five industrial con­
tributors for a total of about 1 million marks per year (about $400,000). The
program is chiefly on 12-chromium steel with steam chemistry, temperature, and
strength level as chief variables. Titanium materials are not being evaluated.
Standard corrosion fatigue tests have been developed, but crack growth tests
were to be started later.

No information on titanium application in turbines from Germany was found in

the literature.

3.4 JAPAN

While Japan is well known as a producer of titanium metal and the application
of titanium in industrial equipment is actively pursued by the metal producers,
only a single application of titanium for turbine blades was identified in sur­
vey work. Kobe Steel developed and has in operation last-stage T1-6A1-4V
blades in a 50-MW, single-cylinder, axial-flow, condensing turbine manufactured
by the Takasago Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and installed at the
Kakogawa Works of Kobe.[3-4] The ten titanium blades in the test operation are
23 inches (584 mm) in length and have Ti-15Mo-5Zr alloy overlays on leading
edges to improve erosion resistance (see section on Erosion Phenomena). It was
reported that each titanium blade weighs 2.0 kg (4.4 pounds) whereas

3-3
12-chromium steel blades of the same geometry weigh 3.4 kg (7.48 pounds).
Examination of blades after 24-month service in this 3600-rpm machine revealed
that only moderate erosion attack was experienced under wet steam conditions
(12 percent). No difficulties in titanium blade operation were reported.

Titanium tubing is used in the condensers of steam turbines manufactured by

Hitachi, Toshiba, Fuji Electric, Seo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and
Mitsubishi. However, only Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was identified as having
an interest in the titanium blading developed by Kobe Steel. In addition,
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) reports that they have not partici­
pated in the development or use of titanium-alloy turbine blades.

No information on titanium turbine blading research being conducted in Japan

was found in the literature examined.

3.5 POLAND

A single reference to Polish activity in the application of titanium in steam

turbines was found in the literature.[3-5] Contact with Zaklady Zamech
(Elblag) was attempted but not established. The 1972 article described the use
of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn and Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr-lFe-0.2Si alloys (the latter is the Soviet
alloy designated VT3-1) as lashing rods. Details on the spot welding of Ti-
5Al-2.5Sn rods and on hot bending ends of VT3-1 rods to hold them in a fixed
position on turbine blades were reported. It was mentioned that stages stabi­
lized with VT3-1 rods were in use.

3.6 RUSSIA

Reportedly, the Russians have a 500-MW turbine-generator in serial production

that utilizes titanium in the turbine blades and also in several large parts
not identified.[3-4] One plant operating such a unit is Leningrad Electrosila
(LMZ). Considerable research work of a general nature is in progress toward
applying titanium in turbines, and titanium-application research on actual tur­
bines that are larger than the 500-MW item mentioned above is in the develop­
ment and test stage. The Russian development cycle includes the building of
full-size experimental machines on which they do testing and these are put
into trial service prior to production of such models.

An 800-MW turbine-generator set having titanium blades which is in develop­

mental service was reported. Also, a 1200-MW fossil-fueled machine having

3-4
titanium blades is in the design and construction stage. Their 800-MW set
has been in operational test for 1 year and is close to serial production.
The design of the 1200-MW set calls for a total of six rows of titanium last-
stage buckets in the three low-pressure turbines. The last-stage blades have
an active blade length of 1200 mm ('vAS inches) and are made of TS5 alloy (Ti-
^4Al'v2.5Sn'vl.7Zr'v.l.7V) . [3-6] Reportedly, the 1200-MW turbine-generator set is
behind schedule, but one section of the six-flow, low-pressure turbine is being
readied for test now with testing of the entire unit perhaps 1 to 2 years away
from full test. Although not disclosed in Reference 3-6, it is believed pos­
sible that the Russians are blading the entire low-pressure turbine with
titanium blades to reduce the loads on the disc and spindle.

The Soviet literature on the subject of applying titanium to steam turbines is

fairly extensive and several references are cited in appropriate other sections
of this report. In a recent book on the use of titanium,[3-7] several speci­
fics were cited pertaining to the use of titanium in steam turbines. Sections
of the book were translated and are included below to indicate the status of
titanium for turbines in a general way. Details of applications were sought
but not obtained.

Reference 3-7. The Use of Titanium in the National Economy, S. G. Glazunov, et

al (A. T. Tumanov, Ed.), Tekhnika, Kiev-1975 (200 pages), Chapter on Titanium
in Machine Construction (pages 131-142). Excerpts from pages 140-141:
"The utilization of titanium alloys in power machinery
is quite insignificant, although a number of technical
problems are solved very effectively through this use.
The expediency of using such alloys in power engineer­
ing is determined by economic and technical considera­
tions. In a few cases, titanium alloys with high
specific strength must be used because, for the present,
no other metals exist - such is the case for the long
working vanes of steam turbines [^40-48 inches (^1000-
1200 mm)]. - - - - "Using these alloys for working vanes
less than 40 inches (1000 mm) in length, and made of
steel as a rule, results in the load relief of the
stressed rotor of the low-pressure cylinder of the
turbine and increases the total reliability of construc­
tion. The first experiment in using vanes of this kind
in turbines gave positive results.

3-5
 "Vanes ^27 inches (665 mm) in length and made of titanium
alloy VT5 (Ti-5A1), for a low-pressure turbine rated at
50 megawatts, were made by the Leningrad Metallurgical
Plant as early as 1959. Later on, the same alloy was
used in making vanes of 30 inches (766 mm) and 38 inches
(960 mm) in length and installed on turbines of 200 and
300 megawatts, respectively. Up to now, the useful life
of the vanes has reached 40,000 to 70,000 hours.

"A prolonged testing of the utilization of titanium vanes

in the turbines of the Leningrad Metallurgical Plant
revealed the satisfactory efficiency of this material.
From the standpoint of corrosion-erosion resistance, the
titanium vanes are better than steel vanes under condi­
tions of wet steam production. At the same time, along
with the titanium vanes in the steam turbines, one can
use with success a titanium wire of the VT5 alloy for the
damping connections. At present, series production of
turbines having the last stages made of titanium alloys
is organized in other turbine construction plants of
Soviet Russia.

"In recent years, along with organization work conducted

under the guidance of the Central Scientific Research
Boiler and Turbine Institute, a large complex of studies
was carried out concerning the selection, investigation,
and processing of high-strength titanium alloys for vanes
of the last stages of the low-pressure cylinder of a tur­
bine (3000 rpm) with a power of 1200 megawatts. The
studies resulted in the fabrication of forged vanes with
54 inches (1350 mm) length of the working part." (Book
is in Russian. Translations are by D. K. Dreyer of
Battelle-Columbus.)

In addition to the VT5 alloy mentioned in the book (above), other references
indicate that the Soviets are examining the TS5, Ti-(3 to 5)Al-(2 to 3)Sn-
(1.4 to 2)Zr-(1.4 to 2)V, VT3-1, Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr-lFe-0.2Si, and VT8, Ti-
6.5A1-3.5Mo-0.25Si, alloys for the blading application.[3-8,3-9,3-10] The

3-6
use of VT5, T1-5A1 alloy, blading is additionally described.[3-11] The various
references found during the survey indicate that the Soviets are conducting a
comprehensive total program with regard to investigating the properties and
characteristics of titanium alloys relative to the blading application.

3.7 SWEDEN

Stal-Laval Turbin A.B., Finspong, reportedly has a titanium-for-steam-turbines

plant program.[3-4] Information on the extent of the program did not become
available. However, Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd. of Great Britain reported
on the joint development of IMI-680, Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-0.2Si blades for a
12-MW company power station turbine manufactured by Stal-Laval.[3-12] The 12­
MW, axial-radial flow turbine, originally fitted with 160 steel blades of 216­
mm (8.5-inch) length in each exhaust row, was refitted with 200 titanium blades
(each end) having 240 mm (9.5-inch) length. Two steel lacing wires for each
row of titanium blades were used for damping (no covers). The last row overall
diameter was maintained—the disc diameter was reduced. The refitted turbine
could develop 13.5 MW at peak load and is further discussed in the report sec­
tion on improved power and efficiency (see page 5-64). Examination of the
titanium blades after a period of operation revealed the absence of blade ero­
sion (1510 ft/sec tip speed running at a mean wetness of 9 percent). The
titanium alloy blade profiles were machined by Stal-Laval from fully heat-
treated, IMI-680, rectangular bars. The hardness of the alloy in this condi­
tion is about 380 HV^q (Vickers hardness, 30 kg load) and the tensile strength
is typically about 190 ksi (85 t/in^).

3.8 SWITZERLAND

The Brown Boveri Company, Baden, has been active in the development of titanium
last-stage turbine blades since 1962, and has operated titanium blades in tur­
bines of up to 600 MW.[3-4] The evaluation is continuing with plans for the
installation of two full stages of titanium blades in a large 3000-rpm low-
pressure, turbine section. The blades will be 48 inches (1200 mm) in length
and will be made of T1-6A1-4V alloy supplied by Contimet and forged by Boehler
of West Germany.

The IMI-680 titanium alloy also has been examined for the turbine blades of BBC
machines. A number of blades of this alloy and 867-mm (34-inch) length were
installed in the last row of a 300-MW turbine interspersed with conventional

3-7
steel blades of the same geometry.[3-12] The blades appear to be freestanding
in the photograph accompanying the article. No erosion was observed on the
titanium blades in the relatively dry steam conditions after a period of opera­
tion. BBC also examined IMI-680 blades in test rigs where they were subjected
to cyclical bending loads far in excess of those encountered in service without
evidence of crack initiation or propagation (test details not given).[3-13]

A considerable increase in power of a steam turbine can be obtained by adding

additional stages to the low-pressure turbine section(s). Longer length blades
for such sections could only be from a higher specific strength material such
as titanium or fiber composites in selected designs. Long blades from these
materials would be needed in machines of up to 2000-MW size. Titanium blades
would not be substituted generally for 12-chromium steel blades in present-size
machines because BBC is comfortable with the steel blade service experience.
Steel blades have to be replaced occasionally before 20-year service, but gen­
erally the performance in present-size turbines is satisfactory. Where pos­
sible, shrouds or erosion shields are not used with steel blades, and also
would be avoided in the case of titanium.

A surface treatment, which appears to be heat treating the leading edge of

steel blades to the high-strength condition, leaving the remainder of the blade
in the fully tempered condition, provides good erosion resistance and good cor­
rosion fatigue strength in BBC practice. The BBC experience has indicated that
titanium blades can be used without erosion shielding as a result of its natur­
ally high erosion resistance in combination with BBC blade and machine design
features.

The attachment of titanium blading to steel discs (3 percent Ni steel) is done

through the usual fir tree arrangement, the same as with 12-chromium steel
blades, without any problems encountered with clearance, galling, load imbal­
ance on hooks due to elastic modulus mismatch, or corrosion due to galvanic
coupling. Tests on a range of IMI titanium alloys have shown an absence of
stress corrosion, pitting, or crevice corrosion when the materials are in con­
tact with 13-chromium steel at temperatures up to 350 C (660 F) in environments
containing a mixture of NaCl and NaOH deposits.[3-13] Also, operating tempera­
tures in the last stages of BBC low-pressure turbines are sufficiently low so
that no problems have been experienced due to the difference in thermal expan­
sion between titanium alloy and steel. This might not be the case if the
entire low-pressure turbine were bladed with titanium.

3-8
The relatively low elastic modulus of titanium alloys (16 to 17 million psi for
titanium compared with 30 million psi for steel) and the low damping capacity
of titanium have not been a major concern of BBC in their development of last-
stage blades. In summary, BBC has not encountered any intrinsic technical
difficulties in applying titanium alloys to their needs. They do admit to a
reservation in connection with the relatively high cost of titanium blading,
however, which is discussed in the Cost Information section of the report.

3.9 UNITED KINGDOM

Reportedly, the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) management people

were interested in the low-pressure blade application for titanium several
years ago when they were encouraging the development of a 1300-MW turbine.[3-4]
However, since their 1300-MW turbine plans have been dropped in favor of con­
tinued 660-MW turbines, they have also dropped their interest in developing
titanium for the low-pressure blade application. One aspect of their past
research was aimed at improving the damping capacity of titanium alloys. They
found that this could be done by heat treatment. This brought the damping
capacity up to about that of 12-chromium steel, but left the titanium alloys
in an unstable condition. The CEGB research on the Ti-6A1-4V (IMI-318) , Ti-
4A1-4Sn-4Mo-0.5Si (IMI-551), and Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-0.25Si (IMI-680) alloys is
summarized in the section on Damping Phenomena.

The application experience of CEGB was limited to the installation of rela­

tively short titanium blades in its station at Little Barford. These blades
were kept in service only a short time because of cracks originating from
residual stresses associated with the welded attachment of erosion shields.

No information was made available from several other English turbine companies
such as C. A. Parsons & Company, G.E.C. Turbine Generators, and Peter
Brotherhood, although information from Imperial Metals Industries, Ltd., New
Metals Division, suggests that titanium is being widely examined for turbine
applications.[3-12,3-13] For example, the IMI references state that
"Several fully heat treated IMI Titanium 680 intermediate
pressure blades have been in service for a number of years.
Because of their low density, they were selected as closing
blades and balancing blades in specific cases where steel
imposed too high a stress on the root fixings."

3-9
Further, the references cite the routine use of Ti-6A1-4V lacing wire, of 16-mm
(0.63-inch) diameter, for the last two rows of low-pressure blades in steam
turbines of up to 660 MW manufactured by English Electric-AEI Turbine
Generators, Ltd. The use of the same alloy for shroud bands riveted to steel
blades in certain types of radial flow turbines also was cited. While specific
cases were not described, it was stated that Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-
0.25Si blades have demonstrated their mechanical reliability and erosion resis­
tance in a number of trial installations.

3.10 UNITED STATES[3-4]

The high specific strength of titanium alloys has undoubtedly been attractive
to U.S. steam turbine manufacturers since their inaugural use in gas turbines
in the early 1950's. Accordingly, two American manufacturers of large steam
turbines, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and General Electric Company, have
conducted programs to investigate the use of titanium for blading over a multi­
year period. Some of the makers of smaller steam turbines, such as the Terry
Corporation and Ingersoll-Rand Corporation, also have studied and now use
titanium alloy blading. Since Allis-Chalmers Power Systems, Inc. uses turbine
designs by Kraftwerk Union AG of West Germany, it does not utilize titanium
blades although the company has examined the potential of titanium for its
machines (see section on Germany). No information was obtained from the
American MAN Corporation. The information obtained during survey work is pre­
sented under the following company headings:
3.10.1 General Electric Company
3.10.2 Ingersoll-Rand Corporation
3.10.3 Terry Corporation
3.10.4 Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

3.10.1 General Electric Company, Large Steam Turbine Generator Operations*

The General Electric Company (GE) experiments and experience with titanium
alloys for steam turbines goes back many years. Initially, the interest was in
the general evaluation of a new material as well as in a potential association
of this new material for last-stage blading in increasingly larger turbines.

*The Intermediate and Small Steam Turbines Department of General Electric does
not use titanium in turbines.

3-10
The early material of interest was the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy. Later work and
operating experience included the Ti-6A1-4V alloy. Mechanical property evalua­
tions, including fatigue behavior characterization, physical property deter­
minations, and corrosion, stress-corrosion, and erosion testing were conducted.

The GE work on the fatigue behavior of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy showed that this
material was quite fatigue sensitive to various surface preparations. That is,
the alloy showed mean stress sensitivity in a Goodman type. Constant Lifetime
Diagram (as opposed to the behavior shown by 403 steel). The GE work also
resulted in the conclusion that titanium alloy for blades might require
Stellite shielding. Tests indicated that titanium alloy did erode in wet steam
although not as badly as steel. Hardness was found to not fully correlate with
erosion resistance. Attempts at applying Stellite shielding to titanium alloy
blades (e.g., by brazing) were considered less than satisfactory for commercial
application.

Culminating the early GE test program, Ti-5Al-2.5Sn blades were introduced in

the last stages of three operating turbines receiving steam from fossil-fueled
boilers. A few 26-inch blades were interspersed with and tie-wired to adjacent
steel blades of the same geometry in the turbines of 150 to 200-MW size. No
problems have been experienced to date in more or less continuous operation. A
nominal amount of blade erosion is observed—about the same as on adjacent
steel blades. However, operating conditions in these machines do not represent
severe erosion conditions.

Titanium alloy also was introduced in the closing-blade application in steam-

turbine low-pressure sections. By the end of 1976, there were approximately
400 turbines of various sizes, all of the fossil-fueled reheat type, with
titanium L-l and L-2 closing blades. As applied, the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn and Ti-6A1-
4V blades have only about half the vibrational stresses of steel blades since
the strains are the same. The L-l stages are operated at about 150 F. No
problems have been experienced with this application.

Another application for titanium by GE has been blade covers. Titanium covers
were installed on several machines in their intermediate pressure sections
where covers experience temperatures up to 650 F. In two installations of this
type, covers were found to be missing after a period of service. Recovery of a
few pieces of covers and subsequent analyses revealed a high hydrogen content

3-11
in the material. A reaction with steam, possibly augmented by caustic, was
indicated. The reaction is further discussed in the section on Corrosion
Phenomena. All other covers in other machines are performing satisfactorily.

A turbine related application for titanium also was described by GE. Hydraulic
fluids used in the electrohydraulic control system experience high temperatures
and must be cooled. Water contamination of the fluids can cause metal corro­
sion and fouling of the fluid in the heat exchanger. Thus, titanium tubes are
being introduced because of the good corrosion resistance of titanium in the
media. General Electric is just beginning to build up service experience in
this area.

In GE's experience, steel turbine blade failures have not often been found to
be due to a corrosion-fatigue mechanism, per se. Instead, GE has found stress-
corrosion plus fatigue-crack-propagation (crack initiation at pits) mechanisms
accounting for many of the failures experienced. A few blade failures have
been found to stem from chloride pitting. High-cycle fatigue failures without
indications of corrosion or stress-corrosion phenomena also have been experi­
enced. Similarly, stress corrosion per se appears to have been the predominant
cause for some blade failures.

Many of the blade problems found are related to an improper steam chemistry
which can be particularly aggressive when not under control. Steam chemistry
can be variable from one time to another within single machines and from tur­
bine to turbine. Localized residuals from steam also are variable in concen­
tration from one location to another within turbines. GE believes that there
is a strong need to investigate the full range of steam chemistry variables
that constitute the steam-turbine materials environment and to determine pre­
cise effects of such environments on materials.

The data that GE has accumulated do not indicate either a reliability advantage
or disadvantage for titanium blades. GE believes that, on balance, titanium
blading would not be beneficial to the power industry, particularly during a
learning curve period. The cost for titanium blades per se is possibly not a
deterrent to use because material cost differences between 403 steel and titan­
ium are not so great on a volume basis. However, there are other costs in
introducing a new material. To consider titanium for a new last-stage blade
development for a larger machine is a multimillion-dollar program with inherent

3-12
uncertainties and not merited under current conditions or perceived objectives
of the electric utility industry. The General Electric Company has not found
an industry interest to go to machines larger than those which are presently
available using established technology.

3.10.2 Ingersoll Rand Corporation, Turbo-Products Department

The Ingersoll-Rand Corporation uses Ti-6A1-4V alloy blading in one of their

axial flow steam turbine models. The unit is rated at 35,000 hp and utilizes
last-stage blades having an active length of 12 inches (305 mm). The total
blade length is 15 inches (380 mm) which includes a fir-tree, three-hook root
for attachment to discs in axial alignment. Root hooks are shot peened for
better fretting fatigue resistance.

The titanium blades are produced by forging and machining and used in the
annealed condition. The blade tips move at a speed of 1375 ft/s (^420 m/s)
in continuous operation in wet steam (8 to 10 percent moisture). Examination
of blades after extended operation has revealed the good erosion resistance of
T1-6A1-4V. Ingersoll-Rand rates the erosion resistance of 12-chromium steel as
inferior to that of titanium in their operations. They also state that, while
titanium blade costs are higher than steel blade costs by about a factor of
three, the titanium blading permits a design flexibility wherein the high cost
of titanium blades can be recouped in the manufacture of simpler machines. For
example, a single flow exhaust with long titanium blades might be utilized
instead of a double-flow machine having 403-steel end blading.

Ingersoll-Rand also utilizes Ti-6A1-4V alloy as blade end-cover strips in

several turbine models. Strips are peened onto tenons of last-stage L-l and
L-2 stage blades. The same as with titanium blades, Ingersoll-Rand has
obtained good performance of titanium alloy covers in these areas.

3.10.3 Terry Corporation

The Terry Corporation has utilized titanium alloy for several years in the
last-stage blades of small multistage axial-flow steam turbines serving various
industries. Small 4-inch (100-mm) long titanium blades having a single-hook,
root-attachment design were used originally and continue to be used in some
machines. Later, an 8-inch (200-mm) tapered and twisted titanium blade was
designed for use in larger machines. This blade has a three-hook, fir-tree

3-13
root and provision for two damping wires, one straight and one zigzag, as
illustrated in Figure 3-1. Additional damping of blades is provided by three
damping wires in the blade roots. The blades are suitable for use in turbines
of up to 25,000 hp, although they are more commonly used in machines of
10,000 hp and under.

Figure 3.1. T1-6A1-4V Last-Stage Blades of 8-inch Length

With Two Damping Wires in the Blade and Three
in the Fir-Tree Root

(Photograph Courtesy of the Terry Corporation)

The blades are manufactured of Ti-6A1-4V alloy by precision forging and machin­
ing and used in the annealed condition. The blades are designed to operate

3-14
between 150 and 200 F in condensing turbines, but routinely experience excur­
sions to between 400 and 500 F for short times during start-ups (low-speed and
consequently low-stress conditions). The maximum design stress for blades is
about 40 ksi, steady state, and 10 ksi, vibratory.

No difficulties have been experienced with titanium blades in about 12 years of

operations. However, Terry reports that the information feedback from turbine
users is not effective; perhaps that fact in itself is indicative of trouble-
free operation. Inspection of operational turbines reveals minimal erosion
damage and no cases of fretting fatigue damage in root (shot peened) or tie-
wire areas. The Terry experience with the Ti-6A1-4V blades has established
their confident belief that titanium is more erosion resistant than 403 steel
in wet steam. Further, they have found superior corrosion resistance for
titanium, and the high specific strength of titanium alloy permits the design
of very high performance end stages.

Since the Terry Corporation uses the same blade design in both Ti-6A1-4V and
403 steel materials, a direct cost comparison should be possible. However,
due to differences in size of orders and point-in-time of orders, several
ratios are available. A 2.2 to 1 titanium to steel blade cost ratio is reason­
ably correct for recent purchases.

The Terry Corporation also uses titanium blade covers on some stages of some
turbines. These are usually made of unalloyed titanium, machined and polished
to fit over blade tenons, and welded into place.

The now famous Terry solid-wheel radial turbine was first marketed shortly
after the turn of the twentieth century. The same basic turbine design is
still produced using all steel components. However, the U.S. Navy selected a
small turbine of this type (25 hp at 5600 rpm) for use in a side-by-side com­
parison test between a titanium turbine and one of steel in contaminated steam.
[3-14] The objectives were to determine the feasibility of constructing a
small turbine from titanium and, if possible, to determine any erosion-
corrosion superiority for titanium components in contaminated wet steam.

The Ti-6A1-4V alloy was selected for the rotor and blades (integral construc­
tion) , casing, nozzle, the nozzle valve, and other components, while unalloyed
titanium was used for fasteners and fittings. The parts were used in the

3-15
annealed condition. Steam containing phosphates, sulphites, and chlorides was
supplied to both turbines from a single boiler. A total test time just short
of 14,000 hours was used. Examination of components from both turbines at the
end of the test period indicated a definite superiority of titanium alloy in
erosion-corrosion resistance. Titanium components were clean and bright in
comparison with eroded and corroded steel components.

3.10.4 Westinghouse Electric Corporation Power Systems, Large Turbine Division

The early interest of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation (W) in titanium was
in response to the trend toward increasingly larger 3600 rpm fossil-fueled tur­
bines. Very large diameter last stages in the low-pressure sections were con­
sidered, and high-strength, low-density titanium alloy capable of meeting the
higher centrifugal force requirements on longer last-stage blades was studied.
Initial evaluation of titanium for blading included studies on formability,
design, erosion, corrosion-fatigue, mechanical properties, physical properties
including damping characteristics, and cost.

The formability of titanium for blades did not prove to be a problem—blades

could be made of titanium alloy in the sizes and sophisticated forms required.
Erosion studies indicated that titanium alloys were quite resistant to water
droplet impingement damage (see reference to W paper in Erosion Section). The
strengths available in the different titanium alloys being considered were
found to be adequate for requirements. The low damping characteristics of
titanium were identified as a major problem area for the blading application.
An alloy development program for high-damping characteristics was initiated and
several candidate materials were developed (not identified). No resolution of
the damping problem was immediately apparent via the alloy development.
Mechanical damping, via shrouds and ties, and blade design refinements appeared
as at least a temporary solution to resonance problems in longer blades.

