Fractographic investigations of the failure of L-1 low pressure steam turbine blade

• This paper deals with fracture investigations of low pressure (LP) steam turbine blade of a 110 MW thermal power plant in Punjab in India.
• These blades were made from chrome alloy steel X20Cr13 (Tempered martensitic stainless steel).
• The main focus of the paper is touted as the fracture analysis for the turbine blade located in thermal power plant in Punjab in India.
• The case study is well investigated for the aforementioned reasons.

This paper deals with fracture investigations of low pressure (LP) steam turbine blade of a 110 MW thermal power plant in Punjab in India. These blades were made from chrome alloy steel X20Cr13 (Tempered martensitic stainless steel). The main focus of the paper is the fracture analysis, which took place at the airfoil region at 203 mm from the root of the blade. One of the fractured blades was retrieved to identify the cause of failure. The investigations included the visual examination, SEM fractography, chemical analysis, hardness measurement, and micro-structural characterization. While preparing the test specimen, silicon rich phases were detected on the blade along with oxide scale present inside the corrosion pits and fractured region. Transgranular cleavage fractures along with beach marks are observed. The cause of failure is possibly the corrosion-fatigue. These causes of failure are also underlined in this paper.