Trans Indian Inst Met
DOI 10.1007/s12666-016-1031-4
TECHNICAL PAPER
Failure Assessment of the First Stage Blade of a Gas Turbine
Engine
B. Salehnasab1 E. Hajjari2 S. A. Mortazavi3
Received: 2 March 2016 / Accepted: 20 December 2016
The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM 2017
Abstract The gas turbine engine under investigation in
this paper was in service after major overhaul for about 2 h
at 9:47 A.M. on 18 October, 2014. The 60 MW gas turbine
engine experienced a forced break down because of
extremely high vibrations and subsequent output power
reduction. The blade was made of Inconel 738LC nickel-
based super-alloy. Evaluation of the microstructures of the
root and tip of the damaged blade, showed no significant
change in the microstructure. In closer observation of the
fractured blade, some points affected by impact of the
remaining airfoil were observed. Metallurgical investiga-
tions of the damaged zones of the fractured blade showed
many iron rich zones near the fractured surface. The
morphology of the fractured surface showed a semi-brittle
fracture due to the impact. Finally, it was concluded that
the main reason for the gas turbine failure was domestic
object damage due to the impact of the liberated compo-
nents of the turbine engine on the blades.
Keywords Failure analysis  Gas turbine blade 
Inconel 738LC  Domestic object damage
& B. Salehnasab
behnam.salehnasab@gmail.com;
behnam.salehnasab@iaud.ac.ir
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dezful Branch, IAU,
Dezfoul 64616-45169, Iran
2 blades failure, the gas turbine will trip, which can lead to
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz,
Iran
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, IAU,
Ahvaz, Iran
1 Introduction
Gas turbine blades work mostly at high temperature, high
vibration and high rotational velocity. High speed and
simultaneous high temperature increases the blades
material degradation. Gas turbine blades are mainly made
of cobalt and nickel-based super-alloys, because these
materials are able to withstand high temperature due to gas
combustion [1]. Nickel-based super-alloys commonly used
as turbine blade material are strengthened by precipitation
of c0 -Ni3 (Al, Ti) phase [1]. This c0 intermetallic phase,
drastically increases the strength of these alloys due to its
ordered nature and high coherency with the gamma matrix
[2]. Carbides are other phases, which have very important
effect on mechanical properties of the nickel based super-
alloys. These particles are present in these alloys because,
it is very difficult to remove carbon during refining and
because carbon is added to form carbides, which improve
creep properties [3].
The type of damage which occurs in gas turbine blades
are: thermal mechanical fatigue (TMF), crack formation,
corrosion, foreign object damage, domestic object damage,
erosion, oxidation, c0 phases over aging, creep, void for-
mation in grain boundaries, carbides precipitation and
brittle phase formation [412]. Also, casting defects such
as porosity, diverging axis grain, shrinkage, freckles, major
alloying element segregation and inclusions, which results
from the manufacturing process, can reduce the lifetime of
the blades [4, 13]. Turbines blade failure is always a
serious problem encountered in these machines. Due to the
prolonged outages and economic loss.
In this study, a failure analysis of the first stage rotating
blades of a gas turbine engine was investigated. The failed
blade under investigation was the first stage rotor blade of a
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60 MW gas turbine. This turbine engine tripped due to

sudden increase in vibration over the critical value after 2 h
from first start of major overhaul at 9:47 A.M. on 18
October, 2014. Disassembly inspection showed that frac-
ture occurred at the root platform of one first stage gas
turbine blade and the other first, some second and third
stages blades, and also some nozzles were severely dam-
aged. To identify the cause of the blade failure, a complete
metallurgical investigation was carried out. The analysis
was carried out by visual examination, scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy
(EDS). The whole gas turbine consisted of four stages of
blades and the first stage cascade contained 107 blades.
The blades were cooled by compressor discharge air, which
entered the channel from the root sidewall and flowed out
of the other side. The gas turbine was installed in a seaside
petrochemical in the South-West of Iran. The location has a
hot and humid climate. It has humid weather and maximum
summer temperature which is as high as 50 C, the average
annual temperature is about 25 C, average humidity is
65% at 06:30 A.M. and 40% at 06:30 P.M., and average
annual precipitation in this region is about 196 mm.