The higher cost of titanium alloy blades compared with the cost of steel blades
was an important factor in the W consideration of the titanium blading of tur­
bines. While it was estimated that titanium alloy blades might cost about
three times more than steel blades, the titanium blading of the last row in
low-pressure turbine sections might increase the total cost of a large turbine
by only about 1 percent. However, owing to competitive pressures, this small
higher cost for a turbine (and consequently higher price) might make it very
difficult to sell customers. A potentially improved turbine reliability via

3-16
the use of titanium blading might be justification for higher turbine cost if a
strong case for titanium could be developed.

The W research work on titanium for blading culminated in a decision to obtain

an operational experience with moderately sized blades. Therefore, design and
fabrication developments were commenced to equip one end of a double-flow, low-
pressure turbine section with 23-inch (584-mm) long Ti-6A1-4V blades. A major
development effort was completed to learn how to adequately join blade ties by
fusion welding in an out-of-chamber operation. This done, W completed an
installation of 120 last-stage blades in one end of a 100-MW, two-flow machine
operating at 3600 rpm. The other end of the low-pressure section was equipped
with Stellite-shielded 12-chromium steel blades. Thus, the effects of directly
comparable operating conditions on shielded steel and unshielded titanium
blades would be experienced.

A group of the T1-6A1-4V blades, revealed for inspection purposes after 45

months of service in an estimated steam wetness of about 8 percent, are shown
in Figure 3^2. This photograph reveals the robust section of the blades and
the welded shrouds (lashing wires) that tie the blades in groups of five. The
blades were fabricated by forging and machining and are in use in the annealed
condition. The shroud projections were integral to the forgings and their
joining by fusion welding was accomplished after blade placement in the rotor.

Blades are attached to the rotor by the usual three-hook, fir-tree arrangement.
The root hooks are straight and axially aligned. It was stated by W that no
difficulties have been experienced in the attachment of the titanium blades to
the steel rotor. The three-hook configuration of the W Ti-6A1-4V blades accom­
modates the distribution of stresses to the three holding points very well
owing to the low modulus, stress-strain characteristics of titanium.

Examination of the exhaust stage blades after extended service revealed that
the titanium blades were only slightly more eroded than the Stellite shields on
the steel blades (see Figure 3-2) . Neither blade type was considered to have
undergone extensive erosion. The tip speed of the blades in the 92-inch-
diameter stages is about 1445 ft/s (440 m/s) and represents a fairly mild ero­
sion exposure in comparison with the exposure expected for much longer blades
in much larger fossil-fueled machines. Nevertheless, the performance of the
T1-6A1-4V blades in this operating experience appears encouraging.

3-17
Figure 3-2. T1-6A1-4V Last-Stage Blades of 23-inch Length With Two
Shroud Bands Connecting Blade Groups of Five by Weld
Joints

(Photograph Courtesy of the Westinghouse Electric

Corporation)

3-18
The demand for increasingly larger fossil-fueled steam turbines is currently
not as strong as it was when turbine manufacturers started examining titanium
for blading. The lack of need for increasing machine size obviates the immedi­
ate requirement for last-stage blades longer than obtainable with steel tech­
nology. Therefore, the present need for long titanium blades is not urgent and
W continues titanium blade development and evaluation work for different rea­
sons. Westinghouse recognizes the desirability of building up an experience
and a data base on titanium in preparation of taking advantage of whatever
opportunities for titanium might develop.

While the W titanium blades have exhibited satisfactory performance in a rela­

tively undemanding operating turbine, there is really no basis to suggest a
need, or to merit a more extensive trial, of titanium blade substitution for
steel blades for solution of blade problems. There is considerably more con­
fidence in changing blade design to eliminate trouble than in changing blade
material. The necessary design data for titanium to be used with confidence as
a blade material are simply not available. The operating experience that
exists for titanium blades under real turbine conditions has not, and will
never, yield the design data required. Therefore, Westinghouse believes in the
necessity to develop the titanium data base required for its more extensive use
in blades via comprehensive and systematic research programs. Further, in
order to better understand the opportunities for the use of titanium blading,
it would appear expedient to conduct studies on the possible advantages of
titanium relative to improved blade reliability and in conjunction with the
redesign of last stages of existing turbines for improved power and efficiency
ratings.

3.11 UTILIZATION SUMMARY

Much of the detailed information sought on the developmental and operational

use of titanium in steam-turbine blading (and other components) was not made
available for a number of reasons, including proprietary ones. Further, as
previously mentioned, some companies did not have sufficient time to prepare
contributing responses. Thus, while there is evidence that a great deal of
activity in the development of titanium for turbine blading is in progress or
has taken place, the survey has collected only a modest number of utilization
facts. Those facts collected are summarized in Table 3-1, including informa­
tion contained in a recently received reference from Japan.[3-15] Additional
details are given in the preceding sections.

3-19
 Table 3-1

SUMMARY OF TITANIUM UTILIZATION IN STEAM TURBINES

Pertinent Operational
Country, Machine Type, Titanium Material Dimensions and Description
Organization Information Component Description Information and Remarks

Czechoslovakia 55 MW LS Blades Ti-5Al-2.5Sn ^20 in.length Development test

Skoda Works 40,000 hr of operation
Large LS Blades Ti-5Al-2.5Sn (?) 47-51 in.length Developmental study
General Damping Wire NG NG Operational with 33 in.
length blades
(LS=Last Stage) (NG=Not Given)

Germany
-20

AEG 100 MW LS Blades NG 25.5 in.length Operational test (8 blades)

Siemens 160 MW LS Blades Ti-6A1-4V 26.5 in. length Operational test (6 blades)
88,000 hr of operation

Japan
Kobe Steel/ 50 MW LS Blades Ti-6A1-4V 23 in.length Operational test (10 blades)
Mitsubishi(l) Same Machine Blade Shields Ti-5Zr-15Mo — Weld overlay on blade edges
18,700 hr of operation

Poland
Zaklady Zamech NG Damping Wire Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Research Secure by welding
WT3-1 Research Secure by bending

Russia
LMZ and others 50 MW LS Blades T1-5A1 27 in.length Operational test
unidentified 70.000 hr of operation
200 MW LS Blades Ti-5A1 30 in.length Operational test
40.000 hr of operation
(Continued) 300 MW LS Blades Ti-5A1 38 in. length Operational test
 Table 3-1
(Continued)

Pertinent Operational
Country, Machine Type, Titanium Material Dimensions and Description
Organization Information Component Description Information and Remarks

Russia 500 MW Blades(3) and ngW NG Serial Production

LMZ and others other
unidentified 800 MW Blades(3) ng(4) NG Operational test
8760 hr. of operation
1200 MW Blades(3) NG<4) 54 in. length In development
General Damping Wire Ti-5A1 NG Operational

Sweden
Stal-Laval/ 12 MW LS Blades IMI-680(5) 9.5 in. length Operational uprated machine
IMI of the (13.5 MW) via titanium blades (200
3-21

uk(6) blades each end)

Switzerland 300 MW LS Blades IMI-680(5) 34 in. length Operational test

BCC free standing
600 MW LS Blades NG NG Operational test
Large LS Blades Ti-6A1-4V 48 in. length In development
(two full stages)

United Kingdom NG LS Blades NG Relatively short Short-time test (cracks in

CEGB shield weldment)
— NG Closing Blades IMI-680(5) NG Unknown status (Inter-
mediate pressure section)
— NG LS Blades Ti-6A1-4V NG Unknown status
IMI-680(5) NG Unknown status
— NG Shroud Bands Ti-6A1-4V NG Riveted to steel blades
English NG Damping Wire Ti-6A1-4V 0.63 in. diameter Operational (lacing)
Electric
GEC Turbine NG Blades Ti-5Al-2.5Sn and 5 to 11 in. Operational tests in four
Generators IMI-680(5) length units, 40,000 hrs. of
operation
(Continued)
 Table 3-1
(Continued)

Operational
Country, Machine Type, Titanium Material Dimensions and Description
Organization Information Component Description Information and Remarks

United Kingdom
GEC Turbine NG Damping Wire Ti-4Al-4Mn, 0.3125 to 0.4375 Operational
Generators T1-5A1-2.5Sn, in. diameter 78,000 hrs. of operation
T1-6A1-4V

United States 150-200 MW LS Blades T1-5A1-2.5Sn 26 in. length Operational test (six
GE blades in each of three
units)
Various L-l and L-2 T1-5A1-2.5Sn Various Operational in about 400
sizes Closing and T1-6A1-4V sizes units, some with 10
3-22

Blades years service

NG Blade Covers NG NG Operational in 11 units
NG Hydraulic system NG NG Developmental tubing

United States 35,000 hp LS Blades T1-6A1-4V 15 in. length Operational

Ingersoll- Various Blade Covers T1-6A1-4V NG Operational (peened onto
Rand sizes tenons)

Unites States Up to 10,000 hp LS Blades T1-6A1-4V 4 in. length, Operational, many hr of

Terry also 8 in. operation (many units)
length
Up to 10,000 hp Blade Covers Unalloyed Ti NG Operational (many units)
25 hp Many Components T1-6A1-4V NG Research test turbine

Unites States 100 MW LS Blades T1-6A1-4V 23 in. length Operational test of full
Westinghouse stage. 33,000 hr of
operation

(1) Kobe Steel blade development in Mitsubishi turbine. (4) Alloys for blades include VT5, VT3-1, TS5, and VT8.
(2) Same as Soviet VT3-1 alloy, Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr-lFe-0.25Si. (5) IMI-680 alloy is Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-0.2Si.
(3) May be last-stage blades and blades of other stages. (6) Stal-Laval/IMI joint development.
A perusal of the information given in the previous sections and summarized in
Table 3-1 shows that there is worldwide interest in applying titanium in steam
turbines, particularly blading. As might be expected, the attempts to apply
titanium in turbines is concentrated in the last-stage blade application. A
range of titanium alloys is being examined. Unexpectedly, perhaps, titanium
blades have been applied to, or are being developed for, a wide range of tur­
bine sizes. The commercial application of titanium blades to small industrial
turbines is an established operational fact. The operational testing of
titanium blades in medium to moderately large turbines appears to be proceeding
on a wide front, perhaps as the litmus test of several developmental programs.
The development program for very large titanium blades in very large steam tur­
bines is continuing in two countries, Russia and Switzerland, and it would
appear that the development will soon enter the operational test stage.

3.12 REFERENCES

3-1 Drahy, J., "Development and Research of Large Skoda Steam Turbines",
Skoda Review, No. 4, 1972, pp. 5-18
3-2 Drahy, J., Mastovsky, 0., "Skoda Steam Turbines for Nuclear Power
Stations", Jaderna Energie, Vol. 16, No. 11, November 1970, pp. 361-366
3-3 Ruza, V., Bendis, A., "Contribution to the Brazing of Protective Stellite
Plates to Blades Made of Titanium Alloy", Strojirenstvi, Vol. 24, No. 12,
1974
3-4 Field Survey Information (Data and information collected during the May-
December, 1976, period and not specifically identified as to source)
3-5 Matewski, E., Zuchowicz, C., "Damping Rods From Titanium Alloys in
Turbine Rotor Discs", Przeglad Spawalnictwa (Soldering Review), Vol. 24,
No. 3, March 1972
3-6 Ryzhkov, V. K., Sorokin, N. A., Mikhaylov, M. F., "The Steam Turbine
K-1200-240-3 LMZ", Teploenergetika, Vol. 23, No. 5, May 1976, pp. 2-7
3-7 Glazunov, S. G., et al.. The Use of Titanium in the National Economy,
(A. T. Tumanov, Ed.), Tekhnika, Kiev, 1975
3-8 Zaletaeva, R. P., et al., "VT5 and TS5 Titanium Alloys for the Low-
Pressure Cylinder Blades of the KhTGZ K-300-240 Turbine", Teploenergetika,
Vol. 21, No. 2, February 1974, pp. 75-78
3-9 Kryanin, I. R., et al., "Metal Structure and Strength of Elements of
Powerful Steam Turbines", Struktura i svoystva zharoprochnykh
metallicheskih materialov, Moscow, Nauka, 1973, Doklady na 26-y sessii po
probleme zharoprochnosti, April 1972, pp. 80-88
3-10 Neimark, B. E., et al., "Detailed Study of the Physical Properties of
Titanium Alloys VT5 and VT8", Teploenergetika, Vol. 16, No. 6, June 1969,
pp. 52-55
3-11 Nazarova, E. I., et al., "Use of Titanium Alloy VT5 for the Vanes of a
Steam Turbine", Energomachinostroyeniye, Vol. 18, No. 4, April 1972,
pp. 30-33

3-23
3-12 Hanson, C. F., "Alloy Titanium in Steam Turbines", Titanium Progress,
No. 14, Publications issued by Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd., New
Metals Division, Birmingham, U.K., June 1970, pp. 6-7
3-13 "Titanium Alloys in Turbo Machinery", Titanium Information Bulletin,
Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd., New Metals Division, Birmingham, U.K.,
1970
3-14 Kutafaris, S., Foti, J., "Titanium Turbine Investigation", Final Report
on NAVSECPHILADIV Project T-669, April 19, 1976. Qualified requesters of
document to contact U.S. Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, 331 H,
Washington, D.C. 20362
3-15 Ishida, N., Hiwatashi, T., Kusamichi, H., Itoh, H., et al., "Application
of Titanium Alloy to Steam Turbine Blades—Interim Report of Experiment
on a Practical Turbine", KSL/Titanium R&D Technical Note No. 101, Kobe
Steel, Ltd., Titanium Department, Kobe, Japan, January 1977

3-24
 Section 4

RELATED OR PERTINENT TITANIUM UTILIZATION

The application of titanium alloys to aerospace requirements, since the early

1950's, has been advanced to a high level of sophistication for both gas-
turbine-engine and airframe duty. The use of titanium alloys for fan and com­
pressor blades is particularly noteworthy. As blade sizes have increased with
the advent of larger engines, the application becomes increasingly similar to
blades for steam turbines in many respects. Fan blades for some of the larger
aircraft gas-turbine engines are produced by forging and machining, used in the
annealed condition, have overall dimensions with sophisticated taper and twist
in the design, and are highly stressed due to centrifugal, bending, and vibra­
tory loading in ways which are similar to those for steam-turbine blading. A
few details for the fan blades of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co. JT9D engine
and the General Electric Company CF6-50 engine will be presented to illustrate
the differences and similarities.

The fan blades for CF6-50 and JT9D engines are shown in the photographs of
Figures 4-la and 4-lb. Gross fan blade dimensions and some operational details
are given in Table 4-1 for these blades in a side-by-side comparison with a
hypothetical steam turbine blade of about the same overall length in both Ti-
6A1-4V and 403 steel materials. The dimensions for the latter were estimated by
interpolating and extrapolating information from several survey sources.

The differences between fan blades and turbine blades are of interest. Fan
blades have a length/width ratio of about 3.4 to 4.0 (active blade length/
average width) while turbine blades have a ratio of about 6. A large portion of
the turbine-blade mass and overall length are in the root attachment area.
Crush loads on the single hook of a fan blade are probably much higher than on
the firtree hooks of a turbine blade and, since aircraft engines are operated
on a start-stop basis compared with the relatively continuous operation of a
steam turbine, low-cycle fatigue is important in fan-blade design while high-
cycle fatigue dominates turbine-blade design.

4-1
4-2

Figure 4-1. Aircraft Gas-Turbine-Engine Front-Fan Blades (a) JT9D Blade Photograph Courtesy
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co. and (b) CF6-50 Blade Photographs Courtesy General
Electric Company
 Table 4-1

COMPARISON OF JT9D AND CF6-50 FAN BLADES WITH

STEAM TURBINE BLADES OF SAME LENGTH[4-1]

JT9D CF6-50 Turbine Blade

Comparative Feature Fan Blade Fan Blade Ti Steel

Blade material T1-6A1-4V T1-6A1-4V T1-6A1-4V 403

Condition Annealed Annealed Annealed
Overall length, in 29 28 28
Active length, in 26.5 (avg) ^25.5 (avg) 23
Width at tip, in 7.7 3.1
Width at root, in 5.6 4.5
Max. thickness, tip, in 0.2 ^0.25 0.28
Max. thickness, root, in 0.4 'vO. 6 0.9
(2)
Root type Single hook Single hook Three-hook firtree
Stiffener shrouds, No. 2 1 l(3)

(Distance from tip, in) (^4, ^14) CW) (^6.5)

Shroud face coating WC WC —
Weight, lb 9.5 'vlO 14 22.5
No. of blades in stage 46 38 120
Stage diameter, in 92 86.4 96 to 102(4')
Stage rpm ^3600 3800 max. 3600
Blade tip speed, ft/s 1445 1433 1500 to 1600
Blade max. stress (root 70 90 (local) —

area), ksi
Max. vibratory stress, 10 8 —
ksi

^Composite of information from several sources: interpolations and

extrapolations
(2)
Straight hook parallel to machine axis
(3)
Shroud projection or hole for tie wire
(4)
Estimated range

^^Normally about 3600 rpm

4-3
The high-tlme fan blades, in service for several years, have on the order of
10,000 hours at operational speed and only small amounts of time while oper­
ating in a water-droplet environment. Thus, there have been no erosion prob­
lems with fan blades; in fact, no leading edge changes, apart from foreign-
object damage, can be detected. This is in contrast to the constant water-
droplet exposure over many thousands of hours, and consequent erosion, of
blades in some steam turbines. Similarly, possibly because of a combination of
design and operating conditions, titanium fan blades have not experienced any
vibrational fatigue problems, while failure problems in steel turbine blades
due to this cause are not uncommon. No corrosion problems have been experi­
enced with JT9D or CF6 fan blades and none are expected since their operating
environment is not reactive with titanium.

There are very many aerospace applications which might be pointed out as having
some area of relevance to the steam turbine-blade application. While none fit
the case for turbine blading exactly, the fan blades previously described
approximate the application as well as any. The case for titanium application
in helicopters also needs to be called out. Helicopters have sometimes been
called flying fatigue test machines. The use of titanium in the main rotor
blade of the new UTTAS helicopter is described in a recent paper and an account
is given of how titanium’s high bending strain allowable and torsional stiff­
ness are utilized.[4-2] Steam-turbine-blade designers might find this article
of interest in its discussion of the interrelationships between blade twist,
torsional stiffness, and vibratory loading.

Titanium-alloy compressor blading is used in marine gas-turbine engines as well

as in aircraft engines. Several marine gas turbines are aircraft-derivative
engines and retain the use of various quantities of titanium, particularly in
the compressor section, to minimize seawater (saturated air) corrosion which
has been the cause of problems with steel compressor blades.[4-3] Examples of
marine gas turbines with titanium compressors include Olympus TM3B, GE LM-2500
(derivative of CF6), and P&W FT-4A12. The latter is a derivative of the
Pratt & Whitney JT4 (military J-75) aircraft gas turbine engine and has Ti-6A1-
4V blades in all 11 compressor stages (eleventh stage operates at 700 F).[4-l]
Corrosion and stress-corrosion failures of titanium blades have not been
experienced in the high-chloride-content environment of these marine engines.

Titanium has been successfully utilized in a number of seawater environment

applications. One which may have some pertinence to the steam turbine blading

4-4
application is the use of titanium in components of seawater jet pumps. Pumps
of this type are used in the propulsion systems of high-performance water
craft in sizes of up to 18,000 hp (and development up to 40,000 hp).[4-l] The
Aerojet Liquid Rocket Company utilizes unalloyed titanium, Ti-6A1-4V alloy, and
17-4 PH steel for components of one of their two-stage water jets which pumps
at the rate of 90,000 gallons per minute.

The first stage of the above pump has a Ti-6A1-4V housing around the 17-4PH
inducer (large swept blades) and an integral housing-vane stator section of
unalloyed titanium. The separately shafted second stage also uses a Ti-6A1-4V
housing around 17-4PH impeller blades and an integral housing-vane stator sec­
tion of unalloyed titanium. The exit nozzle also is in unalloyed titanium.
The components are exposed to seawater flow at up to 190 ft/s and ingested
debris. Titanium components have exhibited a "frosted" surface appearance
after extended operating experience whereas 17-4PH steel blades have shown
cavitation damage. It is recognized that the titanium and 17-4PH parts "see"
different impingement angles, pressures, and velocities to account for differ­
ences in metal degradation. Nevertheless, titanium is recognized as a superior
material for this application and its wider use in such pumps is being
considered.

The use of titanium alloy in pumps for other purposes also is reported.[4-4,4-5]
The development of pumps for geothermal circulation systems includes surface
and down-hole pumps with Ti-6A1-4V alloy components. In the system described,
as illustrated in Figure 4-2, one surface pump is used as a primer for a down­
hole, turbine-driven pump capable of operating at depths to 10,000 feet in
brines at temperatures to 650 F. The second surface pump is used to reinject
the brine as it leaves the power take-off heat exchanger. Titanium components
of pumps include casing, impeller, inducer, and renewable case-wear rings. The
pumps are expected to find additional application in the chemical-processing
industry and have been field evaluated by oil companies.

In the petroleum industry, titanium has been found to be an excellent material

for water flood pumps used in secondary recovery programs.[4-6] Unalloyed
titanium fluid cylinders for pumps have been tested at pressures to 5200 psi
(584,000,000 cycles) without failure. The Ti-6A1-4V alloy was recommended for
pumps operating at pressures above 5000 psi in environments leading to corro­
sion problems in otherwise competitive materials.

4-5
 Turbine Generator

Brine collect^
ing pond
//////A\^\\\VW/,

land
subsidei
jnce
>ntominotion
and cor

Turbine

Brine source

Figure 4-2. Binary Geothermal System Utilizing

Titanium Component Pumps[4-5]

A wide variety of reactants hostile to materials used in components of equip­

ment and structures are found in flue gases of refuse incinerators; bulk
ingredients of water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen are mixed and
contaminated with smaller quantities of acid gases such as hydrogen chloride
and active gases such as the oxides of sulfur. The corrosion of wet scrubbing
system equipment being employed to reduce pollutants from such mixtures has
been a problem. Material testing has been conducted to determine which materi­
als resist corrosive attack in such environments.

The good corrosion resistance of titanium in gas scrubbing components is

described in several publications.[4-7 to 4-10] Components of a flue-stack
scrubber are shown in Figure 4-3, along with zone locations where titanium and
other materials were tested.[4-7] Titanium's resistance to corrosion was rated
topmost in zones 1, 5, and 6, and near the top (third ranked) in zones 2, 3,
and 4, in one extensive program. One of the authors points out that economi­
cally titanium is best suited for use in the components at each end of a system
where equipment malfunctions might prove to be very costly.[4-8] Cheaper
materials can be used elsewhere, but titanium can withstand the transient con­
ditions of a water outage or a temperature flare at the inlet side of a scrub­
ber and the high stresses and other hostile conditions in the rotating parts of
the exhaust fan. Results from one set of corrosion tests conducted in the
Zone 6 location are given in Table 4.2.

4-6
 Induced-draft fan

Zone 5
— Mist eliminator
Zone 4 ____ Scrubbing water
Trays
Prequench

Zone 3
From
combustion Zone 1
chamber

Zone 2
Settling tank

To disposal

Figure 4-3. Components of a Typical Gas-

Scrubbing System[4-7]

Table 4-2

Results of Corrosion Tests in Zone 6 of a Stack-GasWet Scrubber

Using Salt Water for Scrubbing (90-Day Exposures)[4-7]

Average Corrosion Rate, Surface

Material mpy Pitting

Titanium 0.5 No
Hastelloy alloy C 1.1 Yes
Inconel alloy 625 1.2 Yes
Inconel alloy 825 7.8 Yes
Type 317 steel 8.8(2) Yes
Type 316 steel ll.o(2) Yes
Hastelloy alloy B 8.5 Yes
Carpenter 20 Cb3 12.0 Yes
Carpenter 7-Mo 12.0 Yes
Incoloy alloy 800 14.0 Yes
Monel alloy 400 16.0 No

(1)About 18% H2O, 8% CO2, 65% N2, 8% 02, 0.25% HC1, plus traces of
fluorides, phosphates, and organic acids

Stress corrosion cracking observed.

4-7
There are additional titanium applications where a trouble-free, long-time ser­
vice record indicates that this material is very durable in various hostile
environments. The conditions of such cases and those previously described only
approximate those prevailing in low-pressure, steam-turbine sections, and
usually not all parameters are found in a single case. Nevertheless, the cir­
cumstantial evidence from such cases that indicate the ability of titanium to
perform successfully over long periods of time in the turbine blading role is
abundantly available.

