Utility solutions for the problems of corrosion, particle impact and vibration in steam turbine blading

In reviewing the problems which affect steam turbine availability, those problems related to blading appear to outnumber all others in terms of incidents and total cost. Thus, considerable effort has been expended in the past ten years to better understand the causes of these problems and to seek solutions which are economical and yet, effective. The majority of blading problems can be grouped as related to corrosion, particle impact and vibration. These groups are treated separately although it will be noted that some of these problems are interrelated such as corrosion fatigue or erosion-corrosion. The solutions used by the Southern California Edison Company to treat these problems are discussed. Since these problems are discovered as a result of inspections made routinely or because of a forced outage, it becomes apparent that preventive maintenance is an important part of our activities. Preventive maintenance is very effective in improving steam turbine availability