Stainless Steel Foil with Improved Creep-Resistance for Use in Primary Surface Recuperators for Gas Turbine Engines

Primary surface recuperators (PSRs) are compact heat-exchangers made from thin-foil type 347 austenitic stainless steel, which boost the efficiency of land-based gas turbine engines. Solar Turbines uses foil folded into a unique corrugated pattern to maximize the primary surface area for efficient heat transfer between hot exhaust gas on one side, and the compressor discharge air on the other side of the foil. Allegheny-Ludlum produces 0.003 - 0.0035 in. thick foil for a range of current turbine engines using PSRs that operate at up to 660 degrees C. Laboratory-scale processing modification experiments recently have demonstrated that dramatic improvements can be achieved in the creep resistance of such typical 347 stainless steel foils. The modified processing enables fine NbC carbide precipitates to develop during creep at 650-700 degrees C, which provides strength even with a fine grain size. Such improved creep-resistance is necessary for advanced turbine systems that will demand greater materials performance and reliability at higher operating conditions. The next challenges are to better understand the nature of the improved creep resistance in these 347 stainless steel foil, and to achieve similar improvements with scale-up to commercial foil production