REFERENCES

4-1 Survey information

4-2 Arcidiacono, P. and Zincone, R., "Titanium UTTAS Main Rotor Blade",
Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Technologies Corporation, Journal of
the American Helicopter Society, Vol. 21, No. 2, April 1976, pp. 12-19

4-3 Wood, R. A., "Review of Metals Technology, Titanium and Titanium Alloys",
Metals and Ceramics Information Center, Battelle's Columbus Laboratories,
Columbus, Ohio, September 12, 1975, p. 4

4-4 "Compact and Efficient High-Speed Titanium Pump", Chemical Processing,

Vol. 38, No. 6, February 1975, p. 17
4-5 "Geothermal Power Aided by Titanium Alloy Pumps", Chemical Processing,
Vol. 38, No. 6, June 1975, p. 20
4-6 Stormer, H. A., "High Pressure Waterflood Pumps: Improved Design Cuts
Fluid End Failure", Materials Protection and Performance, Vol. 11, No. 1,
January 1972, pp. 27-29
4-7 Rice, H. D., Burford, R. A., "Corrosion of Gas Scrubbing Equipment in
Municipal Refuse Incinerators", Huntington, W. Va., paper presented at
the International Corrosion Forum Devoted Exclusively to the Protection
and Performance of Materials, Anaheim, Calif., March 19-23, 1974
4-8 Feige, N. G., "Corrosion Service Experience and Economics of Titanium's
Usage in Gas Scrubbing Equipment for Refuse Incinerators", Titanium
Fabrication Corporation, Fairfield, N.J., paper presented at the 1974
annual meeting of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers,
Chicago, Illinois, March 7, 1974
4-9 Tice, E. A., "Corrosion Tests in Flue Gas Desulfurization Processes",
Materials Performance, Vol. 13, No. 4, April 1974, pp. 26-33
4-10 Feige, N. G., "Titanium for Incinerator Gas Scrubbing Equipment", ibid.,
pp. 17-20

4-8
 Section 5

TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS RE TITANIUM BLADING

5.1 EROSION PHENOMENA

The erosion of low-pressure steam turbine blading by the water in wet steam is
a commonly observed phenomenon in medium and large-sized machines. Turbine
blading can become aerodynamically inefficient by the destruction of blade
leading edges via water droplet erosion. The damage can be sufficiently severe
to lead to the shutdown of a turbine for blade replacement.

For blade destruction by erosion to occur, there are three fundamental require­
ments: the availability of water, the condition of a high-energy state as in a
high-speed blade-water impact, and a relatively long reaction time. Water is
present in steam from condensing turbines when the steam expands to a condition
beneath saturation, an operational condition common to the last rows of many
turbines. This location also meets the requirement of a high-energy state
since the row diameters here are large, and the tip speeds of the longer blades
can be quite high. The time requirement is easily met since steam turbines are
operated for multiyear periods.

The leading edges of blades near the blade tips are the areas commonly eroded.
Under severe conditions, erosion can be detrimental after only a few hundred
hours operation. However, due to the precautions that are usually taken, ero­
sion can be minimized, even for service lifetimes of several thousand hours
(e.g., 20-year service). The factors that determine erosion rates are

• Amount of water available (moisture content of steam in the

last rows of LP turbine blading can be on the order of 10
percent)
• Blade tip speed (tip speeds greater than 1000 ft/s [300+ m/s]
can be damaging)
• Turbine design (for example, the distance between fixed and
rotating blades)[5-1]

5-1
 • Blade geometry (for example, blade profile selection so that
water droplets impinge on blades at different angles and
areas)[5-2]
• Blade material.

Comprehensive accounts of the blade erosion phenomenon are afforded in Refer­

ences 5-1 and 5-2 as well as in several other publications.[5-3 to 5-7]
Briefly, these papers describe the water source, its accumulation, motion, and
disposition on stator blades, water-droplet dispersion, impact effects, rela­
tive erosion rates, and measures for reducing erosion. For example. Figure 5-1
depicts absolute and relative steam and water velocities in a low-pressure tur­
bine stage (water droplets exiting from stator blades and impinging on rotating
blades), and Figure 5-2 shows relative blade erosion rates versus blade tip
speed of medium-sized and industrial turbines according to commonly accepted
concepts.[5-1,5-2] Another concept is propounded in Reference 5-2 wherein it
is described that relative erosion rate is not necessarily increased in
machines with higher blade peripheral velocities when designs are optimized.
However, all other factors being equal, the general effect of increasing blade
tip speed is to increase the erosion rate.

Fixed blades

Velocity triangles

Rotating blades

Figure 5-1. Steam and Water Droplet Velocities in a

Low-Pressure Turbine Stage[5-1]

CD = Absolute steam velocity u = Peripheral velocity

CW = Absolute water velocity be = Wetted width = erosion width
WD = Relative steam velocity Tr = Path of water droplets
W = Relative water velocity al = Outlet angle of fixed blades

5-2
 2.0

1.5
e

1.0

0,5

O' 300 400 m/s 500

- U

Figure 5-2. Relative Erosion Rates of Steam

Turbine Blading (Brown Boveri &
Company, Ltd.)[5-1]

e = Relative erosion rate • = 3000 rev/min in service

u = Peripheral speed of a moving * = 3600 rev/min in service
blade © = 3000 rev/min design

While apparently much can be done toalleviate the blade erosion problem in
steam turbines by limiting the steam moisture content (via operational limita­
tions, by providing for water drainage take-off passageways, [5-1,5-8] by con­
trolling the water droplets by turbine and blade design, [5-1,5-2] and by
limiting peripheral velocities), the current interest is centered around blade-
material behavior. The selection of erosion resistant materials for blades
per se or for blade shielding is an effective method of controlling erosion. A
specific current interest is how titanium alloy blades have performed under
conditions of water droplet erosion and how the erosion resistance of titanium
alloy compares with that of steel blade material. In brief, the findings of
this survey indicate that titanium alloy blades have performed without erosion
problems in operational service and that titanium alloy erosion resistance is
equal to or better than conventional steel blade material erosion resistance.

The operational experience reported per the survey included the following blade
erosion observations.

Titanium blades of about 20-inch (500-mm) length (alloy not disclosed), and
without erosion shields, were installed in a 200 to 300-MW turbine by

5-3
Allgemaine Electrizitacts-Gesellschaft AG about 10 years ago and have been
operated since without erosion difficulties.[5-9]

The erosion resistance of titanium last-stage blades operating in turbines of

up to 600-MW size, and without erosion shields, is rated not worse than the
erosion resistance of hardened 12-chromium steel blades operating in the same
machines by Brown Boveri & Company (BBC).[5-9]

A specific example cited [5-10] disclosed the lack of erosion in Ti-2.25A1-

llSn-4Mo-0.2Si (IMI-680) fully heat treated blades of 34-inch (867-mm) length,
and without erosion shields, operating in a 300-MW turbine having relatively
dry steam conditions. Adjacent steel blades in the same row of the BBC machine
had shields.

Examination of a relatively small turbine, 13.5 MW after rework by Stal Laval

(Sweden), using unshielded IMI-680 fully heat treated blades of 9.48-inch (241­
mm) aerofoil length, and operating with a peripheral velocity of 1510 ft/s
(460 m/s) in steam with a mean wetness of 9 percent, revealed a complete
absence of erosion in the blades.[5-11]

Last-stage Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy turbine blades were installed in several GE oper­

ating turbines of moderate size many years ago. These blades, without erosion
shields, have given problem-free performance; blade erosion is about the same
as observed on adjacent steel blades. Operating conditions in these machines
do not represent severe erosion conditions.[5-9]

The last-stage row of annealed T1-6A1-4V blades that Westinghouse installed in

an operating turbine of 100-MW size about 4 years ago has not given erosion
problems.[5-9] The machine, operating at 3600 RPM, has a two-flow LP turbine
section with the titanium blades on one end being subjected to the same wet-
steam conditions as the Stellite shielded 12-chromium steel blades on the other
end. The 23-inch (584-mm) blades of both steel and titanium have the same
geometry. The titanium blades were only slightly more eroded than the Stellite
shields of the steel blades in 4 years of operation (another assessment by
other Westinghouse personnel claimed that erosion of Stellite shields was equal
to that of the titanium blades).

The relatively small blades of titanium alloy used in the small to medium-sized
power steam turbines manufactured by the Terry Corporation and Ingersoll-Rand

5-4
Corporation, Turbo-Products Department, have not been the subject of erosion
problems.[5-9] In general, the experience of these companies has been that
titanium alloys are more erosion resistant than the steel blading material more
commonly used.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., manufactured a 50-MW condensing turbine for

operation at the Kakogawa plant of Kobe Steel, Ltd. T1-6A1-4V last-stage
blades of 23-inch (584-mm) length were shielded with an overlay deposit of Ti-
15Mo-5Zr alloy [5-12] (see U.S. Patent No. 3,802,939, April 9, 1974). The
examination of these blades after 2 years revealed that erosion attack was not
great.

Specific operational experiences cited for Soviet Union machines utilizing

titanium alloy blading do not include direct erosion assessments for the tita­
nium. However, the literature indicates that Stellite shielding is used for
titanium blade protection, possibly indicating that unshielded titanium has
insufficient erosion resistance for the operating conditions of the machines
using titanium.[5-12]

The insufficient erosion resistance of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn blades operating with Mach

2 tip speeds (48 to 52-inch [1220 to 1320 mm] blades in 3000 RPM machines) is
cited by Skoda authors (Czechoslovakia).[5-8] The good performance of Ti-5A1-
2.5Sn blades in smaller machines (55-MW size utilizing ''^20-inch [^500 mm]
blades) is mentioned also.

The survey revealed that, in many testing programs, titanium alloys have good
water droplet erosion resistance in comparison with other metallic materials.
For example, tests conducted by one turbine company have shown that the steam
moisture content — blade peripheral velocity limitations imposed on 403-steel
blades by operating conditions resulting in blade erosion can be considerably
extended with the use of T1-6A1-4V blades.[5-9] As shown in Figure 5-3, blade
peripheral velocity at 10 percent steam moisture content can be increased from
about 1450 to 1750 ft/s (440-530 m/s) without erosion problems by substituting
T1-6A1-4V blades for 403-steel blades.

Qualitatively, BBC reports that titanium alloy in tests has better erosion
resistance tham tempered 12-chromium steel but less resistance than hardened
12-chromium steel.[5-9] It was pointed out that the erosion performance of

5-5
 Erosion

Ti-6AI-4V
Alloy
o> Erosion
a Limit
.2 Curve 403
for / Steel

Minimum Erosion

1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

Peripheral Velocity, ft/s

Figure 5-3. Comparison of the Erosion Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V

Alloy and 403 Steel Blades in Terms of Steam
Moisture Content and Blade Peripheral Velocity
(Other test details not given)[5-9]

titanium blades is sometimes observed to be better in actual service than it

appears in simulated tests (such as in the rotating blade in a rain chamber).

The Soviets report that two titanium alloys, Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr-lFe-0.2Si (VT3-1)

and Ti-4Al-2.5Sn-1.7Zr-1.7V (TS5), are definitely more erosion resistant than
chromium steel but considerably less resistant than Stellite.[5-14] The VT3-1
alloy is about 1.6 times more erosion resistant than the TS5 alloy according to
test results. The results of a water jet impact test on VT3-1 titanium alloy
and 2Khl3 steel indicate the approximate equivalency of these materials in
resisting erosion under the conditions of a specific impingement (repeated
impact of water jet at 150 m/s) [5-7] as shown below.
Maximum Width of
Contact Undamaged
Material Width, mm Strip, mm

VT3-1 0.11 0.25

2Khl3 0.11 0.25

5-6
The following test results further indicate the favorable erosion resistant
characteristics of titanium.

Erosion damage of materials suitable for use as steam turbine blading was mea­
sured after single shot water jet impingement by research workers at
Westinghouse.[5-15] Jet diameter and velocity were variables. Damage caused
by jet impingement on polished specimens was assessed with the aid of optics.
Damage depth and crater volume (y scale) measurements were taken. Figure 5-4
summarizes selected data for 12-chromium steel. Stellite, and Ti-7Al-4Mo mate­
rials. Table 5-1 shows the erosion resistance ranking of materials tested at
two jet velocities, 2500 and 3000 ft/s (760 and 914 m/s). The titanium alloys
ranked highest (the first five positions) in erosion resistance in this study.

12 Chromium Steel

Stellite No. 6

Ti-7AI-4Mo
(annealed)

Damage
Threshold
Velocity

2000 3000
Jet Velocity, ft/s

Figure 5-4. Effect of Water-Jet Velocity on the Damage Depth Observed

in 12-Chromium Steel, Stellite, and Ti-7Al-4Mo Alloy in
Tests Using a 0.06-Inch-Diameter Jet[5-15]

5-7
 Table 5-1
MATERIAL EROSION RESISTANCE RANKING[5-15]
(Single shot, 60 mil diameter water jet
at velocities of 2400 and 3000 ft/s [730
and 910 m/s])

Rank Material

1 C 130 HT (believed to be Ti-4Al-4Mn as heat treated)

2 RS 140 HT (Ti-5Al-2.75Cr-l.25Fe as heat treated)
3 C 135 (Ti-7Al-4Mo)
4 C 130 (believed to be Ti-4Al-4Mn as annealed)
5 RS 140 (Ti-5Al-2.75Cr-l.25Fe as annealed)
6 Stellite No. 6
7 PDS 2874
8 303 stainless steel

Note: Titanium alloy heat treatment was 2 hours at 1450 F, water

quenched, plus 4 hours at 950 F, air-cooled.

Research conducted in relation to the U.S. Navy application of titanium and

other materials to hydrofoil craft by the Chance Vought Corporation included
water jet erosion-corrosion and cavitation assessments in sea water.[5-16]
Figure 5-5 shows selected jet erosion-corrosion data generated on this program
while Figure 5-6 shows selected cavitation data. The Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-8Al-2Cb-
ITa alloys were better than any of the other metallic materials tested in the
jet erosion-corrosion test; Inconel 718 had the best cavitation resistance.

The New Metals Division, Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd., has provided addi­
tional cavitation and erosion resistance data for survey report purposes.[5-10]
The cavitation-erosion resistance data for titanium alloys, steels, and
Stellite are given in Table 5-2, while erosion characteristics of selected
materials, as determined in test rigs (details of test not given), are shown in
Figure 5-7. These data suggest that high material hardness is conducive to
good erosion resistance. The titanium alloys appear to be more resistant than
several steels but less resistant than Stellite in these tests.

The erosion of materials for components of geothermal steam power generating

systems is being examined at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) under U.S.

5-8
Inconel 718
K Monel
17-4 PH Ht.1
Ht. 2
TI-6AI-4V
Ti-8AI-2Cb-1Ta
Berylco 25
AM 355
HY 100
Hastelloy C
Ti-unalloyed
AISI 4330M
Epoxy/Glass
0 (minor visible damage)
Laminate

Erosion-Corrosion Rate, mils per year

Figure 5-5. Sea Water Jet Erosion-Corrosion Rates for Hydrofoil

Material Candidates[5-16]

(30-day exposure at 90 knots, 45-degree impingement

angle)

Ti-8AI-2Cb-1Ta

Polyurethane

Cavitation Rate, inches per year

Figure 5-6. Sea Water Cavitation Rates for Hydrofoil Material

Candidates[5-16]

(Double amplitude 0.001-inch, 22,000 cycles per

second, 8-hour exposures)

5-9
 Table 5-2
CAVITATION-EROSION RESISTANCE OF TITANIUM ALLOYS, STEELS, AND
STELLITE DETERMINED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE IN 10-HOUR EXPOSURES[5-10]
(Peak-to-Peak Amplitude 0.002 Inch, 20,000 Cycles Per Second,
Immersion Depth 0.25 Inch, Liquid Depth Under Specimen 3 Inches)

Weight Loss Volume Loss

Incubation mg/hr nmw/hr
Material Designation Period, hrs Pure 3% Pure 3%
(Composition, w/o) Pure Water Water NaCl Water NaCl

IMI Ti 314 0.60 3.77 4.21 0.84 0.94

(Ti-4Al-4Mn)
IMI Ti 318 0.65 4.46 4.90 1.01 1.11
(T1-6A1-4V)
IMI Ti 679 0.75 4.58 5.20 0.95 1.08
(Ti-2.25Al-llSn-5Zr-
lMo-0.2Si)
IMI Ti 680 1.40 2.93 3.45 0.60 0.71
(Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-
0.25S1)
IMI Ti Ex 700 0.95 3.1 0.68
(Ti-6Al-5Zr-4Mo- 0.89 2.5 0.55
lCu-0.2Si) 0.92 2.5 0.55
Maraging Steel 3.54 0.46
FV 520 B Steel 10.0 1.30
13-Cr Stainless Steel 22.3 2.90
Annealed Austenitic 23.6 3.06
Stainless Steel
Stellite 6B 1.3 0.16
Stellite 25 1.5 0.20

Energy Research & Development Administration funding. Titanium materials,

notably Ti-6A1-4V alloy, are included in these studies. While testing is just
getting underway, a preliminary result on a carboninitrided Ti-6A1-4V test
plate in the fresh water erosion test facility showed that neither the Ti-6A1-
4V alloy or boron carbide and zirconium carbide specimens were eroded in a
1600-ft/s (488-m/s) hot-water flow in exposures of up to 9 hours, whereas other
metafiles (e.g., unalloyed titanium) were eroded in only 3 hours.[5-17]

5-10
 Nitinol A
12 CrNiMoV NiTi
IMI 680
Steel / (510)
Ti Alloy
(320) (380)

18 WCrV
Tool Steel
(600)

(HV30 Hardness
Values in Parentheses)

Exposure Time, hours

Figure 5-7. Erosion Behavior of Selected Alloys with

Increasing Time of Exposure[5-10]

(Details of Erosion Conditions not Given.)

Another indication that the erosion resistance of titanium is good is afforded

by the results of various tests conducted in rain (simulated) and dust environ­
ments in aerospace oriented programs.[5-18 to 5-20] The data generated in such
tests often indicate the superior erosion resistance of titanium; typical rain
erosion test data are shown in Figure 5-8 and dust erosion data (as generated
in a test compressor) are given in Table 5-3. The extensive effort to find a
coating for improving the erosion resistance of various materials to the rain
and dust characteristics of the aerospace environment is apparent by the large
number of references available on the subject (e.g., [5-21 to 5-23]).

5-11
 CO
6

CO
CO
o
0}
E
_3
o
>

Exposure Time, minutes

Figure 5-8. Rain Erosion Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy at

1120 ft/s (341 m/s) Droplet Velocity Compared
with Other Ductile Metallics[5-18]

Similarly, there has been a considerable effort over the years to protect steam
turbine blades from erosion by applying shields principally, but coatings as
well. The following programs aimed at providing erosion protection for blades
were identified in survey work.

Early General Electric Company research work on titanium for blades resulted in
the conclusion that titanium blades might require Stellite shielding.[5-9]
Tests indicated that titanium alloy did erode in wet steam, although not as

5-12
 Table 5-3
EROSION IN COMPONENTS OF A TEST COMPRESSOR[5-20]
(2400 Grams of 200 y Quartz Sand for Each Test
were Fed into the Compressor Operating at 12,400
RPM. No Other Operating Details or Exposure
Times were Given)

Erosion of Compressor Component, iag Loss

Material of Cumulative
Component Inlet Guide Vane Rotor Stator Total

2024 Aluminum 2.9 39.3 21.2

7.9(1) 32.4(1) 25.9(1) 130
6A1-4V Titanium 6.1 26.1 20.0
7.9(1) 28.0(1) 20.9(1) 109
310 Stainless Steel 9.8 40.4 31.7
12.4(1) 43.8d) 32.2(1) 170
410 Stainless Steel 7.1 35.2 24.0
— (2) — (2 ) — (2 ) 133

^^Results from a second test (another 2400 g of sand) run on the same
once-tested component.

(2) Second test not run. Cumulative total weight loss derived by
doubling initial test data.

badly as steel. Hardness was found not to correlate fully with erosion resis­
tance. Attempts at applying Stellite shielding to titanium alloy blades (e.g.,
by brazing) were considered by GE to be less than satisfactory for commercial
application. Details of the assessment were not available.

A technique for the brazing (silver soldering) of shield materials such as

Stellite to titanium alloys is reported by the New Metals Division of Imperial
Metal Industries.[5-11] A combination of pure silver, overlaid on the
titanium, and silver solder, applied first to the shield and then to the joint,
is used. A silver layer is deposited on the titanium at about 1830 F by TIG
weld technique. Titanium alloys intended for use in the age-hardened condition
can be solution heat treated at this point. A layer of silver solder is
applied to the shield material at about 1290 F (Stellite is not tempered at

5-13
this temperature). The coated components are next joined by 1290 F brazing
techniques using silver solder for filler if required. Assemblies of this type
can be heat treated to age harden the titanium at this point in the procedure
if the requirement for hardening the blade exists and if the alloy used is a
heat treatable type. Shear strengths of joints produced with the silver,
silver-solder method, are on the order of 20 ksi.

Skoda authors also have reported on the application and testing of Stellite
shields on titanium blades.[5-24] Two kinds of Stellite, Real 096 (1.3C-2S1-
3.5W-5Fe-26Cr-Bal.Co) and ZAZ 05 Mo (1.3C-2Si-3.5W-5Fe-25Cr-Bal.Co-6Mo), were
used as shields for Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy blades (designation VT5-1) with joining
by silver soldering using three different alloys, with designations B-
Ag40CuZnCd, B-Ag45CuZn, and B-Ag50CuZnCd (all are low-melting-temperature
silver solders). Brazing was carried out in an argon-filled chamber to mini­
mize oxidation. Jigs were used for clamping shields, brazing foils, and blades
together for joining. Evaluation included corrosion tests in boiling distilled
water (var, at 212 F) and in steam (para at 390 to 480 F) for long times, and,
subsequently, shear-strength tests. The results are shown in Figure 5-9.
Additional evaluations of joining technique (e.g., with and without distance­
netting for shield-blade joint spacing control) and joining material (the vari­
ous solders used) by cyclic and static testing were conducted. The highest
joint shear stress was obtained without using distance-netting (i.e., use of a
small joint gap is beneficial). High values of normal and shear stresses were
obtained using Stellite z^AZ 05 Mo. The higher silver content solders appeared
to give the best results. Soviet authors also refer to the use of brazed-on
Stellite shields for titanium steam turbine blades, but no details of the join­
ing technique or performance are provided.[5-13]

Skoda authors also briefly describe attempts at improving the erosion resis­
tance of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy by application of hard coatings.[5-8] Hard coat­
ings of (a) 100 percent Cr3C2, (b) 60 percent 0^02 + 40 percent cobalt, and
(c) 88 percent WC + 12 percent cobalt were described as being "washed off"
blades in 8000 hours of testing, whereas uncoated blades were unaffected. No
test details were given. The need for stronger protective coatings was cited.

As previously mentioned, the Kakogawa turbine, manufactured by Mitsubishi and

operated by Kobe Steel, uses last-stage T1-6A1-4V blades protected with an age-
hardened overlay of Ti-15Mo-5Zr alloy.[5-9] The Ti-15Mo-5Zr metastable beta

5-14
 2i)0 34.9

200 29.0
\ Th
\ [/
\ /
\ k/
K \/\ 1
\/\ \
/ \/\ •rl
\ \/ k \/s
W
\/\ 4<i
\ \
Vv \/\ \
150 21.8 0]
/\/\/ CO
\/ /\/\/ n^N CD

C' /\/\/ /s 4-1

6 '\/\/
/\ C/3
E \4 /\/\/
\/\/ \
/\/\/ cd
\/ \/ /\/\/ (D
\/ X
1/1
N/ / kK\/
100
\ 14.5
/
^7 N
\/ k /\
/ \/
/\ / \/
\/ k/N
\/\
\/ s/N
K\ \/ /\/\l
N \/ /\/\/
\ M/ \.
^._^ \/ 7.3

Exposure
§ hours
S

0
Kflr ^)ara var para Media
^ *)SCu Zn+R[AL OSS AgSOCuZnM* R2AL0S6 Joint alloy

Figure 5-9. Joint Shear Strengths Between Stellite (Real 096)

and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Alloy (VT5-1) Made with the Silver
Solder Alloys Indicated. Shear Testing Performed
After Corrosion Tests in Water (var) or Steam (para)
(para) for Exposure Times Shown[5-24]

alloy layer is deposited by TIG welding technique (the application by diffusion

welding or by explosive pressure welding also is cited in the relative patent
[5-12]) onto the area of the blade requiring protection. An aging heat treat­
ment of from 5 minutes to 20 hours at 390 to 1110 F, followed by air-cooling,
is then given the assembly in order to harden the metastable beta overlay.
Figure 5-10 shows the overlay-base metal hardness values achievable with the

5-15
method. As shown in the figure, a hardened zone of about 0.16-inch (4-mm)
depth is formed. Additional information on the heat treatment and properties
of the Ti-15Mo-5Zr alloy is presented in Reference 5-25.

