Residual stress measurements in laser clad repaired low pressure turbine blades for the power industry

Low pressure turbine blades in power stations suffer from leading edge erosion damage due to water impingement. In an effort to extend the life of these blades, repair of the eroded regions has been proposed using laser cladding with Stellite material. However, the addition of Stellite results in residual stresses being generated in the parent metal due to contraction during cooling and differences in thermal expansion between the two materials. In this work test coupons and laser clad blades were examined for residual stresses using both the L3 diffractometer at the NRU reactor, Chalk River, Canada and the TASS strain scanner at ANSTO's HIFAR reactor, Lucas Heights, Australia. In addition XRD results were used to measure residual stresses on the surface of the blade to complement the neutron measurements. An FEA model of a simplified weld was used to explain some of the results.