Turbine Airfoil Deposition Models

Gas turbine failures associated with sea-salt ingestion and sulfur-containing fuel impurities have directed attention to alkali sulfate deposition and the associated hot corrosion of gas turbine (GT) blades under some GT operating conditions. These salt deposits form thin, molten films which undermine the protective metal oxide coating normally found on GT blades. The prediction of molten salt deposition, flow and oxide dissolution, and their effects on the lifetime of turbine blades are examined. Goals include rationalizing and helping to predict corrosion patterns on operational GT rotor blades and stators, and ultimately providing some of the tools required to design laboratory simulators and future corrosion-resistant high-performance engines. Necessary background developments are reviewed first, and then recent results and tentative conclusions are presented along with a brief account of the present research plans.