After Aging
> 500

X 400
After Welding

Surface Distance from surface, mm

I I
Deposit Base Metal

Figure 5-10. Hardnesses of Ti-15Mo-5Zr Overlay Deposit and Base

Metal After Welding and After Subsequently Age
Hardening[5-12]

5.2 CORROSION PHENOMENA

The estimates made regarding the amount of turbine outages due to blade mal­
function range from about 25 percent of all outages (see the Edison Electric
Institute data of Table 1) up to about 40 percent.[5-9] Blade failures have
been attributed to several mechanisms including corrosion, stress-corrosion,
and, in many cases, fatigue mechanisms. Examination of fatigue-failed blades
suggests that, in at least 20 percent of the cases, fatigue failure has been
accelerated by corrosion processes. The problem is talked about as a
corrosion/fatigue problem in general, but very few specific cases of corrosion-
fatigue per se have been experienced. Fatigue phenomena augmented by corro­
sion, for example, corrosion pits as fatigue crack initiation sites, better
describes the actual experience.

5-16
Corrosion troubles are usually associated with poor water treatment prac­
tice. [5-9] For a number of reasons, contaminants such as chlorides, sulfates,
carbonates, and commonly hydroxides, become entrained in the steam. The corro­
sive media is not always identifiable because it may be in a transient form.
Contaminants may occur in gaseous, liquid, or solid forms. In some cases, only
the reactant residues are available to provide clues to the aggressive species.
The steam in turbines, with its additives, can be an aggressive media to some
materials even when under control and particularly aggressive when not under
control.

Further, the chemistry of the steam in turbines is variable, from one time and
place to another time and place, within single machines and from turbine to
turbine.[5-9] Localized residuals from the steam also are variable in concen­
tration from one location to another within turbines. One of the examples
cited by the General Electric Company was the ability of caustics to condense
from steam at high concentrations (30-40 percent not uncommon) over extensive
localities within the LP turbine. Thus, the variables of steam chemistry and
residuals, as well as material reactions possible in the presence of such
media, are of considerable complexity and are not as well known as desired.

The turbine companies believe that there is a strong need to investigate the
full range of steam chemistry variables that constitute the turbine environment
and to determine precise effects of such environments on component mate­
rials. [5-9] In fact, there is a large German program on corrosion fatigue, on­
going for at least 4 years, wherein the German government provides matching
funds to those of the industrial contributors (BBC, KWU, HAN, and AEG) for a
total of about 1 million marks per year ($400,000). The program is principally
concerned with 12-chromium steel behavior with steam chemistry, temperature,
and material strength level as chief variables. Standard corrosion fatigue
tests have been developed, but crack growth tests have not yet been started. A
similar program, and of similar size, is planned for funding by the Electric
Power Research Institute. One of the major differences is that the EPRI pro­
gram will include T1-6A1-4V alloy as a material for evaluation. The EPRI pro­
gram is expected to get underway shortly.

The worst corrosion-augmented fatigue problems exist in the largest machines,

where blade stresses due to steady and vibrational loadings are highest, and
therefore where improper steam chemistry may be highly detrimental to good

5-17
blade performance.[5-9] The blade failures are found predominantly in the low-
pressure sections of turbines, but usually not in the last-row blades. There
are two factors leading to the predominance of blade failures in the LP sec­
tions of turbines, but in rows of blades in front of the last row. The factors
are: (1) steam contaminants tend to precipitate at the point where moisture
begins to form and (2) steam velocity changes from subsonic flow to transonic
flow. Both phenomena tend to occur in the L-l or L-2 rows of 3600 RPM fossil-
fueled machines.[5-9] Also, it should be noted that steam temperatures are
still quite high in the L-l and L-2 rows (150-200 F), while lower in the last
row (85-115 F), suggesting that temperature might be a contributing factor in
the higher incidence of corrosion in L-l and L-2 stages. Figure 5-11 illus­
trates the extensive damage that can accrue in steel blades in penultimate rows
by one form of corrosion encountered, pitting corrosion (contaminant unknown).

Figure 5-11. Pitting Corrosion Observed in a Steel Blade

from a Penultimate Stage, Low-Pressure Section,
of a Fossil Fueled Steam Turbine (IX)

Not a single case of a corrosion problem for titanium blades in operating steam
turbines was disclosed during the present survey. Admittedly, the experience
with titanium blades in service is quite limited compared with steel blades.
However, titanium blades have been operated in environments that have been hos­
tile to steel regarding corrosive attack and have remained immune to such
attack in some of these same machines.[5-9] The excellent corrosion resistance

5-18
of titanium to many media (particularly oxidizing and chloride-containing
environments) in the temperature range prevailing in low-pressure turbine sec­
tions would be expected to produce this result.

While a direct quantitative corrosion assessment of titanium blades operating

in steam turbines was not made available through survey efforts, it is possible
to indicate the excellent corrosion resistance of titanium by citing the tita­
nium performance record in hostile environments that in some cases might be
similar to those prevailing in steam turbines. The following experiences are
revealing.

Titanium tubing for steam power plant condensers, in test for over 15 years,
and in service for a number of years in several plants, has proven to give
excellent performance.[5-26] This application for titanium is particularly
suitable for coolant waters having a high chloride content (e.g., brackish
cooling water supply). Where chlorides exceed about 250 ppm, the coolant
waters can be damaging to stainless steels where mixed in with copper base
alloy tubing. In condenser applications, titanium tubes have provided excel­
lent resistance to attack in the area directly under the turbine exhaust where
water droplet impingement might combine with corrosion to cause early tube
failure. Titanium tubing also has shown an immunity to the most corrosive
steam-side area of condensers, in the air removal section where the noncondens­
able gases (CO2, NH3, O2) concentrate. More than 20 power stations in the
United States have condenser units completely tubed with titanium with an addi­
tional 15 or so units partially titanium tubed or with test tubes.[5-27] Simi­
larly, the Japanese report 79 titanium tubed installations [5-28] and report
specific performance data for the full titanium condenser (tubes and tube
sheet) of the 50-MW Kakogawa unit.[5-29]

Titanium heat exchangers to meet several requirements of the petroleum industry

also perform well and the use of titanium in this area is growing. Some of
the applications, environments, and service records that may be pertinent in
showing the excellent corrosion resistance of titanium are summarized in Table
5-4.[5-30]

The immunity of titanium to chloride attack, wet conditions, is a well-known

attribute of the metal. The titanium producers, particularly Titanium Metals
Corporation of America (TMCA) have been active in developing the chlorine

5-19
 Table 5-4
EXPERIENCE FOR TITANIUM TUBULAR HEAT EXCHANGERS IN
PETROLEUM REFINING APPLICATIONS[5-30]

Processing Plant Environment Service

Unit Item Shell Side Tube Side Life, yrs.

Catalytic cracking Exhaust steam Steam Salt water 7.5

Turbine compressors condensers 1 atmos. 1 atmos.
41 to 235 C (106-455 F) 38 C (100 F)
Edeleanu Plant SO2 drying Steam S02 + H20 + oil 5.0
column 1 atmos. 1 atmos.
reboiler 104 C (220 F) 77 C (171 F)
Hydrorefiner Trim cooler Gas oil with H2 from reactor Salt water 5.5
1 atmos. 1 atmos.
260 C (500 F) 38 C (100 F)
-20

Crude oil Overhead Overhead vapor + desalted crude Salt water 10.0
distillation condenser (pH controlled by NaOH and NH3)
1 atmos. 1 atmos.
116 C (240 F) 27-52 C (81-126 F)
Crude Overhead Overhead vapor + chlorides + water Salt water 7.5
distillation condenser + Process HC1 and H2S
0.3 atmos. 4 atmos.
93 C (200 F) 38 C (100 F)
Crude Overhead Overhead vapor + chlorides + water Crude oil 7.5
distillation Partial + Process HC1 and H2S
condenser 3.5 atmos. 22 atmos.
149 C (300 F) 93 C (200 F)
Flare gas LP gas Oil vapors + chlorides + water Salt water 8.0
recovery compressor + Process HC1 and H2S (possibly
aftercooler nh3)
5 atmos. 5 atmos.
180 C (356 F) 71 C (160 F)
environment, industrial-applications area for titanium. A number of technical
data bulletins describing the corrosion resistance and the economics of using
titanium in specific conditions and media are available.[5-31 to 5-33] Infor­
mation on the use of titanium in resisting the corrosive attack of ammonia, as
in Solvay ammonia stills, also is available.

In addition to developing a body of corrosion resistance data relating to com­

mon industrial uses, tests have been conducted by producers to determine how
titanium will perform on a long-term basis in the environments of geothermal
power plants.[5-9] It was reported that the geothermal power installation
being built in the Imperial Valley (California) by Magma Energy, Inc., San
Diego Gas and Electric Company, and C. F. Braun will use titanium compo­
nents. [5-34] The water/steam mixture from Imperial Valley wells will be pumped
at a temperature of about 450 F. The mix is loaded with chlorides (>35 per­
cent) and has a pH of about 5.5. The brine/steam from wells in the Salton Sea
geothermal area also is heavily mineralized and, as mentioned previously
[5-17], titanium alloys are being intensively tested (preliminary results are
encouraging) for applications in equipment to exploit this source of power.
The scale-control, erosion, erosion-assisted corrosion, and corrosion tests on
a number of materials, including numerous titanium alloys, will provide the
basis for field testing a 100-KW brine-tolerant steam turbine in 1977 by LLL.

The reactivity between titanium and hydrogen, while not a corrosion reaction,
may lead to the degradation of the metal in cases where the conditions are
favorable for its occurrence. The conditions were possibly met in a General
Electric Company application of titanium alloy as steel blade covers in the
intermediate-pressure section of turbines. Titanium covers were installed on
several machines in IP sections which operate at varying temperature and pres­
sure (e.g., inlet, 1000 F, and 500 psi; outlet, 500 F and <200 psi per Figure
1-1). In two of the GE machines, inspection after a period of service revealed
that the covers had disintegrated. Recovery of a few pieces of covers and sub­
sequent analyses revealed a high hydrogen content in the titanium alloy. Reac­
tion between the titanium and steam, and possibly augmenting caustic, was
speculated.

A postulated mechanism would be the buildup of caustic in such places as the

titanium-steel interfaces, general corrosion of the titanium by the hot caus­
tic, and absorption of corrosion-product hydrogen by the titanium to the point

5-21
where hydride embrittlement resulted in disintegration of covers at prevailing
stresses.* Without caustic, one would expect that the titanium covers would
not hydride and fail, since the usual temperature for steam dissociation in the
titanium/steam reaction is 800-900 F. The other GE machines, wherein titanium
covers are apparently giving satisfactory performance, may have some kind of
water treatment practice or other conditions not leading to the concentration
of caustic.

In the general case for the possible hydrogen contamination of titanium compo­
nents in a steam environment, it is believed that the service temperatures pre­
vailing in the locations considered for titanium blading are far too low for a
favorable hydriding reaction to occur in the absence of a reactant such as
caustic. Since turbine service temperatures are much below the temperature
required for the thermal decomposition of water (steam), only a titanium-metal-
surface/water reaction (reduction or dissociation of water to hydrogen and oxy­
gen) would be expected as the mechanism to provide contaminating hydrogen to
the titanium. However, research has indicated that hydrogen contamination of
titanium in moist, but otherwise inert, atmospheres was negligible at tempera­
tures below about 1095 F.[5-35] Further, the research indicated that in moist
oxidizing atmospheres, the temperature for reaction would be raised. The
results suggest that titanium is considerably resistant to hydrogen absorption
(even under conditions found in a nuclear steam condenser where appreciable
quantities of hydrogen are found in the steam) when moisture or a source of
oxygen is present in the system.[5-36] Thus, no problems with the hydriding
of low-pressure section titanium blades, particularly in wet rows, would be
expected. A research report describing the effect of hydrogen on the proper­
ties of T1-6A1-4V alloy, and suggesting the alloy tolerance for hydrogen levels
which do not lead to problems, was prepared by RMI Company authors.[5-37] It
was concluded that, for T1-6A1-4V alloy with acicular microstructures or those
with equiaxed alpha-beta microstructures wherein the alpha grain size is
smaller than ASTM 8, a hydrogen content of 200 ppm max. appears to be a satis­
factory upper limit in the avoidance of problems.

*A parallel situation is used in some laboratories for purposefully hydriding

zirconium-base alloy samples. Samples are exposed to 10 percent lithium
hydroxide at 650 F, undergo general surface corrosion, and product hydrogen
uniformly enters the zirconium samples.

5-22
5.3 FATIGUE BEHAVIOR

The most important design criterion for steam turbine blades is high-cycle
fatigue crack initiation. The moving blades are subjected to a complexity of
cyclic stress patterns generated by aerodynamic and mechanical forces. The
large blades in the last rows of low-pressure sections, particularly last-row
blading in large turbines, have the highest tip speeds and the most severe
vibrational problems. The steady stresses imposed by centrifugal forces and
steam bending loads are coupled and additive to the unsteady stresses imposed
by the host of vibrational forces operative on the working blades of turbines.
While blade designs are optimized to minimize vibrations at resonance frequen­
cies up to third, fourth, fifth, and higher modes of vibration, all possible
excitations are not accounted for, and blades must be sufficiently rugged to
perform reliably in both known and unknown regimes. Materials which have high
fatigue strength must be selected for blade design.

Titanium alloys have become widely accepted in the aerospace industry as mate­
rials which possess excellent fatigue characteristics. Numerous airframe and
gas turbine engine components of titanium are known for their good service
record under cyclic loading. On a more limited basis, titanium alloys also
have become known as a steam turbine blading material. Survey work did not
reveal instances where titanium blades performed unsatisfactorily with refer­
ence to a poor fatigue behavior.* The data available from various testing pro­
grams and application experiences are reported in this section to describe the
general fatigue behavior of titanium alloys which have been considered for use
as steam turbine blading.

The fatigue behavior of titanium alloys is quite dependent on composition, pri­

mary and secondary fabrication practices, heat treatment — in short, the
metallurgical condition — and such other conditions as surface characteristics
and the variables of cyclic stress loading. Generally, the high cycle fatigue
strength of a titanium alloy might be initially estimated as 50 percent of the
ultimate tensile strength. However, as many of the experimental results show,
fatigue strengths both higher and lower than 50 percent of the ultimate tensile
strengths are possible. An example of the variability observed is shown by the
fatigue data of Figure 5-12 for Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy in various surface treatment
conditions.[5-38] Because the metallurgical and physical conditions of a

*
Fatigue-type cracking originating in the joint between the blade and erosion
shield was reported.

5-23
material is of great importance to the observed fatigue behavior (as well as to
other important properties), a background discussion on the metallurgy and
microstructure that can be encountered with titanium is provided in Appendix A
of this report. Microstructures which afford a fatigue advantage for titanium
are described. The appendix provides additional reading on the general metal­
lurgy and the mechanical behavior of titanium for those unfamiliar with the
material.

Ultrosonic mochined

Slab milled

Chem milled and annealed

As rolled
Chem milled
Ground

Electrical discharge
__ mochined
Ti -5AI -2.5Sn
[R = -l]

Lifetime, cycles

Figure 5-12. The Effect of Various Surface Finishing Processes

on the Reversed Bending Fatigue Strength of
Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Alloy (0.125-inch sheet thickness;
Annealed UTS = 138 ksi, YS = 132 ksi, El = 18
Percent)[5-38]

The T1-6A1-4V alloy in the annealed, equiaxed alpha-beta microstructural condi­

tion has been the "workhorse" titanium material for all applications (see
Figure 2-6). The largest use of this material has been in aircraft gas turbine
engines, particularly for discs and blades. Not unexpectedly, therefore, sev­
eral steam turbine manufacturers have examined Ti-6A1-4V alloy for their blad­
ing applications and have found it satisfactory in terms of mechanical proper­
ties, including fatigue properties. Typical T1-6A1-4V annealed bar fatigue
behavior is presented in the Goodman diagram of Figure 5-13.[5-39] While many
variations in fatigue behavior from the above characterization have appeared in
the literature, the "typical" behavior of Figure 5-13 could be reasonably

5-24
 A* 4.0 2.33 15 I 0.67 0.43 025 0.11 0
R- -06________ -04________ -0 2__________ 0 ____0.2 __ 04 06 08 10

Minimum Stress, Ksi

Figure 5-13. Typical Constant-Life Fatigue Diagram for Annealed

Ti-6A1-4V Alloy (Bar) at Room Temperature[5-39]

Correlative Information for Figure 5-13

Product Form: Rolled Bar, IW-inches diameter Test Parameters:

Properties: TUS, ksi TYS, ksi Temp, F Loading - Axial
136.5 128.5 RT (Unnotched) Frequency - 1750 cpm
189.0 — RT (Notched) Temperature - RT
Atmosphere - Air
Specimen Details: Unnotched Notched, V-Groove, Kt = 3.3
0.203-inch diameter 0.331-inch gross diameter
0.252-inch net diameter
0.010-inch root radius, r
60° flank angle, co

Kj^ = 1.74,p = 0.044 inch, where Kj^j 1 +

Surface Condition: Unnotched: Polished longitudinally with 240, 400 and 600 emery belts.
Notched: Machined V-groove followed by polishing notch root with 600-
grit slurry and rotating copper wire.

5-25
expected in steam turbine blades made of commonly available grades of Ti-6A1-
4V alloy, by fabricators and heat treaters familiar with titanium processing.
The data indicate some notch sensitivity for the Ti-6A1-4V alloy, but the expe­
rience record has revealed a good tolerance for mechanical stress raisers by
this material. Figure 5-14 shows that elevated service temperatures do not
seriously degrade the fatigue strength of T1-6A1-4V alloy, while Figure 5-15
indicates the effect of microstructure on the notched fatigue strength of this
material.[5-40,5-41] The potential benefits of microstructural control and a
metallurgical discussion on the fatigue behavior of Ti-6A1-4V alloy are given
in detail in Appendix A, as previously mentioned.

70 and 600 F

800 F
Smooth

Notched

600 and 800 F

Cycles

Figure 5-14. Effect of Test Temperature on the Smooth and Notched

Fatigue Behavior of Annealed T1-6A1-4V Forging in
Reversed Bending Evaluations (Tensile Yield Strength,
122 ksi)[5-40]

The effects of service temperature, microstructure, and notches on the fatigue

behavior of the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alpha alloy are similar to those described for the
Ti-6A1-4V material. Figure 5-16 is a composite drawing illustrating the effect
of selected test variables.[5-42]

5-26
 R = 0.1
Center Notched
Kt = 3.5

Acicular Structure
(125)

Mixed
(130)

Equiaxed Structure
(Annealed)
(TYS, ksi) (128)

Cycles

Figure 5-15. Effect of Microstructure on the Room Temperature Notched

Fatigue Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy Plate[5-41]

Various manufacturing processes can have a profound effect on the fatigue pro­
perties of titanium alloys or on the structures made from these materials. An
example of the latter revealed in the literature shows that the fatigue
strength of brazed joints between Stellite erosion shields and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
blades is below that expected for base metal Ti-5Al-2.5Sn (Figure 5-17).[5-24]
The reference stated that fatigue fractures originating in the joint propagated
into the titanium base metal and sample failure occurred.

The use of titanium alloys for steam turbine blading may be at an advanced
stage in the Soviet Union. Russian authors have described evaluations of sev­
eral titanium alloys for this application although the references do not
include the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn or Ti-6Al-4V alloys, both of which are manufactured
within Russia. The alloys described include

• VT5, Ti-5A1
• TS5, Ti-(3 to 5)Al-(2 to 3)Sn-(1.4 to 2)Zr-(1.4 to 2)V
• VT3-1, Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr-lFe-0.2Si
• VT8, Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-0.25Si.

5-27
 Smooth

800 F

Smooth

70 and 400 F

Notched
600 F

Ac = Acicular
Structure

X = Equiaxed
Structure

Notched
Kt = 3.0

Cycles

Figure 5-16. Effect of Test Temperature and Microstructure on the

Smooth and Notched Fatigue Behavior of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
Alloy Bar Material (Tensile Ultimate, 130 ksi)[5-42]

5-28
 b 100

Joint Type
• Ag 45Cu Zn and
Stellite Real 096
X Ag 45Cu Zn and Stellite
Real 096 with joint
spacing netting
A Ag 50Cu Zn Cd and
Stellite lAZ 05 Mo

Cycles

Figure 5-17. Fatigue Life of Stellite/Tl-5Al-2.5Sn

Joints Prepared by Brazing[5-24]

The VT5 alloy is perhaps more closely allied to the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy than the
TS5 alloy. The TS5 alloy appears to be a Ti-5Al-2.5Sn base with small addi­
tions of zirconium and vanadium to make it behave somewhat like the Ti-6A1-4V
alloy. Fatigue evaluations have indicated a small advantage for the TS5 alloy
over VT5 as shown in Figure 5-18 and as amplified by the text of Reference
5-43.

The room temperature fatigue strength of both alloys (symmetric cycle) is bet­
ter than the requirement for the blade material of the last stage of the low-
pressure section of the K-300-240 turbine. The room temperature values for
smooth samples from bars are

• VT5, 40.8 Kg /mm2 = 58 ksi

• TS5, 43.8 Kg /mm2 = 62 ksi.

And asymmetrically under static loading of 30Kg /mm2 (43 ksi):

5-29
 kgf/mm?
ksi

57

43

28

0-2
-e- z
-
14 - —o— J
' -o- J -o— »
-®- «
- -®- 5
5-30

cycle

Fatigue strength of VT5 biade materia] with sym­

Fatigue strength of TS5 blade material with sym­ metric and asymmetric cycles at t|e#t= 10, 100 and 350°C
metric and asymmetric cycles at tt(.st = 20,100 and 350°C and under conditions of stress concentrations
and under conditions of stress concentrations
_^o20 'Cj "st3= 30 kgf/mm^;
(0~>°'C)* • 2—(°—1 :*
,100 °C\ °st—30kgf/ •g_“Cj ’st^Mkgr/mm2;
■w° /»
g _^350”C j ost=30kgf/mm2

Figure 5-18. Comparison of the Fatigue Behavior of the

VT5 and TS5 Soviet Titanium Alloys[5-43]
 • VT5, 26.5 Kg /inm^ = 38 ksi
• TS5, 25.3 Kg /ram^ = 36 ksi.

The room temperature values for notched samples (Kt^1.8) are

• VT5, 14.5 Kg /mm^ = 21 ksi

• TS5, 16.0 Kg /mm2 = 23 ksi.

At elevated temperatures, as indicated in Figure 5-18, there is no appreciable

reduction in fatigue strength up to 212 F (100 C), but 20 to 25 percent reduc­
tion at 660 F (350 C). Somewhat disturbingly, it was reported that fatigue
samples prepared from forged blades (as opposed to those from bar stock) had
fatigue strengths of up to 24 percent lower than the strengths measured for the
bar material as shown below.

• VT5, 58 ksi for bar, 44 ksi for blade samples

• TS5, 62 ksi for bar, 47 ksi for blade samples

This result probably reflects the importance of controlling the microstructure

of forgings that the Soviets have referred to in other accounts of making tur­
bine blades of titanium.[5-13]

The TS5 alloy also is described in comparison with the VT3-1 alloy [5-44] and
the VT5 alloy is further described in References 5-13 and 5-45, the latter in
comparison with the VT8 alloy (physical properties only). The VT3-1 alloy has
better fatigue strength than the TS5 material, as indicated by the data of
Q
Table 5-5 and summarized below.[5-14] Room temperature, 10 cycle fatigue
strength for smooth samples is shown.

• VT3-1, 50-54 Kg/mm2 = 71-77 ksi

• TS5, 42-46 Kg/mm2 = 60-66 ksi

The tensile yield strengths of the billet materials yielding these fatigue
results were 138 to 152 ksi and 129 to 130 ksi for the VT3-1 and TS5, respec­
tively. Notched samples (Kj. - 1.8) of the two materials have approximately
equivalent cyclic strength as follows.

• VT3-1, 14 Kg/mm2 = 20 ksi

• TS5, 13 Kg/mm2 =18.5 ksi

However, these data compared with smooth specimen data indicate the greater
notch sensitivity of the higher strength VT3-1 alloy as might be expected
(N/UN ratio = 0.27 for VT3-1 and 0.30 for TS5).

5-31
 Table 5-5
ROOM TEMPERATURE (20 C) FATIGUE STRENGTH OF
VT3-1 AND TS5 AT 108 CYCLES[5-14]

VT3-1 TS5 .
„ (2) a
a (3)
*t(1)
St a a-l a r <5)
Billet Specimen Kg/mm^ Kg/mm^ v(4) k£<(>/5) Kg/mm2

Blades of
first batch Smooth 0 50 — — — 42 — — —
45 — 15 0.78 — 10 0.71 —
Notched^) 0 31.5 — — 1.45 — — — —
45 — 7 0.61 2.15 — 7 — 1.43
5-32

Blades of
second batch Smooth 0 54 — — — 46 — — —
45 — 24.5 0.66 — — 21 0.55 —
Notched^) 45 — 14 — 1.75 — 13 — 1.61

Static tensile stress (tensile stress in the root section of the fin of the blades) applied asymmetrically
(Kg/mm^ x 1.42 = ksi).

(2) Strength under symmetrical cycle. = a-1 (smoothly)/a-1 (notched).