2 Experimental Procedure

The failed blade was examined. In this procedure, some
specimens were segmented from the fractured blade. Ini-
tially, each sample from the damaged zones and fractured
surface of the blade were cut by a wire-cutting EDM
machine and were prepared for microstructure evaluation.
The fractured surface of the blade was examined by SEM
after the surface was cleaned ultrasonically. The SEM was
equipped with an EDS probe that was used to perform
point element analysis, mapping and line scan analysis. An
optical microscope was also used for microstructure
observation from different positions of the fractured blade.
The experimental procedure consisted of:
1. Visual inspection
2. Chemical analysis of the blade
3. Examination of the damaged blade
4. Analysis of the fractured surface
5. Metallographic investigation.
2.1 Visual Inspection
The macroscopic features of the failed blade were examined by
visual inspection and photographic documentation. The frac-
tured blade studied is shown in Fig. 1. The airfoil got fractured
at 10 mm height from the root platform. The dimension of the
fractured blade was 154.41 9 78 9 51 mm3, and the dimen-
sion of the original first stage blade was 279 9 78 9 51 mm3.
Fig. 1 The first stage rotating failed blade
In the suction side of the remaining airfoil near the leading and
the trailing edges, some signs of object damage were observed
(as indicated by red circles in Fig. 2). Also, there were some
cracks near the damaged zones (Fig. 2). The cracks started in
the impact zones and propagated into the material near the
fractured surface. Also, in the suction side of the airfoil on the
root platform, some wear and scratch marks were observed.
Figure 3 shows the macroscopic view of the fractured surface.
The fractured surface was located at the top of the root and the
fracture orientation was normal to the blade longitudinal axis.
The fractured surface was very rough and plastic deformation
near the fracture surface was not visible. Therefore, failure
could be considered as a brittle fracture [9]. Also, some abra-
sion marks were observed on the fractured surface (Fig. 3).
2.2 Chemical Analysis of the Blade and Conditions
of Turbine Blade Operation
A piece of sample from the failed blade root was prepared
and its chemical composition was determined experimen-
tally. The result of the chemical composition presented in
Table 1 shows that the material utilized in the first stage of
the rotor blades was Inconel 738LC. The main parameters
while determining the operating conditions of turbine blade
surfaces of gas-turbine engines were the gas temperature at

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Fig. 2 The damaged zones of
the suction side of the blade:
a the leading edge; b the trailing
edge
Fig. 3 The fractured surface of the failed blade (in mm)
the turbine inlet; the pressure, speed and composition of
the gas flow; the stresses due to the effect of the cen-
trifugal and gas dynamic forces; and the irregularity of the
temperature field [14]. According to the data on the gas
turbine, as received by the control room at failure time,
the combustion chamber temperature was 940 C, exhaust
temperature was 890 C, the rotor speed was 3000 rpm
and the gas pressure was 1 MPa. Typically, in the petro-
chemical plant, the gas turbine is overhauled after about
10,000 h of operation. As the petrochemical gain expe-
rience and assurance with an engine type, the time for
refurbishment is increased for the first-run gas turbine
engine, at 23,000 h. After refurbishment, second-run gas
turbine engine probably get about 15,000 h on the wing.
The hot section is typically overhauled when the gas
turbine engine is removed from service. The typical hour-
Table 1 Chemical composition of the first stage blade of the gas turbine (wt%)
Ni S Fe
Ball 0.004 0.5
Co Al Si
8.1 4.9 0.03
to-cycle ratio depends on the petrochemical operation. At
long-haul, petrochemical operation typically runs between
3 and 5 h/cycle. These values play an important part in the
overhaul process. It is expected that for the shorter cycle
engines, there will be more deterioration of the hot-sec-
tion parts on the gas turbine engine that have a shorter
time cycle, implying that the deterioration is cycle
dependent rather than time dependent. The design life of
the failed blade was 72,000 h and the first stage turbine
blades that were running at 900 C for as long as
40006000 h.
2.3 Examination of the Damaged Blade
Figure 4 shows the damaged regions on the remaining
blade airfoil. Some hit and scratch marks were observed on
the remaining airfoil of the fractured blade on the root
platform. For failure assessment of the first stage rotor
blade, damaged points were investigated. For this purpose,
after cutting and preparation, samples were ultrasonically
cleaned to remove any contamination. Three damaged
zones (points 1, 2 and 3 in Fig. 4) with objects damage and
wear signs were examined by SEM equipped with an EDS
probe. The EDS analysis of points 1 and 2 showed that the
Fe element concentration in this point was unexpectedly
too high (Fig. 5). In accordance with the chemical analysis
of the Inconel 738LC (Table 1), the Fe element in the
P Cr Mo W C
0.002 14.9 2.22 3.0 0.09
Nb Ti Mg Zr Ta
0.88 4.2 0.03 0.03 1.3
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Fig. 4 The damaged points of

the blade: a near the trailing
edge; b near the leading edge;
and c On the trailing edge

Fig. 5 Chemical compositions analyzed by EDS: a the point 1; b the point 2

damaged regions was extremely increased. Figures 6 and 7
show the line scan and mapping form of point 3, respec-
tively. The line scan shows that the amount of the Fe in the
damaged point 3 was so high and approximately equal to
chrome and cobalt in the blades material (Fig. 6). Map
analysis of Fe, Co, Ni and Cr in the damaged point 3 region
are shown in Fig. 7. The presence of an abrasion mark in
the damaged region of the blade could be seen in Fig. 7a.
As shown in this figure, the zone had a red tone (red tone
resulted from Fe) and was mainly covered by Fe, especially
in the indicated rectangular area which had more hit effect
(Fig. 7b).

