Evaluation of Heat-Resistant Alloys for Marine Gas Turbine Applications

Abstract

Materials for the turbine and combustor sections of gas turbine engines were evaluated for their resistance to sulfidation corrosion. The basic evaluation was conducted in a test facility by exposing the materials to a combustion gas atmosphere which simulates conditions of gas composition, corrosive combustion residue, gas velocity, and temperature that are encountered while operating a gas turbine engine in a marine environment. The influence of alloy composition, protective coatings, salt ingestion rates, and fuel sulfur content is discussed in relation to the degree of sulfidation corrosion. The mechanism of sulfidation corrosion attack, as determined by electron microprobe analyses and X-ray diffraction studies of corroded materials, is also discussed.