(3)
Strength under asymmetrical cycle, ^^Circular notch 1 mm in depth and 0.5 mm in radius (Kt - 1.8).

(4) y _ P-1 ~ ga ,d = (b-c)/a.

Pet-
The degradation in the high cycle fatigue strength of the VT3-1 alloy due to
prior low cycle fatigue exposure also was measured and results were compared
with those obtained for a 15CrllMoV steel undergoing the same exposures.[5-46]
The prior low cycle fatigue exposure was to simulate turbine startup and shut­
down stresses estimated to be operative from 500 to 1000 times over the life­
time of a Soviet turbine. Oversize specimens for the low-cycle exposure were
cyclic stressed to 0.7 tensile yield strength levels, that is, to

• VT3-1, 68 Kg/mm2 = 97 ksi (^138 ksi TYS)

• 15CrllMoVSt, 50 Kg/mm2 = 71 ksi (^101 ksi TYS).

High cycle fatigue test samples were cut from the low cycle fatigue exposed
steel samples after either 500 or 1000 cycles while the VT3-1 samples were
taken only from material which had been cycled 1000 times. The low cycle
fatigue exposed materials were tested in the smooth and notched (Kt = 1.6 in
bending or 2.0 in tension, i.e., = 1.8) conditions. The high cycle fatigue
data developed are depicted in Figure 5-19 and are summarized below.

• No prior low cycle fatigue exposure

Smooth Notched
Kg/mm2 (ksi) Kg/mm^ (ksi)
VT3-1 24.5 (35) 14.0 (20)
15Cr-llMoV — 20.5 (29)
• Prior low cycle fatigue exposure
Smooth Notched
1000 Cycles 500 Cycles 1000 Cycles
Kg/mm2 (ksi)_____ Kg/mm2 (ksi) Kg/mm2 (ksi)
VT3-1 26.0 (37) — H.O (16)
15Cr-llMoV — 20.5 (29) 16.5 (24)

The increase in notch sensitivity of the VT3-1 alloy resulting from low cycle
fatigue exposure was noted as unfavorable by the Soviet investigators who sug­
gested that the approximately 20 percent degradation (for VT3-1) should be
taken into account at the blade and turbine design stage. They also noted that
the VT3-1 was affected to about the same degree as the 15Cr-llMoV steel by the
1000-cycle simulated startup-shutdown exposure.

The alloy developed by the New Metals Division of Imperial Metal Industries,
Ltd., Great Britain, IMI-680 (Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-0.2Si), like the VT3-1 alloy,
also is a high-strength material compared with Ti-6A1-4V or Ti-5A1 alloy; about
190 ksi UTS for IMI-680 versus about 147 ksi UTS for Ti-6-4.[5-10] Last-row
blade forgings of IMI-680 (for a 300-MW turbine) in the heat treated condition.

5-33
 3$

26,0

we n
No. of cycle#

Experimental curves of fatigue resistance of

smooth il, 2) and notched (3, 4) specimens of VTZ-1
alloy under initial conditions (2, 3) and after low-
cycle ageing on the basis of 1000 cycles (I, 4).

No. of cycles

Experimental curves of fatigue resistance of

ISCrllMoV steel notched specimens under initial
conditions (1) and after low-cycle ageing on the
basis of 500 (2) and 1000 cycles (3).

Figure 5-19. Comparison of the High Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Soviet

Titanium Alloy VT3-1 and 15Cr-llMoV Steel with and
Without Prior Low Cycle Fatigue Exposure[5-46]

were sacrificed for fatigue evaluation, with the results shown in Table 5-6.
The high fatigue strength of this high strength material is apparent as is the
uniformity of properties from various positions within forgings. Also, there
is little degradation in strength due to increasing test temperatures. How­
ever, notch sensitivity is indicated, as is usually the case for high strength

5-34
 Table 5-6
FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF THE IMI-680 TITANIUM ALLOY IN SOLUTION
TREATED PLUS AGED CONDITIONS[5-10]

Test Rotating Bend Fatigue Strength at 5 x 107 Cycles, ksi

Test Temperature, Blade Tip Center Blade Base Root
Direction(l) F (C) Sm(2) Sm(2) N(2) Sm(2) N(2) Sm(2) N(2)

(3)
SHT 1605 F (875 C) , FC to 1290 F (700 C), Age 24h 930 F (500 C), AC [>195 ks i UTS]

L RT (20) __ __ 126 27 110 __

212 (100 _ _ _ 101 _ _ _

212 (100)W - - — — 110 — — —
T RT (20) 95 — — 30 — — 101 —
212 (100) 101 — — 25 — — — —
-35

480 (250) 92 — — 24 — — — —
750 (400) 78 — — — — — — —

(3)
SHTV ' 1515 F (825 C), AC, Age 24h 930 F (500 C), AC [190 ksi UTS]

L RT (20) 106 39 __ __
101 39 __ __

T RT (20) — 40 — — — 37 — 36
ST RT (20) - - — — — — 106 44

^^L = longitudinal, T = transverse, ST = short transverse directions relative to grain flow.

(2)
Sm = smooth samples, N = notches samples where Kt = 2.5.

(3)
SHT = solution heat treatment; FC = furnace cooled; AC = air cooled

(4)
Sample tested in steam; all others in air.
materials, for a fairly mild stress concentrating condition (i.e., Kt = 2.5).
Nevertheless, this material in the fully hardened condition has reportedly per­
formed well as blading in operating steam turbines.

The current survey did not reveal much regarding the fretting fatigue behavior
of titanium blading in the root areas. None of the steam turbine manufacturers
contacted expressed concern over the potential problem and none cited problems.
The Imperial Metal Industries brochure refers to the potential fretting problem
as follows.[5-10]

"Blade root fixings of the fir-tree and pin type have all
performed satisfactorily in aeroengine and steam turbine
practice without anticipated problems with fretting. On
pin fixings, contact stresses up to 45 h bars (^67 ksi)
with significant contact area movement have been employed
without recourse to surface hardening and with no fretting
effects. Tungsten carbide detonation gun applied spray
coatings have, however, been applied in the low stressed
areas of compressor blade abutments to prevent fretting
in gas turbine practice."

The two aircraft gas turbine engine companies contacted. General Electric at
Evendale, Ohio, and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft at East Hartford, Connecticut,
stated that they have not experienced fretting fatigue problems in the fan
blades of their large engines (the CF6 and JT9D, respectively).[5-9] The fan
blades of both engines have two areas for fretting: contact faces of the mid­
span shroud and the root attachment hook contact faces. The problem of fret­
ting fatigue is avoided by the use of such treatments as shot peening plus dry
film lubricant and tungsten carbide flame sprayed coatings for contact areas.
With these precautions, fretting fatigue has not been a factor in the operating
experience of these large Ti-6A1-4V fan blades.

5.4 DAMPING PHENOMENA

The property of a material which causes resonant vibrations to diminish with

time and which limits the resonant amplitude of absorbed vibrational energy is
termed internal friction or damping capacity. A high-damping capacity for
structural materials of a steam turbine is desirable since this characteristic

5-36
is useful in dissipating some of the vibrational energy of the system. A high
damping capacity characteristic for turbine blade materials is particularly
desirable.

The moving blades of steam turbines are prone to vibrate under the excitations
induced by steam loading and rotational forces. In the long blades of the last
stages of low-pressure turbine sections, vibration problems can be acute, and,
in fact, have led to many fatigue failures (see Table 1-1). While it is usu­
ally possible to counter the vibration problem by blade and blade-support
design, the complexity of the total possible modes of blade vibration is such
as to make important the selection of a high damping capacity material for
blades. Unfortunately, the high damping capacity property is not ordinarily
found in combination with other properties desired for blades. Designers must
select a compromise material and endeavor to produce blades and blade-support
systems which are tuned to infrequently encountered excitation frequencies.

The damping design problem is becoming increasingly severe as new machines

evolve which have higher steam flows, longer blades, and more intricate blade
shapes for the promotion of better efficiencies. Some relief for the problem
used by several turbine manufacturers is provided by the practice of tying
groups of blades together (e.g., four or more). Blade groups may still vibrate
but at lower resonant amplitude, thus minimizing the operating stresses to
which individual blades are exposed. Blade groups can vibrate to and fro
(axial direction), side to side (rotational direction), and in a twisting mode.
Intermediate modes and superposition of modes are possible and are experienced
in turbine blades. Individual blades can be designed as either untuned (e.g.,
massively built) or tuned (i.e., designed to not be in resonance in the first
three or four modes) to fit particular situations. Some very high harmonics
are sometimes encountered, but fortunately, the higher the harmonic, the lower
the excitation.

While blade dimensions are selected (in addition to other requirements) so that
at turbine design speed no resonance occurs between the lowest natural blade
frequencies and shaft speed multiples, designers don't really know how to pre­
cisely calculate for blade damping (e.g., vibration amplitudes), and rely to a
large extent on prior experience for some aspects of successful blade design.
The experience factor is quite important in selecting the combination of mate­
rial and mechanical (or system) damping required for a given system. Thus,

5-37
designers tend to continue the use of a blade material (e.g., 12-chromium
steel) and mechanical damping methods (shrouds, ties, and root fixings) which
have given acceptable performance in prior machines. Steam flows, which ordi­
narily provide a positive aerodynamic (viscous) damping, may be as important to
the total system damping as material damping and mechanical damping, but
effects are not well understood. Nevertheless, aerodynamic damping is additive
to material damping and mechanical damping and all three categories are con­
sidered in the designing of turbine blades.

One of the concerns with the use of titanium alloy for blading is its rela­
tively low damping capacity. Damping capacity values reported for titanium
range from 0.00015 to 0.014 (logarithmic decrement of decay, 6) with a more
commonly observed range of 0.001 to 0.005 (6). Type 403 steel, on the other
hand, has a commonly observed damping capacity range of 0.01 to 0.05 (6).
These differences in material characteristics are of some concern to blade
designers. The steady stresses imposed on blades (e.g., by centrifugal forces)
are easy to accommodate by design. The unsteady stresses (i.e., the vibratory
loads) are not easy to design for when both sufficient section strength to pro­
vide for centrifugal loading and maximum blade-configuration efficiency are
considerations. The problem is related to how much damping can be expected
from the material per se: what strength level should be built into titanium
blades to accommodate an expected higher vibration loading of the material
having relatively low damping capacity?

The titanium turbine blade experience to date has not provided the data to say
whether material damping or system (mechanical and aerodynamic) damping is
operative. The damping of the large blades of titanium alloys in test or in
operational turbines has been augmented by system damping in all cases covered
by the survey work. The need to generate specific material damping data for
titanium blades under turbine conditions has been cited as an important requi­
site for titanium blade design.

The survey revealed that several turbine companies, while cognizant of the
relatively low-damping capacity of titanium, are testing and using this mate­
rial for blading without any special precautions in blade design. Other com­
panies are managing the low-damping characteristic of titanium by using care­
fully designed blade midspan shrouds or ties. Further, it is to be noted that
some companies are designing free-standing titanium blades (e.g., BBC) where

5-38
the only mechanical damping is root damping. In all of the experiences sur­
veyed, there were no difficulties reported for test or operational titanium
blades attributable directly to the damping characteristic. At the same time,
there have been efforts made to improve the damping capacity of titanium
alloys. These have included research programs in alloy development and pro­
perty modification by heat treatment. In addition, the results of damping
measurement studies were reported. The results of some of these programs are
described.

Selected results from early (1950's) studies on the damping characteristics of

titanium (unalloyed), Ti-4Al-4Mn alloy, and Type 403 stainless steel are given
in Table 5-7 as a point of reference.[5-47a] The damping characteristics of
these materials are given in terms of specific damping energy (inch-pounds per
cubic inch per cycle) which is not possible to relate to logarithmic decrement
or internal friction without knowing the constants associated with specimen and
machine dimensions. However, the data show that, under the conditions of this
test (Ti-4Al-4Mn material annealed 16 hours at 1300 F and furnace cooled; Type
403 steel heat treated for 15 minutes at 1750 F, oil quenched, reheated to
1050 F, held 90 minutes and air-cooled), the titanium alloy had about the same
damping capacity as the steel. The apparently anomalous specific damping
energy results reported for unalloyed titanium (at Se, the fatigue strength
value at 2 x 10? cycles) are not understood.

Another interesting comparison of Type 403 steel and titanium alloy character­
istics is afforded by the cyclic stress sensitivity limit (CSSL) data of Table
5-7. The CSSL has been described as the stress level below which damping is
independent of the number of strain cycles imposed and as a good indicator of
the minimum stress which can cause permanent fatigue damage in materials.[5-47b]
The CSSL data of Podnieks and Lazan indicate an advantage for the Ti-4Al-4Mn
alloy over Type 403 steel for the material and test conditions examined.[5-47a]
(The Ti-4Al-4Mn alloy, although no longer offered commercially in the U.S., is
similar in metallurgical behavior and properties to the Ti-6A1-4V alloy.) How­
ever, Willertz and Moon point out that the CSSL of Type 403 steel is definitely
below the fatigue limit (Se of Table 5-7) and that prior results to the con­
trary possibly reflect the insufficient sensitivity of CSSL test procedures to
detect metal characteristic changes below the fatigue limit.[5-47b] If this is
the case for steel, it also possibly applies to the CSSL result reported for
Ti-4Al-4Mn alloy (at room temperature) as well. That is, a more sensitive test

5-39
 Table 5-7

STATIC AND DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM, Ti-4Al-4Mn, AND TYPE 403 STEEL MATERIALS[5-47a]

Data for Mat erial and Test Temperature Indicated

Unalloyed Ti Ti-4Al-4Mn 403 Steel
RT 600 F RT 600 F RT 700 F
Property (20 C) (316 C) (20 C) (316 C) (20 C) (371 C)

Static
Yield strength (0.2% Offset), ksi 57 139 111
Ultimate tensile strength, ksi 75.7 152 129
Elongation in 2 in, percent 24 20 21
Reduction of area, percent 25 34 65
Hardness, R^-. 15.9 35.8 24-26
Modulus of elasticity, 10^ ksi 13.8 10.6 16.9 14.5 30.5 27.0
5-40

Fatigue
Fatigue strength at 2 x 10? cycles. 41 20.5 86 62 65 54
Se, ksi
Ratio of Se to ultimate tensile 0.54 0.27 0.57 0.41 0.50 0.42
strength

Damping
Stress at cyclic stress sensitivity 24 10.5 95 50 66 54
limit, = CSSL, ksi
Ratio of stress at S^ to Se 0.59 0.51 1.10 0.81 1.02 1.00
Specific damping energy at SL, 0.16 0.07 2.0 1.70 1.40 1.65
in-lb/cu in/cycle
Specific damping energy at Se, 10-150 10-50 1.75 2.4-5 1.4 1.65
in-lb/cu in/cycle
procedure for Ti-4Al-4Mn alloy might show a CSSL value lower than the fatigue
strength value. The CSSL of T1-6A1-4V alloy undoubtedly will be determined in
the forthcoming EPRI funded program on corrosion-fatigue.

Since the data of Table 5-7 were generated in a single study, they are consis­
tent with regard to test variables and analyses and therefore afford a direct
comparison of the damping behavior of the materials evaluated. Additional
reference data illustrating Type 403 steel (and other materials) damping behav­
ior are shown in Figure 5-20.[5-48]

A NIVCO 10
• TYPE 403 STEEL
o TYPE 310 STEEL

20X10'
MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESS AT AMPLITUDE (psi)

Figure 5-20. Damping Characteristics of Three Engineering

Materials as a Function of Shear Stress
Amplitude[5-48]

Soviet authors have reported on the damping characteristics of three titanium

alloys which are being used or are being examined for use as turbine blading,
VT5, TS5, and VT3-1.[5-14, 5-43, 5-44, 5-49] The nominal compositions are

• VT5, Ti-5A1
• TS5, Ti-(3 to 5)Al-(2 to 3)Sn-(1.4 to 2)Zr-(1.4 to 2)V
• VT3-1, Ti-5.5Al-2Mo-2Cr lFe-0.2Si (VT3-1 = VTZ-1).

The data reported are shown in Figures 5-21 and 5-22 and indicate the range of
damping characteristics for these titanium-base materials for selected test

5-41
 Dependence of the vibration decrement of the TS5
and VT5 titanium alloys on the stress amplitude at t = 20,
100, 220 and 350°C.
1 - TS5, 350°C (blade); 2 - VT5, 350°C (bar); 3 - VT5,
350°C (blade); 4 — TS5,20°C (blade); 5-VT5, 100°C (bar);
6 - TS5, 100°C (blade); 7 - VT5, 20°C (blade); 8 - VT5,
20°C (bar); 9 - VT5, 100°C (blade); 10 - VT5, 220°C
(blade).

(b) □ - 2 _
o-3

Temperature dependence of decrement of

oscillations of VTZ-1 alloy with different type
of structure at a “ 0.8<7_,.

1—Fine-grained, equiaxed. Type 2; 2—fine-lamellar. Type 4-6;

3—lamellar. Type 7-8; 4—coarsely lamellar. Type 9

Figure 5-21. Ranges of the Vibration Decrement for (a) VT5 and TS5
Alloys with Stress Amplitude and Temperature Vari­
ables [5-43] and (b) VT3-1 Alloy with Microstructure
and Temperature Variables[5-49]

5-42
 %
Batch 11
o.os
Batch 1
TS-5

VTZ-1
(a)
TS-5

Dependence of the decrement of oscillations

of material of the first and second batches of blades
made of titanium alloys on the amplitude of sign­
changing stress at 20°C.

VTZ-1

(b)

Dependence of decrements of oscillations

of the second experimental batch of blades made
of VTZ-1 andTSS alloys on the amplitude of rela­
tive stress at 20 and 100°C.

Figure 5-22. Ranges of the Vibration Decrement for VT3-1 and TS5 Alloys
with (a) Processing and Stress Amplitude Variables and
(b) Stress Amplitude and Temperature Variables[5-14 and 5-44]

variables. The somewhat superior damping characteristics of the VT3-1 alloy

were cited.[5-44]

Research conducted at the Central Electricity Research Laboratories, Central

Electricity Generating Board, Great Britain, was aimed at improving the damping
capacity of three titanium-base alloys via mlcrostructural control.[5-50] The
three alloys, IMI-318, IMI-551, and IMI-680, were solution heat treated to pro­
duce various quantities and compositions of the beta phases in the mixed two-
phase structures (Figure 5-23). The three compositions examined were

• IMI-318, T1-6A1-4V (117KX, a second heat of same)

• IMI-551, Ti-4Al-4Sn-4Mo-0.5Si
• IMI-680, Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-0.25Si.

5-43
 Figure 5-23. Volume Fraction of Alpha Phase (HCP) Observed After
Solution Treatment and Quenching from Temperatures
Indicated[5-50]

These compositions are sufficiently beta stabilized to permit the retention of

untransformed beta phase of Composition X, when the solution treatment tempera
ture is at or below a critical temperature (Tc), as in Figure 5-24. The CEGB
work included determinations of the critical temperatures for beta phase reten
tion and the beta transus temperatures for the alloys as depicted in Table 5-8
and tensile properties at selected temperatures as given in Table 5-9.

The untransformed beta phase produced by rapidly cooling metal from solution
temperatures at and below the critical temperature is increasingly stabilized
with decreasing solution temperature. At solution temperatures near the criti
cal temperature, the beta phase retained to room temperature is unstable and
may be very strain transformable (martensitic transformation during deforma­
tion) in preferred compositions.[5-51] The condition may be characterized by
low tensile yield strength and high plasticity. Similar effects produced in

5-44
 ALLOY
COMPOSITION

ROOM

TEMPERATURE

STABILIZERS % p STABILIZERS

Figure 5-24. Schematic Phase Diagram for Titanium-Aluminum-Base

Alloys with Beta Stabilizing Additions[5-10]

Table 5-8
BETA TRANSUS TEMPERATURES AND CRITICAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE
RETENTION OF UNTRANSFORMED BETA PHASE AS SOLUTION QUENCHED
FOR IMI-318, IMI-551, AND IMI-680 TITANIUM ALLOYS[5-50]

Beta Transus Critical Temperature for

Temperature, Beta Phase Retention
Alloy C F C F

IMI-318 1025 1877 750-770 1380-1420

IMI-551 1050 1922 850-863 1560-1585
IMI-680 930 1706 850-863 1560-1585
(117KX) (1005) (1840) (815-830) (1500-1525)

5-45
 Table 5-9
ROOM TEMPERATURE TENSILE PROPERTIES OF THREE TITANIUM
ALLOYS AS SOLUTION TREATED AND QUENCHED[5-50]

0.1% Proof
Stress U.T.S. Elongation
Alloy 'Heat Treatment (MN m-2) (MN m~2) %

IMI 318 1 h at 817°C WQ 730 910 15.4

1 h at 870°C WQ 730 950 17.2
IMI 551 1 h at 870°C WQ 780 1180 15.4
1 h at 1100°C WQ 1200 1310 0.3
IMI 680 1 h at 870°C WQ 420 1110 11.7
1 h at 950°C WQ 360 1180 11.9

T1-6A1-4V alloy by heat treatment are well known since the 1950's. The IMI
titanium alloys, solution treated over a range of temperatures above and below
the critical temperature, were examined for their damping behavior in these
conditions in the CEGB study.

Selected results of the low-stress damping measurements per Reference 5-50 are
summarized in Figure 5-25. Those for the high-stress damping measurements are
summarized in Figure 5-26. The higher damping capacities of these materials
quenched from near the critical temperature are immediately apparent. The
author concluded that the high damping behavior measured

• Depends on arranging for a metastable B-phase to be

retained at the testing temperature, and
• Is thought to be associated with the reversible growth
of "Pre-martensitic embryos".

Unfortunately, the metastable beta phase resulting in high damping is quite

unstable and aging type thermal exposures degrade the good damping characteris­
tics rather quickly. The effect is shown in Figure 5-27 for the IMI-551 and
275 F (135 C) aging temperature. The IMI-318 and IMI-680 alloys behave simi­
larly, and all three alloys show the instability during aging at temperatures
as low as 212 F (100 C). Room-temperature storage (aging) for longer times
also is effective in degrading the high-damping levels produced by solution
treating. Changes in the microstructures due to aging were not observed and

5-46
 IMI-680

IMI-551

IMI-318

Solution Treatment Temperature, C

Figure 5-25. Low Stress Damping Behavior of Three Titanium Alloys at

Room Temperature Immediately After Quenching[5-50]

5-47
 IMI-318
at 160 MN/m2
(23 ksi)

IMI-318
at 30 MN/m2
(4.3 ksi)
IMI-680
at 160 MN/m2

IMI-551
at 160 MN/m2

Solution Treatment Temperature, C

Figure 5-26. High Stress Damping Behavior of Three Titanium Alloys

at Room Temperature Immediately After Quenching[5-50]

the author concluded that the loss of damping was perhaps associated with
"thermal stabilization" of the beta phase, thus reducing the effect of vibra­
tional stresses on inducing the early stages of martensitic trans­
formation. [5-50]

5-48
 IMI 551. QUENCHED FROM 855 °C
AGED AT I35°C

AS QUENCHED

6 mins

10 mins

100 mins

•4.500 mins

MAX. SURFACE SHEAR STRESS. MN m

Figure 5-27. Effect of Aging Type Thermal Exposures

on the Damping Behavior of IMI-551 as
Solution Heat Treated and Quenched from
the Critical Temperature[5-50]

5.5 OTHER PERTINENT PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

The record for titanium in applications with regard to its erosion, corrosion,
and fatigue resistance is one which appears to make the material attractive for
the steam-turbine blading application. However, the above parameters are not
the only ones that need be considered. For example, titanium's modulus of
elasticity, at essentially one-half that of steel, is possibly a disadvantage.
Further, under certain conditions, blades need to be very tough — very frac­
ture resistant. Under all conditions, a material for blades needs to have the
characteristic of good fabricability for ease of manufacturing. A good weld­
ability of the material also might be desirable for some designs. The physical
properties of titanium, such as thermal expansion, thermal capacity, and ther­
mal conductivity, are considerations. The information in this section illus­
trates the traits of titanium regarding the above matters.

5-49
The modulus of elasticity for the various titanium alloys considered for steam-
turbine blades differs with composition, processing, mill-product form,
measurement technique, etc. For example, tensile modulus for the alpha tita­
nium alloy, T1-5A1-2.5Sn, has been reported as ranging between 15.5 and 16.0 x
10^ ksi. The data offered in this section, using Ti-6A1-4V alloy as an exem­
plary material, is intended to illustrate general alloy characteristics rather
than to present definitive engineering data. Nevertheless, the data cited are
from engineering data handbooks and authoritative reports and can be used as
initial guidelines in considering Ti-6A1-4V for turbine blades if that becomes
desirable.

The room temperature elasticity values for T1-6A1-4V alloy reported in Military
Handbook 5 [5-52] are

• E, tension, 16.0 x 10^ ksi

• E, compression, 16.4 x 10^ ksi
• G, torsion, 6.2 x 10^ ksi
• y, Poisson's ratio, 0.31.