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Fig. 6 Line scan analysis of the point 3
2.4 Analysis of the Fractured Surface
The macroscopic fracture surface of the failed blade under
examination is shown in Fig. 3. SEM micrograph of the
fracture surface is also shown in Fig. 8. It was observed
that the fractured surface was similar to typical cleavage
fracture features. Morphologically, in brittle fracture, some
cleavage and river are observed in the fractured surface
[15]. Brittle fractures have certain characteristics that make
them easily identifiable [16]: First, there is no gross per-
manent or plastic deformation of the material in the region
of brittle fracture, although there may be permanent
deformation in other locations where relatively ductile
fracture has occurred. Second, the surface of a brittle
fracture is perpendicular to the principal tensile stress.
Thus, the direction of the tensile stress that made the
fracture to occur can be obviously identified and third,
characteristic markings on the fractured surface frequently,
but not always, point back to the location from which the
fracture originated.
The remaining fracture surface shows a semi-brittle
fracture morphology as presented in Fig. 8. The magnified
image of the fractured surface near the trailing edge is shown
in Fig. 9. Characteristic features of overload fracture and
also, the presence of abrasion marks in the damaged region of
the blade could be seen on the fracture surface (Fig. 9a).
Some micro cracks and river pattern sign due to the brittle
fracture are also shown in Fig. 9b. The pattern was charac-
terized by the joining together of microscopic ridges, much
like the joining of tributaries of a river sign to form the main
stream of the river. This pattern revealed the direction that
the fracture ran; the fracture propagated in the same direction
as the water in a river flows (downstream). Based on these
SEM fractography observations, it could be inferred that the
semi-brittle fracture was the dominant mechanism in the
impact of the object on the blade.
2.5 Metallographic Investigation
The microstructure of the blade was examined in two zones:
at the damaged blade root and tip. The microstructures of the
two zones were compared to evaluate the degree of material
deterioration. Initially, the metallographic specimens were
cut from the mentioned zones (root and tip) of the failed
blade and were prepared by standard grit and polish proce-
dure (until they became a mirror-like surface) and etched by
Marbel [17] reagent. The comparative evaluation included
the morphological change of c0 particles and carbide
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Fig. 7 Map of chemical analysis of various elements on the point 3
Fig. 8 SEM fractograph of the fractured surface of the blade
precipitation. The optical microscopy and SEM images of
the microstructures from the root and tip of the failed blade
are shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. The microstructures con-
sisted of c0 particles and dispersed carbide particles in the
grain boundary and matrix. Figure 10 shows almost a uni-
form distribution of c0 particles in the alloy matrix in both tip
and root of the damaged blade.
Figure 11 shows the M23C6 and MC type carbides
precipitated in the grain boundaries and matrix. It was
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observed that the carbides were dis-continuous type car-
bides. Therefore, the brittle phase due to the continuous
carbides in the grain boundaries was not formed. Fig-
ure 12 shows SEM micrograph of the gamma prime (c0 )
morphology at the blade root and the tip regions. The
microstructure consisted of the gamma prime dispersed in
the matrix. The c0 precipitates in c matrix were fine and
cuboidal. For evaluation of the morphology changes of
the c0 particles, a computerized image analysis software
(MIP 4.1) was used. The original c0 cubical shape changed
into elongated platelets oriented perpendicularly to the
principal stress direction [18]. The results of the c0 mor-
phology evaluation of the failed blade are presented in
Table 2. According to these results, mean size of c0 phase
in the reference zone (blade root) was 0.43 lm and in the
hot section zone (blade tip), it was 0.52 lm which were
not so different. Also, other obtained quantitative
microstructure parameters of the mentioned regions were
almost the same and therefore morphology of gamma
prime (c0 ) particles in the blade root region, which had
lowest temperature and not exposed to the hot gases, was
almost the same as that of the blade tip region which had
high temperature conditions. According to these results, it
could be concluded that material degradation due to
overheating of the material did not occur in the present
case study.
Trans Indian Inst Met

Fig. 9 Magnified SEM

fractograph of the fractured
surface: a dimple features and
microcracks; b river pattern
region

Fig. 10 Optical microscopy

images of the microstructure of
the failed blade: a the root zone;
b the tip zone

3 Conclusions

In this study, failure analysis was carried out to investigate

the mechanisms that led to failure of a 60 MW gas turbine
engine blade made of Inconel 738LC nickel-based super-
alloy. Based on the results obtained, the following con-
clusions were drawn:
1. Some abrasion marks and object damaged on the
suction side of the blade due to the object damage were
observed.
2. Fractured surface evaluation showed semi-brittle frac-
ture had occurred.
3. Damaged zone of the failed blade was covered with Fe
which was the main element of many components of
the turbine casing.
Fig. 11 Dis-continuous band of grain boundary carbides

Fig. 12 Gamma prime (c0 )

morphology of the blade: a the
root zone; b the tip zone

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