The above values reported are the same for sheet, strip, plate, bars, and forg­
ings in either the annealed or the solution-treated plus aged conditions. How­
ever, the results reported for annealed, standard-processed Ti-6A1-4V sheet
obtained via precision measurement techniques are slightly different, as shown
below.[5-53]
Property No. of Tests Range Average

E, tension, 10^ ksi(-*-) 16 15.4-17.6 16.5

E, compression, 10^ ksi^^ 16 15.7-18.0 16.6

U, Poisson's ratio^^ 10 0.287-0.391 0.342

(^Via Tuckerman optical strain gage.

( 2)
Via two-element rosette resistance strain gages.

The elastic modulus at various temperatures for Ti-6A1-4V alloy may be esti­
mated by multiplying the room-temperature values in the above tabulations by
the temperature factors shown as a curve in Figure 5-28.[5-52] The effect of
temperature on the elastic modulus of selected Soviet titanium alloys is shown
in Figure 5-29.[5-45]

5-50
 Modulus ot temperature
« 120

100

UJ 60

-400 -200 200 400 600 800 1000

Temperature, F

Figure 5-28. Effect of Temperature on the Tensile and

Compressive Modulus of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy
Sheet and Bar[5-52]

There are several turbine-blade design considerations that relate to modulus of

elasticity values. For example, in retrofitting titanium alloy blades to steel
discs that have been designed for steel blades, the question arises as to
whether the loads on the root hooks would be properly distributed.[5-9] Some
companies surveyed are concerned that, with a direct geometrical substitution
of titanium for steel buckets, the top titanium hooks would tend to support the
entire load. Other companies have cited their experiences in using titanium
blades wherein the titanium root design has accommodated the distribution of
stresses to the three holding points very well because of the low modulus,
stress-strain characteristics of titanium. Thus, there are apparently differ­
ences in experiences possibly owing to differences in designs. The area is
undoubtedly one which should receive design attention due to the potential
problem.

5-51
 Figure 5-29. Effect of Temperature on the Tensile Modulus of
Selected Soviet Titanium Alloys[5-45]

1, VT8, Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-0.25Si; 2, Same, different

heat; 3, VT5, Ti-5A1; 4, Same, different heat;
5, Ti-6A1; 6, Ti-4Mo; 7, TGO, Unalloyed titanium.

Titanium blade detwisting under centrifugal forces and blade bending (axially)
under steam loading are also areas needing design attention with regard to the
relatively low modulus of titanium.[5-9] The blade detwist-modulus relation­
ship is rather straightforward and a major problem in this design area is not
anticipated. It is believed that the blade flutter problem may not be as
easily dismissed when designing with titanium. Blade flutter is usually expe­
rienced under low-flow, high-back-pressure conditions (e.g., start-up, shut­
down, and steam dump situations) and is associated with blade bending in the
axial direction. When a blade bends, it presents a changed profile to the
axial flow force which may cause still greater bending. A freely bending tita­
nium blade may present a radically different profile to the axial mass flow.
The concern is related to how much more the relatively low modulus titanium
blades would bend than steel blades, and, therefore, how much greater motion
factor would need to be design accommodated. No experience has been accumu­
lated (or at least reported) concerning this potential problem with titanium,
but its properties suggest that improperly designed titanium blades might be
susceptible to blade flutter phenomena.

The impact toughness and the fracture resistance of titanium in combination

with other characteristics such as low density and corrosion resistance made it
an attractive candidate for armor from its earliest recognition as a new struc­
tural metal. The use of T1-6A1-4V alloy as a crack stopper in airframe

5-52
sheet-stringer structures also was widely employed early in the history of its
applications. Currently, titanium alloys, including Ti-6A1-4V, are used in
numerous airframe and aircraft engine applications where high-fracture tough­
ness and crack propagation resistance are premium requirements.

Properly processed and heat-treated titanium alloys have a high toughness and
an excellent service record regarding toughness can be cited. For example, the
large fan blades, annealed T1-6A1-4V alloy, of the General Electric Company's
CF6 aircraft gas turbine engine have encountered and stood up well to foreign
object damage (FDD) in service connected experiences.[5-9] Figure 5-30 shows
the bent and torn fan blades of a CF6 engine which was believed to have
ingested portions of an aircraft tire and wheel rim. This case illustrates the
excellent ballistic impact toughness of the Ti-6A1-4V blades under extreme
high-stress conditions.

The need for high-fracture toughness and crack-propagation resistance in steam-

turbine blading stems from the need for an FOD resistant and a fatigue notch
insensitive material in blades. Steam-turbine blades may be subjected to FOD
in cases where up-stream blade and/or nozzle malfunctions and failures occur
(e.g., due to water induction at steam extraction points and resultant tempera­
ture anomalies) resulting in blade debris traveling downstream into other
blades and nozzles. The reliability of a turbine section in part depends on
the capability of its materials to continue holding loads under adverse high-
stress conditions.

An example of T1-6A1-4V steam turbine blades maintaining their integrity under

accidental FOD conditions was reported.[5-54] A small (7000 hp) industrial
turbine manufactured by the Terry Corporation experienced an accidental loss of
oil, causing thrust-bearing failure, which allowed rubbing between rotating and
stationary components. The steel blading in the high-pressure stages was
broken, cracked, and pulled out of the turbine hubs while the T1-6A1-4V last-
stage blades did not crack or pull out of hubs. The nicked, bent, and twisted
titanium blades were salvaged by reworking to the proper shape and used in the
repaired machine.

Additional selected data for the Ti-6A1-4V alloy are presented which afford
some insight into the ability of this material to perform well in such
situations.

5-53
Figure 5-30. Bent and Fractured Fan Blades from CF6-50A[5-9]

(Photographs courtesy of General Electric Company)

5-54
The behavior of the T1-6A1-4V alloy in the Charpy V-notch impact-energy absorp­
tion test for both the annealed and aged conditions is shown in Figure
5-31.[5-55] It is to be noted that there is no sharp ductile-brittle transi­
tion temperature for this alloy. The impact-energy absorption value for the
temperature range typical of the last stages of low-pressure steam-turbine sec­
tions is in the 20 to 25 ft-lb range.

I3l,000-psi room-temperoture yield"

143,500-pli room-temperoture yield

o Mill annealed

* 1550 F (I hr) W.Q.+ 900 F (24 hr) A.C.

Temperature. F

Figure 5-31. Charpy V-Notch Impact Energy Absorption for Ti-6A1-4V Alloy
in Two Conditions of Heat Treatment[5-55]

Representative fracture-toughness values for T1-6A1-4V alloy forgings and plate

are given in Table 5-10.[5-56] These data show some differences in toughness
due to annealing treatment, mill product, section size, and specimen orienta­
tion. The range of fracture toughness values experienced with a variety of
standard annealed mill products having tensile strengths between 120 and 145
ksi (i.e., all materials within specification limitations) is shown in Figure
5-32.[5-57] The recrystallization annealing treatment recently developed
(e.g., 4 hours at 1700 F, furnace cool to 1400 F no faster than 100 F/hour,

5-55
cooling from 1400 F to below 900 F within 45 minutes) is expected to improve
the consistency of properties, including the fracture characteristics at mod­
erately high values, of T1-6A1-4V alloy from lot to lot and for the various
mill-product forms being used. Figure 5-33 shows the effect of increasing test
temperature on fracture toughness — toughness increases with increasing tem­
perature as tensile strengths decrease.[5-58] Constant amplitude fatigue-
crack-growth-rate tests on the same annealed material (2 hours at 1300 F) were
conducted on samples with longitudinal orientation. A double cantilever beam
specimen was used and the load was cycled at 600 cycles per minute. Data for
annealed material and for annealed material additionally exposed for 1000 hours
at 800 F are shown in Figure 5-34.[5-58] The 800 F exposure slightly reduced
the crack-growth resistance of annealed Ti-6A1-4V. However, this exposure tem­
perature is quite higher than would be expected in areas for titanium use in
steam turbines.

Table 5-10
ROOM TEMPERATURE PLANE-STRAIN FRACTURE TOUGHNESS DATA FOR
Ti-6A1-4V ALLOY ANNEALED FORGINGS AND PLATE[5-56]
(Compact Tension Specimens)

Form Avg
and Yield Specimen Thick., Width Crack KlC,
Thick., Str., Orienta­ (B) (W) Length, ksi-
Condition in. ksi tion in. in. in. yin.

Mill anneal, 2.3 145 L-T 1.249 2.500 1.250 51.3

1000 F, Billet 145 L-T 1.250 2.498 1.264 50.5
2 hr, AC Avg 50.9
Mill anneal, 2.3 127 L-T 1.253 2.500 1.271 86.8
1300 F, Billet 127 L-T 1.251 2.498 1.225 85.0
2 hr, AC Avg 85.9
Mill anneal, 2.3 120 L-T 1.250 2.500 1.277 80.3
1300 F, Billet
2 hr, AC
Mill 1.25 119 T-L 1.247 3.500 1.817 94.8
annealed Plate 119 T-L 1.245 3.495 1.741 95.3
119 T-L 1.245 3.499 1.824 97.0
Avg 95.7
Recrystallize 1.5 121 L-T 1.500 6.003 3.103 86.6
annealed Plate 121 L-T 1.496 6.002 3.080 91.0
Avg 88.8

Recrystallize 2.0 119 L-T 1.780 6.003 3.075 97.3

annealed Plate 119 L-T 1.873 6.003 3.138 96.6
Avg 97.0

5-56
 100

80

60

40

55

Ronge of toughness
at a single strength
level
20

HO 120 130 140 150

Tensile Yield Strength, ksi

Figure 5-32. Fracture Toughness-Tensile Yield Strength

Relationship Observed for Annealed T1-6A1-
4V Bars, Plates, and Forgings[5-57]

The thermal properties of Ti-6A1-4V alloy are shown in Figure 5-35.[5-59] Data
from several sources are shown: There is no evidence to indicate which of the
values are more nearly correct. Steam turbines are heat engines, and component
materials must perform at elevated temperatures. Titanium alloys have been
routinely used at temperatures to 600 F and, in several applications, to much
higher temperatures. The Soviets have investigated the long-term use of pro­
perties of titanium over a broad temperature range and have measured the physi­
cal properties of the VT5, Ti-5A1, and VT8 (Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-0.25Si) alloys over
the 20 to 800 C (68 to 1470 F) range as shown in Table 5-11. [5-45] The Soviet
authors point out that the linear thermal expansion coefficient of the titanium
alloys is lower by 20 percent than for 2Crl3 steel and that the specific heat
and thermal conductivity changes with temperature are quite different than for
steel as well. These characteristics for titanium alloys should be carefully
considered in designing titanium components for their compatible use with steel
structures.

5-57
 LONGITUDINAL ORIENTATION

THICK SECTION (2.3 INCH THICK)

ULTIMATE STRENGTH

YIELD STRENGTH

id 80

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS

-100
TEST TEMPERATURE (°F)

Figure 5-33. Effect of Test Temperature on the Fracture Toughness and

Tensile Strength of an Annealed T1-6A1-4V Alloy Forging[5'-58]

5-58
 -©-
io4

A O
O
A
cP
A o°
A A
A 00
A

-5
6 10
5 A^°
O
A^O
A O
c
A°
O O
O

V
CRACK GROWTH RATE

A
O
8
A

A
i o'6

OTI-6-4 FORGING
ANNEALED
ATi-6-4 EXPOSED
TO 800°F FOR
1000 HOURS
R=0.l
LAB AIR

I I
6 8 10 20 40 60 80 100
CHANGE IN STRESS INTENSITY AK (KSI/TR)

Figure 5-34. Crack-Growth Resistance of a Ti-6A1-4V Alloy

Forging Annealed 2 Hours at 1300 F and as
Thermally Exposed 1000 Hours at 800 F[5-58]

5-59
 ZOO 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Temperature, F

600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Temperature, F

ZOO 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Temperature, F

Figure 5-35. Thermal Properties of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy (a) Mean Coefficient

of Thermal Expansion Between Temperature Indicated and 68 F,
(b) Thermal Conductivity, and (c) Specific Heat[5-59]

5-60
 Table 5-11
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM ALLOYS VT5 AND VT8[5-45]

Tem perature c
Properties Alloy 20 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

__
a20flo6» l/degCD VT5 8.99 9.44 9.80 10.04 10.22 10.39 10.53
VT8 — 8.26 9.25 9.80 10.03 10.18 10.24 10.24 10.57
a.10^, l/deg(l) VT5 — 9.4 10.0 10.55 10.65 11.3 11.45 — —
VT8 — 9.3 10.3 10.6 10.6 10.9 10.25 11.3 —
d.lO--^, kg/m^^^ VT5 4.412 4.402 4.390 4.376 4.362 4.348 4.334 4.319 —

VT8 4.461 4.452 4.439 4.425 4.411 4.396 4.383 4.370 4.353
cp, kJ/kg. deg^ VT5 — 0.615 0.655 0.675 0.695 0.725 0.745 0.745 —
VT8 — 0.55 0.58 0.62 0.64 0.68 0.735 0.75 —
co20-t, kJ/kg. deg(3) VT5 —
0.6 0.62 0.64 0.65 0.665 0.675 0.685 —
5-61

VT8 — 0.535 0.56 0.575 0.59 0.605 0.62 0.64 —

X, W/m. deg^) VT5 — 10.5 11.8 12.8 13.6 14.6 15.8 17.2 —
VT8 — 9.4 10.8 12.2 13.6 15.0 16.4 17.8 19.1
a.10^, VT5 — 0.39 0.41 0.435 0.45 0.465 0.49 0.535 —
VT8 — 0.385 0.42 0.445 0.48 0.50 0.51 0.545 —
p.10®, ohm.m(6) VT5 143.2 152.4 162.3 170.1 176.3 180.0 183.1 184.8 —
VT8 165.4 170.9 175.9 179.6 182.0 183.5 183.5 183.5 182.1
L. 108, v2/de?l7) VT5 — 4.30 4.04 3.79 3.57 3.38 3.30 3.28 —
VT8 — 4.28 4.01 3.84 3.69 3.56 3.46 3.35 3.25
E.IO-10, N/m2^8) VT5 12.31 11.98 11.38 10.67 10.01 9.35 8.65 7.94 —
VT8 12.16 11.89 11.40 10.82 10.21 9.63 9.06 8.49 —

^^Mean coefficient of thermal expansion. ^^Thermal diffusivity.

C2) Electrical conductivity
' 'Density.
(3) Lorenz number.
^ 'Specific heat.
(4) (8 )
Thermal conductivity. /Elastic modulus.
While the experience in fabricating titanium alloy components has accumulated
to large proportions in the brief history of the metal, the fabrication "know­
how" is not as widely distributed among metalworking firms as might be desired.
It is important that manufacturers of titanium components have a background in
successful titanium fabrication or expend the time and effort to develop such a
capability in order to produce parts meeting the full potential of titanium
materials. The survey revealed that there were cases where titanium components
were not being fabricated using optimum procedures.[5-9] There is an extensive
literature available on preferred techniques for fabricating titanium, includ­
ing the technologies for welding and brazing, which should be utilized when
titanium is selected for steam turbine components.[5-39,5-60,5-61,5-62]

5.6 LOW-PRESSURE TURBINE SECTION EFFICIENCY AND POWER

The thermal efficiency of large modern steam turbines is on the order of 35

percent, swinging higher or lower with a complexity of operating limitations
and with various turbine designs. A large fraction of the total power in the
steam of turbine generator sets is extracted in the low-pressure section(s) and
the last stage(s) accounts for a very large proportion of the power extracted.
The importance of overall machine efficiency is much greater as a result of
factors such as the high price of fuel. Thus, a more efficient last stage of
the low-pressure turbine section becomes very desirable. The potential for
increasing the efficiency of the low-pressure sections of turbines by utilizing
longer last-stage blades, implying the use of titanium blades in designs which
are size limited by the properties of steel blades and rotors, was therefore a
topic of discussion during the survey. In short, was there a benefit derivable
from the use of longer last-stage titanium blades due to an increased and
otherwise unobtainable efficiency in turbine ends which might be in addition to
any benefit obtained through increased reliability of titanium blades?

Increasing the efficiency of low-pressure steam-turbine sections by increasing

the length of the last-stage blades is particularly effective when the con­
denser back pressure is low, a condition achievable at low cost by once-through
cooling in geographic areas with unrestricted water supply. Low back pressures
have been used by utilities in the past in the Great Lakes area and by TVA and
AEP in some areas. Environmental restrictions on the permissible temperature
rise of water returned to lakes, rivers, or estuaries (restricted to a rise of
1.5 F for Great Lakes water, for example) have effectively removed this option
and forced most new power plants to resort to high cost cooling towers or

5-62
cooling ponds. The magnitude of the cooling problem is clear when it is real­
ized that about one-half of the heat input to fossil-fueled plants is rejected
to the condenser (about two-thirds of the heat input to nuclear-fueled
plants).[5-63]

The use of longer last-stage blades results in a larger annulus area and lower
blade loading for a given steam throughput. The mechanical duty on such longer
blades, and consequently their reliability, may be greater or less, depending
on their design, buffeting stresses during off-peak operation, and many other
factors.[5-9] In any case, leaving losses tend to be lower with a larger
annulus area, with other conditions relatively constant, and therefore longer
blades present the potential for increased last-stage efficiency.

As an example of the potential for increased efficiency, the General Electric

Company offered the following for discussion purposes.[5-9] Consider a condi­
tion of a 2-inch Hg back pressure and a 15,000-pound steam per hour per square
foot (lb/hr/ft^) loading rate. If the steam loading on last-stage blades
is reduced to 10,000 Ib/hr/ft^ by increasing the blade length (e.g., from 30 to
33.5 inches), the exit velocity would be reduced two-thirds and the heat rate
reduced by 2 percent. Thus, if the original overall thermal efficiency was 38
percent, an increase of 2 percent corresponds to 38.8 percent overall (new)
efficiency. If adequate cooling is not available to achieve a 2-inch Hg back
pressure, for example, in a situation where a cooling sufficient only to
achieve a 4-inch Hg back pressure was available, there would be substantially
no difference in efficiency with the longer blades. Thus, greater thermal
efficiency could be achieved with the increased annulus area, provided a suffi­
ciently low back pressure could be obtained with optimized exit cooling.

The difficulties of meeting steam turbine, condenser cooling requirements in

the years ahead are discussed in a paper by Westinghouse Electric Corporation
authors.[5-63] The main thrust of their report concerns how the forthcoming
less-than-optimum and expensive cooling systems (e.g., dry towers) and conse­
quent higher condenser back pressures will affect steam-turbine design. It was
pointed out that last-stage efficiency peaks at some optimum exit velocity
(Figure 5-36) which may not be obtainable at high condenser pressures when low
steam loading is utilized (Figure 5-37).[5-64] Thus, the direction for effi­
ciency would be to maximize last-stage steam loading by increasing steam flow
for a given annulus or by decreasing annulus area for a given steam flow.

5-63
Therefore, in situations where nonoptimum cooling prevails, longer last-stage
titanium blades would not be appropriate. Conversely, in areas where lower
exhaust cooling temperatures can be achieved, it would appear appropriate to
explore the potential benefits of longer last-stage titanium blades.

Axial Mach Number

Figure 5-36. Exhaust Stage Efficiency Versus

Axial Mach Number[5-64]

The potential for titanium blading for use in attaining an increased efficiency
and power in turbines via the ability to increase last-stage-annulus area was
discussed during the survey with reference to the Imperial Metal Industries
(IMI) experience.[5-11] The IMI-operated turbine (manufactured by Stal Laval
of Sweden) was originally a 12-MW radial- (two) axial-flow design with axial
section last-stage blades of 8.5 inches (aerofoil length) and last-stage outer
blade diameter of about 66 inches. At overhaul, due to severe blade erosion,
etc., the last-stage discs were reworked to permit installation of 9.5-inch
blades (aerofoil length) of titanium alloy, IMI-680 (Ti-2.25Al-llSn-4Mo-
0.25S1), within the same outer blade diameter (66 inches). Thus, the last-
stage annulus area was increased, and the reworked turbine was then capable of
peak outputting 13.5 MW, representing a 15 percent increase over the output of
the original turbine set. Steam wetness increased from 2 percent in the origi­
nal machine to 9 percent in the redesigned turbine. Assuming that total steam

5-64
 28

24
CM
No Gain*
20 In Output
£
o 16
o
o

12
1
+4 Operating
i 8 Range
"5
UJ

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Condenser Pressure, inches Hg

Figure 5-37. Exhaust Stage Operating Range for Various Steam Flows
and Condenser Pressures[5-64]
(*Due to "choking" at velocities >0.9 Mach. Last-
stage work is zero at _<0.27 Mach.)

flow was not increased, the case is an example of extracting additional power
by increasing the exhaust annulus areas. Energy losses were possibly minimized
by optimizing last-stage steam loading.

The relationship between energy losses (approximately proportional to steam

exit velocity squared) and steam load on last-stage blades was discussed.
Steam loading is dependent on such factors as mass flow, condenser pressure,
and blade height or total annulus area. Energy losses are high at low-steam
loads, then decrease to a minimum with increasing steam load (an optimum load),
then again increase with increasing steam load (relate to Figures 5-36 and
5-37). Last stages are usually designed so that steam loading is at a value
somewhat higher than at the minimum energy loss point to be amenable to limit­
bending stresses on blades and back-pressure limitations. The design is usu­
ally optimized on the basis of other factors as well as on the exit-loss fac­
tor, so that while the design is close to the exit-loss minimum, it is not
quite there. It was suggested that the reason there was improvement in the IMI
turbine was that the design was not optimized originally. (Apparently the
original design was far above optimum steam loading and exit velocity
values.)[5-9] Redesign, by increasing annulus area and optimizing the hub/tip
ratio, resulted in reduced last-stage steam loading and therefore decreased
steam exit velocity to approach the minimum energy loss.

5-65
Smaller turbines than the above described IMI machine also have utilized last-
stage titanium blading for improved performance. A Terry Corporation steam
turbine of axial flow design and rated at 5400 hp* at 7486 rpm was reworked to
substitute a single last row of Ti-6A1-4V alloy blades for the original last
two rows of martensitic stainless steel blades.[5-54] The reworked turbine
could be safely operated at 7700 rpm (924 ft/s tip speed for the 27.5-inch OD
stage), with greater mass flow, to develop 7200 hp. The blade and stage infor­
mation are given in Table 5-12. It is to be noted that there was no alteration
of the shell diameter. Stationary elements (diaphragms and nozzle blocks) were
replaced to provide more high-pressure nozzle area. An outside diameter shroud
band on the titanium alloy stage was made from unalloyed titanium strip.

Table 5-12
COMPARISON OF DIMENSIONS AND OPERATING DATA FOR A SMALL
INDUSTRIAL STEAM TURBINE BEFORE AND AFTER REWORKING[5-54]

Comparative Feature Original Staging After Rebuild

Stage number 7 8 (last) 7 (last)

Blade material Steel Steel T1-6A1-4V
Active blade length, inch 2.250 3.313 3.688
Pitch line diameter, inch(D 25.438 24.438 23.813
Outside diameter, inch(2) 27.688 27.751 27.501
Shell diameter, inch 29.375 29.375 29.375
Maximum operating load (5400 hp at 7486 rpm) (7200 hp at 7700 rpm)

^Diameter at midpoint of active blade length.

(2) .
v yDiameter at tip of blade, not including 0.063-inch-thick shroud.

The purchasers of large steam turbines for power generation generally consider
in detail the trade-off between turbine size, efficiency, reliability, and cost
of electricity generated with current fuels for the various options that are

One horsepower (hp) is approximately 0.77 kilowatt (kw).

5-66
possible by last-stage turbine design. In most cases, efficiency improvement
could be offered today at higher cost using the numerous available options, by
increasing the number of low-pressure exhaust paths and the length of last-row
blades. For example, GE offers a large number of options in the last stage:
double or four-flow exhaust, or a combination of 2, 4, and 6-flow, and blade
lengths of 23, 26, 30, and 33.5 inches. The utilities generally select designs
approaching maximum last-stage mass flow loading to keep the machine as simpli­
fied as possible and the initial cost to a minimum.

5.7 COST INFORMATION AND COST-BENEFITS[5-9]

One of the reservations toward the extensive use of titanium alloy for steam
turbine blading, as put forward by several manufacturers contacted, was the
high cost of titanium. The turbine companies suggested several factors which
contribute to the higher cost for titanium blading. Major factors are outlined
below.

• The higher initial cost of a titanium alloy blade versus a

steel blade (this includes higher material cost on a weight
basis, which is not so great on a volume basis, and higher
fabrication costs, including high forming and machining
costs).
• Turbine stage installation costs varying from essentially no
cost differential (for cases where shrouds, lacings, or
covers were quite simple) to considerably higher cost for
titanium blade installation (for example, where titanium
weldments were used in shrouding or covers).
• Design engineering costs, where the case for substituting
titanium blades having the same configuration as steel blades
in existing machines or slightly modified machines is expen­
sive but not as expensive as an engineering program dedicated
to a new titanium blade and machine design. (Kobe Steel
authors point out that the natural frequency of as-aged Ti-
6A1-4V alloy differs from that of 12-chromium steel by only
about 2 percent i.e., F a / I! , indicating that the
V d
straight substitution of titanium blades for steel blades is
not far fetched in some respects.)

When these cost factors and others that might pertain to various companies are
considered, the difficulty of knowing what the titanium/steel blading cost dif­
ferential actually might be for any given case is apparent. Not surprisingly,
in view of this complex of factors, a range of cost differentials was reported
from the companies contacted. The details of which factors were being con­
sidered in the estimates were, in general, not given in the responses.
Selected cases are cited as follows:

5-67
 • In one case, where, obviously, only the blade cost differen­
tial per se was being described, it was estimated that tita­
nium alloy blades cost about 1.2 to 1.3 times the cost for
the same geometry steel blades.
• In another case, small (4 to 5-inch length) T1-6A1-4V com­
pressor blades for a series production Pratt & Whitney
Aircraft Company engine cost 1.4 times the cost of the same
blade in Greek Astroloy (AMS 5616). The quantity ordered of
each was not given but probably was large.
• Small T1-6A1-4V steam turbine blades were estimated to cost
about 2.2 times the cost of same configuration type 403 steel
blades. Production quantities of both blade types were
indicated.
• Several of the large steam turbine companies, and one of the
manufacturers of smaller turbines, estimated that the
titanium/steel blading cost ratio is about 3/1. Which fac­
tors were considered in these estimates was not defined.
However, a production case was considered.

In order to resolve at least a part of the titanium blade cost question, the
survey work included solicitation of blade cost information from TRW, Inc., an
experienced manufacturer of blades of many types and in many materials. A
hypothetical steam turbine blade design having 31-inch total length and 27-
inch active blade length, 3.3-inch blade tip width and 4.8-inch blade base
width, a single integrally forged shroud projection in the tapered and twisted
blade, and a 4 x 5 x 2.5-inch three-hook, fir-tree root base (straight), was
suggested for consideration. It was requested that the cost differential for
Ti-6A1-4V/Type 403 steel blades of this configuration be determined based on a
production run of 2000 blades for each material.

The TRW people utilized their regular cost estimating procedures and current
material, tooling, and labor costs to determine the following. In the case
where an erosion shield was joined by brazing to blades of both T1-6A1-4V and
Type 403 steel, the Ti-6A1-4V blade would cost approximately 1.2 to 1.25 times
the 403 steel blade. In comparing a Ti-6A1-4V unshielded blade with a
Stellite-shielded 403 steel blade, the T1-6A1-4V blade would cost only about
1.1 to 1.15 more than the steel blade. In all cases considered by TRW, the
blades would be supplied to the manufacturer in the finished machined
condition.

A specific case for the higher cost of titanium end-blading relative to 12-
chromium steel end-blading was discussed informally with BBC of Switzerland.

5-68
A total of 480 blades, of 48-inch length, for a 1200-MW machine (three double­
flow low-pressure turbine sections) was considered. The cost of a steel blade
for this application was given as $750. If Ti-6A1-4V steel blades cost three
times as much, total end blading would cost $360,000 in steel and $1,080,000 in
titanium. The cost differential at $1,500 per blade would be $720,000. If the
cost of the turbine is figured at $50/kw, the overall turbine cost would be
$60 million, and end-blading costs would represent the following percentages of
total costs:

• Steel blading, 0.6 percent

• T1-6A1-4V blading, 1.8 percent
• Cost differential, 1.2 percent.

A 1 percent cost differential for the titanium alloy end-blading of a large

(unspecified) steam turbine also was estimated by Westinghouse, who utilized
the 3 to 1 titanium-to-steel blade cost estimate. Thus, two manufacturers of
large turbines agree that, even when using a conservative three-times-steel
cost ratio for titanium blades, the increased cost increment for the overall
turbine is nominal. Nevertheless, the competition in steam turbines is so
great that a 1 percent differential in first cost for a titanium bladed turbine
may affect the decision for titanium blading adversely. Thus, considerations
of lifetime turbine cost and efficiency become paramount.

The justification for the higher cost of titanium end blading might be asso­
ciated with either (a) achievement of an end-blade length not possible with
steel blading, (b) end-stage power and/or efficiency improvements not possible
with steel blading (e.g., some optimized hub/blade-tip ratio design), (c) blade
reliability improvements not achieved with steel blades in the experience to
date, or (d) the secondary contributions to reliability, such as lowering the
tendency for disk cracking. (For example, disk cracking that might result from
high-blade loading and the necessity to heat treat disks to high-strength
levels when using steel blades. The possibility exists that lower and more
reliable disk-strength levels could be employed when utilizing lower weight
titanium blades.) While at this point in time it cannot be stated with cer­
tainty that titanium alloy blading would afford any improvement in (b) , (c) ,
and (d) above, and the need for (a) is questionable, it is possible to discuss
the size of an improvement needed in order to justify the higher cost of tita­
nium blading. Consider the following.

5-69
The forced outage (FO) data given in Table 1-1 of Section 1 show that in a 10-
year period there were 61,152 hours of FO in fossil-fueled turbines of 200 MW
and greater due to blade failure directly or due to vibration problems attrib­
utable to blade malfunction. If the base is expanded to include fossil-fueled
turbines in the 60 to 600-MW range, the total FO in a 10-year period was 90,588
hours. Thus, from 6100 to 9000 FO hours per year were attributable to blade
problems in the 1964-1973 period.

Discussions concerning the cost of FO revealed that the outage of single tur­
bines of the 200 MW and larger sizes can cost from $100,000 to $500,000 per
day. Typically, the cost of replacement power might average about $2000 per
hour for a unit of 200 MW size, $9000 per hour for a 600 MW unit, and $16,000
per hour for a 800 MW unit. There are also the costs of the repair work per se
to be considered. For convenience, an average value of $10,000 per hour might
be used to represent the cost of electricity purchased during FO. Assuming
this cost to be realistic for an average turbine, the total cost per year due
to blade related FO (from the 6100 to 9000 hours FO described previously) is
$61 to $90 million.

The use of the $10,000 cost per hour value can be used to measure the length of
FO time that a more expensive titanium bladed turbine would need to avoid in
order to justify the greater expense. If one assumes that titanium blading
would serve to eliminate 100 percent of blade FO, the avoidance of only 72
hours of FO over the lifetime of the turbine would equal the initial higher
cost of titanium blades in the case of the 1200-MW turbine cited. At a less
optimistic end of the scale, where titanium blading might eliminate only 20
percent of blade FO, the avoidance of 360 hours of FO (15 days) over the tur­
bine's life would equal the cost of the titanium investment. However, a single
FO for blade repairs may have a duration of 4 to 10 weeks. Thus, avoidance of
a single blade related FO would more than pay the differential for higher cost
titanium blades in a specific unit.

The difficulty of treating the cost of blade failure on an overall average

basis is apparent. Nevertheless, it is equally apparent that a relatively
small reduction in FO represents a savings of many dollars. While it was not
possible to collect any data that revealed a specific reliability improvement
for titanium blading, the cost information cited reveals that only a marginal
improvement in reliability, achievable with titanium blading, could cancel

5-70
higher investment costs over a turbine's lifetime, in all probability. The
utility owner may be willing to increase initial investment when it can be
shown that such investment decreases the probability that his particular unit
will fail.

The cost-benefits accruing to the electric power generating industry, due to

the elimination of some portion of the blade FO problem per the use of titanium
blading, can be calculated using the FO historical data and previously
described assumptions. For example, if by using titanium blading, blade FO
could be reduced by 20 percent, $12 to $18 million savings per year might be
realized ($61 to $90 million X 0.2). The savings that might accrue as a result
of utilizing titanium blading for improved turbine power and efficiency cannot
be calculated at this time, but a potential for savings appears possible in
this area based on selected experiences surveyed. The general corrosion
resistance of titanium, in combination with its additional attractive charac­
teristics determined in tests and in actual turbine performances, suggest that
a 20 percent blade reliability improvement — perhaps even a 50 percent
improvement — is an achievable goal meriting considerable attention and fund­
ing. The potential for improved power and efficiency in moderately sized tur­
bines via titanium end blading should be explored. The benefits that might be
attainable with longer titanium blades for larger machines are not now
apparent.

5.8 REFERENCES

5-1 "Erosion in the Low-Pressure Blading of Medium-Sized and Industrial Steam

Turbines", Publication No. Ch-T 110 210E, BBC Brown Boveri & Company,
Ltd., Baden, Switzerland, 1972
5-2 Somm, E., "A Means of Estimating the Erosion Hazard in Low-Pressure Steam
Turbines", Brown Boveri Review, Vol. 58, No. 10, 1971, pp. 458-472
5-3 Gardner, G. C., "Events Leading to Erosion in the Steam Turbine",
Proceedings Institution Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 178, No. 23, 1963,
pp. 593-623

5-4 Christie, D. G., Hayward, G. W., et al, "The Formation of Water Drops
Which Cause Turbine Blade Erosion", Proceedings Institution Mechanical
Engineers, Vol. 180, Part 3J, 1965
5-5 Moore, M. J., Sculpher, P., "Conditions Producing Concentrated Erosion in
Large Steam Turbines", Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Convention,
Glasgow, 1970
5-6 DeCorso, S. M., Kothmann, R. E., "Erosion by Liquid Impact", ASTM STP
307, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, 1961

5-71
5-7 Baulin, V. I., Perel'man, R. G., "Rayleigh Waves as a Major Factor in
Failure from Droplet Impact", Problem! Prochnosti, No. 1, January 1974,
pp. 70-74
5-8 Drahy, J., Mastovsky, 0., "Skoda Steam Turbines for Nuclear Power
Studies", Jaderna Energie, Vol. 16, No. 11, November 1970, pp. 361-366
5-9 Field Survey Information (data and information collected during the May-
December 1976, period and not specifically identified as to source)
5-10 "Titanium Alloys in Turbo Machinery", Titanium Information Bulletin, New
Metals Division of Imperial Metal Industries (Kynoch), Ltd., Birmingham,
U.K., 1970
5-11 Hanson, C. F., "Alloy Titanium in Steam Turbines", Titanium Progress,
No. 14, Publication issued by Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd.,
Birmingham, U.K., June 1970, pp. 6-7
5-12 Ohtani, S., Nishigaki, M., "Surface-Hardened Titanium or Zirconium and
Their Alloys and Method of Processing Same", United States Patent
3,802,939, April 9, 1974, Assignee, Kobe Steel, Ltd., Fukiai-Ku, Kobe,
Japan
5-13 Nazarova, E. I., Damaskina, 0. L., Ashina, E. V., "Use of Titanium Alloy
VT5 for the Vanes of a Steam Turbine", Energomachinostroyeniye, Vol. 18,
No. 4, April 1972, pp. 30-33
5-14 Kryanin, I. R., Fedosov, A. I., et al, "Metal Structure and Strength of
Elements of Powerful Steam Turbines", Structure i svoystva zharoprochnykh
metallicheskih materialov, Moscow, Nauka, 1973, Doklady na 26-6 sessii po
probleme zharoprochnosti, April 1972, pp. 80-88
5-15 DeCorso, S. M., "Erosion Tests of Steam Turbine Blade Materials", ASTM
Proceedings, Vol. 64, American Society for Testing and Materials,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1964, pp. 782-796
5-16 Hohman, A. E., Kennedy, W. L., "Corrosion and Materials Selection
Problems on Hydrofoil Craft", Materials Protection, Vol. 2, No. 9,
September 1963, pp. 56-68
5-17 Goldberg, A., Garrison, R. E., Johnson, J. M., "Fresh-Water, LLL
Facility, Wear Plate Results", Geothermal Materials Studies, Quarterly
Reports, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California,
Livermore, California, UCID-17261-76-1, March 1976, and UCID-17261-76-2,
June 1976, prepared for U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration
under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48
5-18 Adler, W. F., Wyhnal, R. F., "Rain Erosion of Ti-6A1-4V", Bell Aerospace,
Division of Textron, Buffalo, New York, Proceedings Fourth International
Conference on Rain Erosion and Associated Phenomena, Meersburg, German
Federal Republic, May 1974 (research supported by U.S. Air Force
Materials Laboratory under Contract AF 33615-71-C-1528)
5-19 Jennings, W. H., Manning, C. R., Jr., Head, W. J., "A Mechanistic Model
for Prediction of Ductile Erosion", North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, North Carolina, Report No. USAAMRDL-TR-30, U.S. Army Air
Mobility Research and Development Laboratory, Ft. Eustis, Virginia,
Contract DAAJ02-73-C-0028, July 1975
5-20 Ball, R., Tabakoff, W., "An Experimental Investigation of the Particle
Dynamics of Quartz Sand Impacting 6A1-4V Titanium and 410 Stainless Steel
in an Erosive Environment", University of Cincinnati, Ohio, Report No.
74-43, October 1974 (research supported by U.S. Army Research Office -
Durham, under Contract No. DAHC04-69-C-0016)

5-72
 Moore, V. S., Stetson, A. R., "Development of Erosion Resistant Claddings
for Helicopter Rotor Blades", U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command, St.
Louis, Missouri, AVSCOM Report No. 76-16, March 1976 (Contract No.
DAAG46-74-C-0054)
Levy, M., Morrossi, J. L., "Wear and Erosion Resistant Coatings for
Titanium Alloys", U.S. Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center,
Watertown, Massachusetts, Titanium Science and Technology, Volume 4,
Plenum Press, New York-London, 1973, Proceedings of the Second
International Conference on Titanium, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 1972,
Ed. R. I. Jaffee and H. M. Burte, pp. 2486-2489
McAnally, W. J., Ill, "Erosion-Resistant Coating for Titanium", Pratt &
Whitney Aircraft, Florida Research and Development Center, West Palm
Beach, Florida, Report No. AMMRC-CTR-73-6, U.S. Army Materials and
Mechanics Research Center, Watertown, Massachusetts, Contract No. DAAG46-
71-C-0173, January 1973

■24 Ruza, V., Bendis, A., "Contribution to the Brazing of Protection Stellite
Plates to Blades Made of Titanium Alloy", Strojirenstvi, Vol. 24, No. 12,
1974, pp. 736-742
25 Nishimura, T., Nishigaki, M., Ohtani, S., "Aging Characteristics of
Metastable Beta Titanium Alloys", Journal of the Japan Institute of
Metals, Vol. 40, No. 3, March 1976, pp. 219-226
■26 "Titanium Tubing for Surface Condenser Heat Exchanger Service", Technical
Data Bulletin SC-2, Revised, Timet, Division of Titanium Metals
Corporation of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1974
■27 "Installation List, Timet Codeweld Condenser Tube", Bulletin, Timet,
Division of Titanium Metals Corporation of America, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, April 1976
28 "Welded Titanium Tube of Kobe Steel (Its Development for Application to
Turbine Condenser in Power Plant)", Technical Note No. 001, Titanium
Department, Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobe, Japan, September 1975
29 Kubo, Y., Kusamichi, H., Itoh, H., "On the Performance of Whole-Titanium
Made Turbine Condenser", Technical Note No. 015, Titanium Department,
Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobe, Japan, 1976
30 Hanson, B. H., "Titanium in the Oil Industry", New Metals Division,
Imperial Metal Industries, Ltd., Anticorrosion, Vol. 23, No. 6, June
1976, pp. 5, 7-8, 14
•31 "New Economies in Cooling Chlorine", Technical Data Bulletin, Timet,
Division of Titanium Metals Corporation of America, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, no date
32 "How New Titanium Plate Heat Exchangers Succeed Where Other Metals Fail
in Perchlorate Process", Technical Data Bulletin, Timet, Division of
Titanium Metals Corporation of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, no date
33 "Titanium for Chlorinated Brine Service", Technical Data Bulletin, Timet,
Division of Titanium Metals Corporation of America, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, no date
•34 Information from the Metals and Ceramics Information Center data base.
MCIC is under sponsorship of the Department of Defense at Battelle's
Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio
35 Hughes, P. C., Lamborn, I. R., "Contamination of Titanium by Water
Vapour", Journal of the Institute of Metals, Vol. 89, 1961, pp. 165-168

5-73
5-36 Personal communication, L. C. Covington, Henderson Technical
Laboratories, Timet, Division of Titanium Metals Corporation of America,
September 1976
5-37 Kokkos, D. M., Seagle, S. R., "The Effect of Hydrogen on the Properties
°f Ti-6A1-4V", Report R&D 484, RMI Company (formerly Reactive Metals,
Inc.), Niles, Ohio, February 3, 1967
5-38 Rooney, R. J., "The Effect of Various Machining Processes on the
Reversed Bending Fatigue Strength of A-110 AT Titanium Alloy Sheet",
WADC TR 57-310, November 1957
5-39 Wood, R. A., Favor, R. J., "Titanium Alloys Handbook", MCIC-HB-02,
Metals and Ceramics Information Center, Battelle's Columbus
Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio, December 1972
5-40 "Mechanical Properties of Titanium-6A1-4V Alloy Disc From 70-1000 F",
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Report B-8986, January 1956
5-41 Eylon, D., Pierce, C. M., "Effect of Microstructure on Notch Fatigue
Properties of Ti-6A1-4V", Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 7A,
January 1976, pp. 111-121
5-42 Hyler, W. S., Deel, 0., "Review of Fatigue Data on Titanium Alloys",
Technical Note, Defense Metals Information Center, Battelle Memorial
Institute, Columbus, Ohio, January 26, 1968
5-43 Zaletaeva, R. P., et al, "VT5 and TS5 Titanium Alloys for the Low-
Pressure Cylinder Blades of the KhTGZ K-300-240 Turbine",
Teploenergetika, Vol. 21, No. 2, February 1974, pp. 75-78
5-44 Belolipetskii, Yu. P., et al., "Titanium Alloys for Steam Turbine
Blades", Teploenergetika, Vol. 18, No. 8, August 1971, pp. 35-39
5-45 Niemark, B. E., Korytina, S. F., Monina, E. F., "Detailed Study of the
Physical Properties of Titanium Alloys VT5 and VT8", Teploenergetika,
Vol. 16, No. 6, June 1969, pp. 52-55
5-46 Kudryavtsev, P. I., Belolipetskii, Yu. P., "Influence of Starts and Shut­
downs of Turbines on the Fatigue Resistance Characteristics of Blade
Materials", Teploenergetika, Vol. 20, No. 5, May 1973, pp. 59-61
5-47a Podnieks, E. R., Lazan, B. J., "Damping, Elasticity, and Fatigue
Properties of Titanium Alloys, High-Temperature Alloys, Stainless Steels,
and Glass Laminates at Room and Elevated Temperatures", WADC TR 56-37,
March 1956
5-47b Willertz, L. E., Moon, D. M., "Correlation of Damping and Fatigue
Properties of an AISI 403 Stainless Steel", Journal of Testing and
Evaluation, Vol. 3, No. 3, May 1975, pp. 191-198
5-48 Cochardt, A., "Magnetomechanical Damping", Proceedings, Magnetic
Properties of Metals and Alloys, American Society for Metals, Metals
Park, Ohio, 1959, pp. 251-279
5-49 Belolipetskii, Yu. P., et al., "Influence of the Structures of Titanium
Alloy VTZ-1 on the Complex of Service Properties", Teploenergetika,
Vol. 20, No. 10, October 1973, pp. 20-24
5-50 Probert, K. S., "An Investigation of Three Commercial Titanium Alloys",
Part I: Microstructural Study, RD/L/N 201/71, Part II: Internal
Friction in the Quenched Condition, RD/L/N 202/71, and Part III: The
Stability of a High Internal Friction Condition, RD/L/N 211/71, Central
Electricity Research Laboratories, Leatherhead, Central Electricity
Generating Board, Great Britain, August 8, 1971

5-74
5-51 Williams, D. N., Wood, R. A., Bartlett, E. S., "Effect of Composition on
the Properties of Strain-Transformable S Titanium Alloys", Metallurgical
Transactions, Vol. 3, June 1972, pp. 1529-1536
5-52 Military Handbook 5, Metallic Materials and Elements for Aerospace
Vehicle Structures, U.S. Air Force Materials Laboratory (MAAE), Wright-
Patterson AFB, Ohio
5-53 "Mechanical Properties of Ti-6A1-4V Sheet, Including Precise Tension
Modulus and Poisson's Ratio", Timet, Division of Titanium Metals
Corporation of America, MIL-HDBK-5 Item 65-3, 35th Agenda, April 1968
5-54 Kniep, G. L., "Aspects of Titanium for Steam Turbine Blading and Other
Applications", Terry Corporation, Windsor, Connecticut, unpublished
report prepared for academic requirements, no date (ca. 1969)
5-55 Hatch, A. J., Parris, W. M., "Alloy Evaluation Program Summary for 1956",
Titanium Metals Corporation of America, April 10, 1957
5-56 Campbell, J. E., et al., Damage Tolerant Design Handbook, A Compilation
of Fracture and Crack Growth Data for High-Strength Alloys, MCIC-HB-01
(First Edition), December 1972
5-57 Heitzman, R., "Plane Strain Fracture Toughness of Ti-6A1-4V Alloy", Data
Presented at the 40th Meeting of MIL-HDBK-5, Warren, Ohio, November 10­
12, 1970
5-58 Cervay, R. R., "Mechanical Properties of Ti-6A1-4V Annealed Forgings",
AFML-TR-74-49, March 1974
5-59 Maykuth, D. J., et al., "Titanium-Base Alloys — T1-6A1-4V, Processes and
Properties Handbook", Defense Metals Information Center, Battelle
Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, no date (ca 1971)
5-60 Altan, T., et al.. Forging Equipment, Materials, and Practices, MCIC-HB-
03, October 1973
5-61 Williams, D. N., Wood, R. A., "Effects of Surface Condition on the
Mechanical Properties of Titanium and Its Alloys", MCIC-71-01,
August 1971
5-62 Evans, R. M., "Advances in Joining Technology — The 60's and Beyond",
MCIC-73-13, January 1973
5-63 Silvestri, G. J., Jr., Davids, J., "Effects of High Condenser Pressure on
Steam Turbine Design", Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Lester,
Pennsylvania, presented at the American Power Conference, Chicago,
Illinois, April 20, 1971
5-64 Silvestri, G. J., Jr., "Steam Turbine Design Studies for High Exhaust
Pressure Applications", Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Lester,
Pennsylvania, presented at the NSF Sponsored Dry Cooling Tower Workshop,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 15 and 16, 1975

5-75
 Section 6

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 CONCLUSIONS

The many objectives of the survey program on the status of titanium blading for
steam turbines were met to various degrees and thanks are due to cooperating
manufacturers. The information provided by turbine manufacturers and other
interested companies resulted in the following conclusions.

(1) Many of the steam turbine companies included in the survey

are taking an active role in promoting titanium blading by
(a) exploring metal characteristics in developmental and/
or operational blade test programs and (b) exploiting
titanium in production turbines. Activity exists on a
worldwide basis.
(2) Titanium is commonly used in blade-related applications
such as tie wires and covers and in other nonblade-related
uses, e.g., heat exchangers.
(3) Titanium materials are used or are being examined for use
in small-, medium-, and large-sized turbines.
(4) Titanium blades are an established production item in
small turbines and in selected blading applications for
medium-sized turbines.
(5) Very long titanium blades for very large turbines are in
the developmental test stage only, and only in the Soviet
Union and Switzerland.
(6) Small current demand for very large turbines obviates the
immediate interest in very long titanium blades by many
companies.
(7) Intermediate-sized titanium blading is being examined in
medium-sized turbines in operational tests by several
companies. Test conditions are relatively undemanding,
(e.g., with regard to erosion).
(8) The titanium characteristics, such as low damping capacity,
thought to be marginal for providing a trouble-free perfor­
mance in demanding-blade applications by some manufacturers,
have not proven to be a source of problems in operational
test or in commercial operation.
(9) In side-by-side operations and operational test compari­
sons, titanium blading is not inferior in performance to
12-chromium steel blading generally, and is superior to
12-chromium steel in erosion, erosion-corrosion, and cor­
rosion resistance in specific cases.

6-1
 (10) As a result of blade and machine design, operating condi­
tions, metal characteristics, or a combination of these
factors, commercial and operational-test titanium blades
are highly rated in erosion resistance, corrosion resis­
tance, and specific strength, and are not deficient,
based on the performance record, in toughness, fatigue
strength, stiffness, damping, and other physical
characteristics.
(11) Titanium alloy characteristics applicable to and required
by blading can be optimized through microstructural
control.
(12) The good performance of titanium blading in small-to-
medium-sized turbines is not necessarily applicable to
performance in large turbines. Threshold conditions for
inadequate titanium blade performance are largely unknown.
(13) The high specific strength of titanium alloys permits
machine designs of increased power in small machines.
(14) Increasing the power and efficiency of select-sized tur­
bines through optimization of end-stages, wherein longer
titanium blading could be used to optimize annulus area
and hub/tip ratio, is a potential benefit worthy of inves­
tigation for areas where cooling water adequacy is not a
limitation.
(15) The cost for titanium blades per se is only 10 to 15 per­
cent greater than the cost of steel blades, while total
costs for substituting titanium blading for steel blading
in existing machines or for introducing titanium blading
in a new design have been estimated to be three times the
cost for using steel blading.
(16) The cost of incorporating titanium end blading in a large
turbine, on the order of 1 percent of turbine costs,
equates monetarily with avoidance of a rather short period
of forced outage time assuming only a 20 percent effective­
ness in reducing forced outage via the use of titanium
blading.
(17) Widely applied titanium turbine blading at a relatively
small but undetermined cost has the potential of afford­
ing the electric power generating industry large savings,
estimated at several million dollars per year, through
reduction in forced outages.
(18) Information and data available through survey efforts to
indicate cost-benefits to the industry and to individual
producers through the use of titanium blading are inade­
quate to determine precisely either costs or benefits at
this point in time.
(19) The titanium blading in steam turbine experience appears
sufficiently successful to merit additional study.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

The widespread testing and the somewhat restricted commercial use of titanium
for blading and other uses in steam turbines leads to a number of conclusions

6-2
as outlined previously. The conclusions reveal the knowledge gaps relating to
titanium turbine applications, which in turn suggest areas for recommended
activities. The general recommendation, in view of the overall encouraging
record for titanium in turbines, is to initiate investigations to develop
information that apparently does not exist, but which is needed if it is to be
decided whether or not titanium is a viable turbine material and under which
conditions. The specific areas for recommended action are listed.

(1) Determine the threshold and limiting conditions for the

erosion of titanium alloys over a range of operating
turbine variables. The erosion resistance of titanium
under the variables of blade material (composition,
structure, and properties), time and temperature, and
reactant characteristics (steam wetness quantitatively
and the water droplet characteristics of size, shape,
velocity, and attack angle), should be determined.
(2) Determine the most acceptable solution to the problem
of shielding titanium blades for conditions where the
intrinsic erosion resistance is not sufficient. The
program should include joining studies between titanium
and erosion-resistant materials such as Stellite, the
weld overlay of hard materials approach such as with
titanium alloy on titanium alloy, thick coatings, and
metallurgical, mechanical, and operational characteri­
zation studies.
(3) Determine the corrosion resistance of titanium in a
variety of reactants and conditions prevailing in steam
turbines. The EPRl-funded research program on corrosion-
fatigue will define probable reactant species through
investigation of steam chemistry. A program effort in
this area should include the corrosion characterization
of joints between titanium and shielding (e.g., Stellite
by brazing) and of titanium-steel couples.
(4) Determine the operational limitations of titanium blading
relative to the low modulus and low damping capacities as
well as to the fatigue strength characteristics of
selected materials. A standard material in a common con­
dition, e.g., annealed T1-6A1-4V alloy, should be compared
with another material or another condition, e.g., IMI-680
alloy or T1-6A1-4V alloy with optimized microstructure.
Blade design iterations should be incorporated in a test
program which utilizes equipment capable of exploring the
full spectrum of blade loading as might exist in an
operating turbine. A test turbine program is visualized.
(5) Determine the possibilities of optimizing turbine end-
stage dimensions for improvement in power and efficiency
via a design study program. The effects of enlarging the
annulus area and optimizing the hub/tip ratio by utilizing
titanium blades having dimensions beyond those possible
with steel blades, e.g., due to rotor strength or dimension
limits, should be determined in conjunction with the varia­
bles of steam loading and back pressure. An analytical

6-3
 study is visualized initially with the possibility of a
follow-on program wherein an operating turbine modifica­
tion phase might be implemented.
(6 ) Encourage the expanded operational testing of titanium
blades having the same design as steel blades in oper­
ating turbines with blade problems to determine the pos­
sibilities of blade reliability improvements and to
increase operational experience generally. Design data
would not be obtained from such experiences but condi­
tions unsuitable for titanium blading might be identi­
fied. Further, considerable cost-benefit information
could be obtained from participating power producers.
While there is no firm priority suggested for the recommendations, it would
appear appropriate to concentrate initially on programs which might delineate
the potential for near-term benefits in small-to-medium-sized machines.
Development of the data base necessary for the utilization of titanium in very
large machines would appear to be of lesser importance during this time of low
demand for very large machines. However, all of the research needs doing and
has the potential of a substantial payoff.

6-4
 APPENDIX A

MICROSTRUCTURE CONTROL AND THE EFFECT OF

MICROSTRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTIES OF T1-6A1-4V

by

J. C. Williams
 Appendix A

MICROSTRUCTURE CONTROL AND THE EFFECT

OF MICROSTRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTIES OF T1-6A1-4V

A.1 INTRODUCTION

Titanium alloys are frequently classified according to their equilibrium con­

stitution. Ti-6A1-4V is an a+E alloy because, under equilibrium conditions, it
consists of Oi 85 v/o a-phase and ^ 15 v/o 8~phase. The microstructure of a+8
Ti alloys is generally described in terms of the morphology of the coarse a-
phase (called the primary a) and, additionally, in terms of other microstruc­
tural constituents which might be present in the matrix which contains the
primary a-phase. For example, one microstructural condition might be described
as equiaxed primary a in an a' martensite matrix.

The properties of Ti-6A1-4V are strongly dependent on microstructure; in many

cases the strength depends largely on the nature and distribution of the matrix
phases, whereas the fracture-related properties depend to a significant extent
on the morphology and distribution of the primary a. Thus, the fracture
behavior can be varied independently of strength.[A-l] The morphology and dis­
tribution of primary a largely depend on the processing history, while the
character of the matrix is usually controlled by postprocessing heat treatment.
Thus, both processing and heat treatment have an important effect on the per­
formance of T1-6A1-4V and other a+8 Ti alloys. There is an additional factor
which has an important effect in a+8 Ti alloys because the a-phase is hexagonal
and therefore is anisotropic. This factor is preferred orientation or texture
as it is more commonly called. Texture is developed as a result of hot working
and thus is also dependent on processing history.

In the subsequent sections, the effect of processing and heat treatment on

microstructure will be summarized, then the effect of microstructure and tex­
ture on properties, especially fatigue strength will be described.

A-l
A.2 MICROSTRUCTURE CONTROL IN TI-6A1-4V

The primary a-phase morphology is usually classified as acicular or equiaxed.

These morphologies are controlled during elevated temperature forging or roll­
ing by the processing temperature (relative to the g-transus), by the extent of
reduction given the material during working, and by the cooling rate after the
working operation. These factors have been described elsewhere.[A-l,A-2] and
will be only briefly summarized here.

Acicular a-phase morphologies result from working Ti-6A1-4V in the g-phase

field or from reheating into the g-phase field after working. The details of
the acicular morphology depend on cooling rate. Air cooling after working
results in the nucleation and growth decomposition of the g-phase to form a
Widmanstatten a+g structure. This structure is also often called a g-annealed
microstructure. Water quenching after working results in a martensitic trans­
formation of the g-phase to the hexagonal a' martensite. This structure is
also often called a g-quenched microstructure. The a' has an acicular mor­
phology with the average plate size being smaller than the Widmanstatten a by a
factor of two or three.

Working Ti-6A1-4V in the two-phase a+g-phase field results in a reduction in

the length:width ratio of the primary a and, if sufficient working is accom­
plished, leads to an equiaxed a-phase morphology with g-phase at grain boundary
triple points. The relation between amount of work and a-phase morphology is
imprecise and also depends on strain rate and working temperature. However, a
practical upper limit to strain rate is imposed by the adiabatic heating which
accompanies rapid straining. In general, for working operations performed at
^ 100 F below the g-transus, about 50 percent reduction is required to achieve
completely equiaxed structures. Thus, in the forging of thin sections, attain­
ment of equiaxed microstructures may be difficult because the "dead zone" adja­
cent to the dies may represent a significant fraction of the total section
thickness and this zone may never receive the equivalent of a 50 percent
reduction.

In plate rolling, it is common mill practice to continue the warm working of

Ti-6A1-4V plate down to temperatures in the 1600 F range followed by annealing
at 1300-1500 F for a short time in order to achieve an equiaxed grain struc­
ture. It has only been recently recognized that the equiaxed structure results
from subsequent recovery and/or recrystallization of the a-phase during anneal­
ing. Recent studies of recrystallization behavior of Ti-6A1-4V have shown that

A-2
material worked down to 1600 F and annealed at 1350 F is incompletely recrys­
tallized. These studies have also shown that a postworking annealing treatment
of 1700 F for at least 4 hours is required to fully recrystallize the a-phase.
Thus, earlier material purchased in the mill annealed condition described in
specification MIL-T-9046 was generally in an unrecrystallized or incompletely
recrystallized condition, since that specification only required annealing at
1300 F for the order of minutes.

There are other important microstructural features which affect the properties
of Ti alloys, but which cannot be seen in the light microscope. Of these, the
most important one in Ti-6A1-4V is the formation of the ordered a2-phase.[4-3]
This phase forms as a uniform distribution of small, coherent precipitates and
its presence results in concentrated slip in localized bands.[A-4] Such slip
behavior has associated with it lower ductility and toughness and severe
degradation of stress corrosion resistance.[A-5] The lower composition limit
for a2 formation is not presently well defined, but is in the 5.5-6.5 w/o Al
range. Recent studies[A-6,A-7] have shown that oxygen content has a signifi­
cant effect on the formation of a2 and that higher oxygen content promotes a2
formation. Thus, both the Al and oxygen content of the particular heat of
material have an effect on the propensity for a2 formation and combined Al
contents approaching 6.5 w/o and oxygen contents approaching 0.2 w/o as per­
mitted in MIL-T-9046 can lead to a2 formation.

A.3 EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURE ON FRACTURE-RELATED PROPERTIES

In Ti-6A1-4V, the effect of microstructure on the fracture-related properties

of fatigue strength, fracture toughness (K ), fatigue crack propagation (FCP)
XL*
rate and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance is very pronounced.
Unfortunately, the data are not as complete as might be desired in many
instances, and one is forced, at the moment, to identify trends rather than
well-established correlations. These trends do indicate that not all of the
aforementioned properties are optimum in the same microstructure. Thus, the
pacing properties for a particular application should be identified and the
optimum microstructure selected accordingly. In last-stage steam turbine
blades, there is general agreement that fatigue strength and stress corrosion
fatigue are the pacing properties. Thus, the remainder of the discussion will
focus on the effect of microstructure on fatigue.

A-3
The effect of microstructure on the smooth bar fatigue strength of T1-6A1-4V
has been the object of study by Lucas.[A-8] by Stubbington and Bower,[A-9] and
by Sparks and Long.[A-10] The former two investigations have concluded that
Widmanstatten a+B microstructures have inferior high cycle fatigue* (HCF)
strengths compared with equiaxed a+S microstructures. Even when the lower ten­
sile strength associated with the Widmanstatten a+B microstructures are con­
sidered, the fatigue ratio (defined as fatigue strength/tensile strength) is
lower for the Widmanstatten a+B microstructures. The origin of this effect has
been investigated by Stubbington and Bower[A-9] who have shown that the Stage I
fatigue cracks are initiated at a/B interfaces. Thus, Widmanstatten a+B micro­
structures might be expected to exhibit poor fatigue resistance due to the
large a/B interfacial area. These authors also suggested that slip length in
the a-phase was important. The Widmanstatten microstructure would be undesir­
able on this count, also because the Widmanstatten packets are the effective
slip length. To examine the effect of slip length, they produced some material
with equiaxed 10 ym diameter a grains.[A-9] This material was found to have a
HCF strength which was 50 percent greater than that of the Widmanstatten a+B
material. Moreover, this fine-grained material had a HCF strength which was
^ 15 percent better than the best commercially produced equiaxed microstructure
material tested in an earlier investigation.[A-l1] On the other hand. Sparks'
and Long's[A-10] data obtained from well-worked forgings with relatively small
Widmanstatten packets show that both equiaxed and acicular microstructures have
similar fatigue strengths. Thus, the variability in HCF strength with micro­
structure appears to be significantly influenced by the uniformity of working
and the resultant microstructural refinement.

In a separate investigation, Lucas[A-8] showed that B-quenched material had

decidely superior HCF strength compared with material with B-annealed or equi­
axed microstructures. Although Lucas offered no explanation for this effect,
some speculation will be included here. The B-quenched material has a small a'
plate size which also has a small slip length. In view of Stubbington and
Bowen's[A-9] results cited above, it is suggested that the martensitic B^'
transformation may provide an in-situ means of refining the grain size (slip
length). A similar effect of slip length refinement has been noted in connec­
tion with the data of Sparks and Long.[A-10]

*The term "high cycle fatigue strength" as used here means the stress amplitude
indicated on S/N curve at 10? cycles.

A-4
Direct comparison of fatigue strengths determined by different workers is
difficult because of the strong influence of surface finish, specimen alignment,
and differences in detailed test methods on the measured fatigue strength.
Thus, direct comparison of the HCF strength of Lucas' 8-quenched material and
Stubbington and Bowen's fine-grained, equiaxed material and the other results
cited above must be approached cautiously.

Still another investigation by Eylon and Pierce showed that the notched (Kt=3.5)
fatigue behavior of Ti-6A1-4V is better in acicular microstructures than in
equiaxed ones.[A-12] Similar results also have been reported by Sparks and
Long.[A-10] These data appear to conflict with the smooth bar results cited
earlier. In this regard, it should be recalled that early Stage I crack initia­
tion was the primary factor responsible for limiting the smooth bar HCF strength
of B-annealed Ti-6A1-4V. In notched bars, the extent of stage I crack growth is
generally much more limited. Further, crack initiation occurs at a much earlier
stage in the specimen life. These factors tend to suggest that notched fatigue
behavior is more sensitive to crack growth than to crack initiation. As will be
discussed below, the superior notched fatigue behavior of S_annealed microstruc­
tures can be accounted for on this basis.

The low cycle fatigue (LCF) strength* of T1-6A1-4V is an important consideration

in the anticipated life of gas turbine components, especially fan and compressor
disks. Accordingly, the effect of microstructure on LCF behavior has been
empirically characterized but not systematically investigated. As in other
structural materials, the LCF life of Ti-6A1-4V correlates with tensile duc­
tility (percent reduction in area). Thus, the low tensile ductility of 3-
quenched or g-annealed materials makes them unattractive for LCF-limited appli­
cations. Lucas' data confirms this point.[A-8] Bowen and Stubbington have also
examined the effect of a+3 working on LCF behavior and have reported improve­
ments in LCF strength in material consisting of 40-60 v/o, fine-grained, equi­
axed primary a and a fine Widmanstatten a+g transformed g structure. (Bowen and
Stubbington describe the transformed g as a' martensite, but examination of
their micrographs show that the structure was formed by nucleation and growth.)

Other workers have also concluded that equiaxed primary a is beneficial to LCF
life[A-13] as might be expected on the basis of the tensile ductility/LCF life

----- 3
*Fatigue strength corresponding to a 10 cycle life

A-5
correlation mentioned earlier. Typical current practice in the gas turbine
industry is to use a lower volume fraction equiaxed primary a 30 v/o) in a
tempered a’ matrix in order to achieve the higher tensile strengths required to
avoid burst limitations at maximum speed. No attempt has been made to analyze
the variations in LCF strength as a function of strength/ductility and primary
a grain size. A study in which these parameters were independently varied
would be useful in defining the trade-off between strength and LCF strength.
Since slip length appears to be important in fatigue crack initiation, process­
ing methods which lead to smaller primary a grain sizes should be beneficial to
both LCF and HCF strengths.

The previous discussion has addressed the role of microstructure in fatigue

crack initiation without any mention of its subsequent effect on fatigue crack
propagation (FCP) rate.* Several recent papers have shown that microstructure
can also affect FCP rate in Ti-6A1-4V. Since smooth bar fatigue life is a com­
posite parameter which reflects both the initiation of a fatigue crack and its
propagation to failure, the role of microstructure on FCP rate must also be
considered. It has been shown that, at FCP rates in the 10 ^ mm/cycle range,
FCP rates can vary by at least an order of magnitude.[A-1,A-14,A-15] Lower FCP
rates are observed in acicular microstructures with the slowest rate correspond­
ing to the g-quenched microstructure. The fastest FCP rate was observed in
mill-annealed material typical of that described earlier. The reasons for
reduced FCP rate in acicular microstructures are not completely clear, but
electron fractography has shown that a much higher density of secondary cracks
is associated with these microstructures than with equiaxed structures.[A-l]
In view of this, it has been suggested that a/3 interfaces and a' boundaries
lead to this secondary cracking and cause temporary local crack arrest with a
lower resultant average crack growth rate.

In long-life components, such as steam turbines, the threshold stress intensity,

AK , , below which no crack growth occurs is of primary interest. Determination
"8
of this parameter requires FCP tests to be run at FCP rates less than 10 mm/
cycle. These tests are very expensive and, consequently, no systematic program
has been conducted at these FCP rates. As a result, no reliable information
presently is available regarding the effect of microstructure on FCP rate in the
range of AK^.

*FCP rate as used here refers to the rate of Stage II crack growth.

A-6
The entire question of FCP at such low rates as described above also is clouded
by the possibility that, at such low stress intensities, FCP may occur by
Stage I crack growth rather than by Stage II crack growth. Such a distinction
is usually not made, but recent work has shown that the fractographic appear­
ance of the fracture surface in regions corresponding to very low crack growth
rates is more characteristic of Stage I than of Stage II.[A-16] Thus, if the
definition of FCP rate is broadened to include both Stage I and Stage II crack
growth, then the fraction of total fatigue life which is encompassed by both
stages becomes significant. This is verified by the work of Thompson and
Backofen[A-17] which shows that Stage I crack growth occurs after an early
fraction of fatigue life. In this regard, a study of microstructure effects on
Stage I crack growth would contribute significantly to a better understanding
of this point and may be important to the life of steam turbine components
which operate in the HCF regime. It is believed that a significant fraction of
HCF life corresponds to crack growth as opposed to crack initiation when the
crack growth occurring during both Stages I and II is considered. In this con­
nection, it is suggested here that the improvement in HCF strength reported in
B-quenched structures[A-8]is due at least in part to a reduction in FCP rate.

A.4 THE EFFECT OF TEXTURE ON FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF Ti-6A1-4V

Texture has several important effects on the fatigue behavior of Ti-6A1-4V.

Firstly, the extent of texture is usually more severe in equiaxed than in
acicular microstructures. Thus, valid comparisons of the effect of microstruc­
ture on fatigue must be conducted under circumstances of constant texture.
Secondly, the presence of texture causes significant directionality in yield
stress, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio.[A-18,A-19] Such variations also
complicate comparison of properties in various microstructures because of
simultaneous variations in extent of texture. Lastly, texture appears to have
intrinsic effects on fatigue strength and fatigue crack growth rate; samples
with a high density of basal poles oriented parallel to the loading axis have a
lower fatigue strength compared with samples oriented with the basal poles nor­
mal to the loading axis.[A-18] Similarly, fatigue crack growth samples
oriented with a high density of basal poles parallel to the crack growth direc­
tion show an increased FCP rate compared with samples of other orientations.
[A-19,A-20] Bowen has analyzed the directionality of FCP rate in texture sheet
in terms of the number and type of deformation modes available to accommodate
the localized deformation which accompanies crack extension.[A-20] He has also
been able to account for the observed variations in fracture topography. The
reader is referred to his original article for details.

A-7
The current state-of-the-art practice in forging or hot rolling does not incor­
porate texture control. Therefore, the foregoing remarks are intended to
emphasize that the texture is a potential unrecognized variable in studies of
the effect of microstructure on properties. Accordingly, conclusions regarding
microstructural effects should be examined with respect to texture effects as
well. Finally, the products with controlled microstructure and texture inten­
sity and orientation have the potential for improved fatigue life. Implementa­
tion of such products may represent the next incremental improvement in Ti-6A1-
4V performance.

A. 5 CONCLUSIONS

(1) Refinement of slip length appears to be beneficial to fatigue

life. This can be accomplished by extensive a+S working and
recrystallization, by quenching from above the g-transus to
form a' martensite, or by g working and rapid cooling to form
small Widmanstatten a+g packets.
(2) The variation in notched and smooth HCF strength of Widmanstatten
microstructure material may be related to slower FCP rates in
notched bars and earlier Stage I initiation in smooth bars.
(3) Texture affects both HCF strength and FCP rate.

A. 6 REFERENCES

A-l Chesnutt, J. C., Rhodes, C. G., and Williams, J. C., "The Relationship
Between Mechanical Properties, Microstructure and Fracture Topography
in a+g Titanium Alloys," in ASTM STP 600, June 1976, p. 99
A-2 Williams, J. C., "Phase Transformations - A Review", to be published
in Proceedings of Third International Titanium Conference, Moscow, USSR,
1976
A-3 See for example: Williams, J. C., "Phase Transformations in Titanium
Alloys: A Review", Titanium Science and Technology, Vol. 3, Jaffee,
R. I., Burte, H. M., editors. Plenum Press 1973, p. 1433
A-4 Blackburn, M. J., Williams, J. C., "Strength, Deformation Modes and
Fracture in Titanium-Aluminum Alloys", ASM Quarterly Transactions, Vol.
62, 1969, p. 398
A-5 Blackburn, M. J., Williams, J. C., "Metallurgical Aspects of the Stress
Corrosion Cracking of Titanium Alloys", Proceedings, Conference on
Fundamental Aspects of Stress Corrosion Cracking", N.A.C.E., 1969,
pp. 620-636
A-6 Lim, J. Y., McMahon, C. J., Jr., Pope, D., Williams, J. C., "The Effect
of Oxygen on the Structure and Mechanical Behavior of Aged Ti-8wtpctAl",
Metallurgical Transactions, Vol. 7A, 1976, p. 139
A-7 Paris, H. G., Williams, J. C., to be published
A-8 Lucas, J. J., "Improvements in the Fatigue Strength of Ti-6A1-4V
Forgings", Titanium Science and Technology, Vol. 3, Jaffee, R. I.,
Burte, H. M., editors. Plenum Press 1973, p. 2081

A-8
A-9 Stubbington, C. A., Bowen, A. W., "Improvements in the Fatigue Strength
of Ti-6A1-4V through Microstructure Control", Journal Materials Science,
Vol. 9, 1974, p. 941
A-10 Sparks, R. B., Long, J. R., "Improved Manufacturing Methods for Producing
High Integrity More Reliable Titanium Forgings", AFML TR-73-301, 1974
A-ll Bowen, A. W., Stubbington, C. A., "The Effect of a+S Working on the
Fatigue and Tensile Properties of Ti-6A1-4V Bars", Titanium Science and
Technology, Vol. 3, Jaffee, R. I., Burte, H. M., editors. Plenum Press
1973, p. 2097
A-12 Eylon, D., Pierce, C. M., "Effect of Microstructure on Notch Fatigue
Properties of Ti-6A1-4V", Metallurgical Transactions, Vol. 7A, 1976,
p. Ill
A-13 Sprague, R. A., Ruckle, D. L., and Smith, M. P., "The Effect of Micro­
structure on the Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Ti-6A1-4V", Titanium
Science and Technology, Vol. 3, Jaffee, R. I., Burte, H. M., editors>
Plenum Press 1973, p. 2069
A-14 Paton, N. E., Williams, J. C., Chesnutt, J. C., Thompson, A. W., "The
Effects of Microstructure on the Fatigue & Fracture of Commercial
Titanium Alloys", AGARD Conference Proceedings No. 185, 1976, p. 4-1
A-15 Thompson, A. W., Williams, J. C., Frandsen, J. D., and Chesnutt, J. C.,
"The Effect of Microstructure on Fatigue Crack Propagation Rate in Ti-
6A1-4V", to be published in Proceedings of Third International Titanium
Conference, Moscow, USSR, 1976
A-16 Chesnutt, J. C., Williams, J. C., "An Investigation of the Relationship
Between Fracture Topography and Microstructure of Three Titanium Alloys",
Scanning Electron Microscopy, I.I.T.R.I., 1974, p. 895
A-17 Thompson, A. W., Backofen, W. A., "The Effect of Grain Size On Fatigue",
Acta Metallurgia, Vol. 19, 1971, p. 597
A-18 Bowen, A. W., "The Effect of Testing Direction on the Fatigue and Tensile
Properties of a Ti-6A1-4V Bar", Vol. 2, Jaffee, R. I., Burte, H. M.,
editors, Plenum Press 1973, p. 1271
A-19 Bowen, A. W., "The Relationship Between Fatigue Crack Growth Rate and
Texture in Ti-6A1-4V", in Microstructure Design of Alloys, Institute of
Metals, 1973, p. 446
A-20 Bowen, A. W., "The Influence of Crystallographic Texture on Fatigue Crack
Growth Rate in Strongly Textured Ti-6A1-4V", Acta Metallurgia, Vol. 23,
1975, p. 1401

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