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operating temperatures 200°-300 °F higher than nickel superalloys.[19] GE Aviation successfully

demonstrated the use of such SiC/SiC composite blades for the low-pressure turbine of its F414 jet
engine.[20][21]

List of turbine blade materials

Note: This list is not inclusive of all alloys used in turbine blades.[22][23]

U-500 This material was used as a first stage (the most demanding stage) material in the 1960s,
and is now used in later, less demanding, stages.[23]
Rene 77[23]
Rene N5[24]
Rene N6[24]
PWA1484[24]
CMSX-4 [25]
CMSX-10[24]
Inconel
IN-738 – GE used IN-738 as a first stage blade material from 1971 until 1984, when it was
replaced by GTD-111. It is now used as a second stage material. It was specifically designed
for land-based turbines rather than aircraft gas turbines.[23]
GTD-111 Blades made from directionally solidified GTD-111 are being used in many GE Energy
gas turbines in the first stage. Blades made from equiaxed GTD-111 are being used in later
stages.[23]
EPM-102 (MX4 (GE), PWA 1497 (P&W)) is a single crystal superalloy jointly developed by NASA,
GE Aviation, and Pratt & Whitney for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). While the HSCT
program was cancelled, the alloy is still being considered for use by GE and P&W.[26]
Nimonic 80a was used for the turbine blades on the Rolls-Royce Nene and de Havilland Ghost
Nimonic 90 was used on the Bristol Proteus.
Nimonic 105 was used on the Rolls-Royce Spey.
Nimonic 263 was used in the combustion chambers of the Bristol Olympus used on the Concorde
supersonic airliner.[27][28]

Cooling
At a constant pressure ratio, thermal efficiency of the engine increases as the turbine entry
temperature (TET) increases. However, high temperatures can damage the turbine, as the blades are
under large centrifugal stresses and materials are weaker at high temperature. So, turbine blade
cooling is essential.[29] Current modern turbine designs are operating with inlet temperatures higher
than 1900 kelvins which is achieved by actively cooling the turbine components [2].

Methods of cooling
Cooling of components can be achieved by air or liquid cooling. Liquid cooling seems to be more
attractive because of high specific heat capacity and chances of evaporative cooling but there can be
leakage, corrosion, choking and other problems. which works against this method.[29] On the other
hand, air cooling allows the discharged air into main flow without any problem. Quantity of air
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required for this purpose is 1–3% of main flow and blade

temperature can be reduced by 200–300 °C.[29] There are many
techniques of cooling used in gas turbine blades; convection, film,
transpiration cooling, cooling effusion, pin fin cooling etc. which
fall under the categories of internal and external cooling. While
all methods have their differences, they all work by using cooler
air (often bled from the compressor) to remove heat from the
turbine blades.[30]
Laser-drilled holes permit film
cooling in this first-stage V2500 Internal cooling
nozzle guide vane

Convection cooling
It works by passing cooling air through passages internal to the
blade. Heat is transferred by conduction through the blade, and
then by convection into the air flowing inside of the blade. A large
internal surface area is desirable for this method, so the cooling
paths tend to be serpentine and full of small fins. The internal
passages in the blade may be circular or elliptical in shape.
Cooling is achieved by passing the air through these passages
from hub towards the blade tip. This cooling air comes from an
air compressor. In case of gas turbine the fluid outside is Blade cooling by convection
relatively hot which passes through the cooling passage and mixes
with the main stream at the blade tip.[30][31]

Impingement cooling
A variation of convection cooling, impingement cooling, works
by hitting the inner surface of the blade with high velocity air.
This allows more heat to be transferred by convection than
regular convection cooling does. Impingement cooling is used in
the regions of greatest heat loads. In case of turbine blades, the
leading edge has maximum temperature and thus heat load.
Impingement cooling is also used in mid chord of the vane.
Blades are hollow with a core.[32] There are internal cooling
passages. Cooling air enters from the leading edge region and Impingement
turns towards the trailing edge.[31]

External cooling

Film cooling
Film cooling (also called thin film cooling), a widely used type, allows for higher cooling effectiveness
than either convection and impingement cooling.[33] This technique consists of pumping the cooling
air out of the blade through multiple small holes or slots in the structure. A thin layer (the film) of
cooling air is then created on the external surface of the blade, reducing the heat transfer from main
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flow, whose temperature

(1300–1800 kelvins) can
exceed the melting point of
the blade material (1300–
1400 kelvins).[34][35] The
ability of the film cooling
Rendering of a turbine blade with
system to cool the surface is
cooling holes for film cooling. typically evaluated using a
parameter called cooling
Film cooling
effectiveness. Higher cooling
effectiveness (with maximum value of one) indicates that the
blade material temperature is closer to the coolant temperature. In locations where the blade
temperature approaches the hot gas temperature, the cooling effectiveness approaches to zero. The
cooling effectiveness is mainly affected by the coolant flow parameters and the injection geometry.
Coolant flow parameters include the velocity, density, blowing and momentum ratios which are
calculated using the coolant and mainstream flow characteristics. Injection geometry parameters
consist of hole or slot geometry (i.e. cylindrical, shaped holes or slots) and injections angle [2][36]. A
United States Air Force program in the early 1970s funded the development of a turbine blade that
was both film and convection cooled, and that method has become common in modern turbine
blades.[11] Injecting the cooler bleed into the flow reduces turbine isentropic efficiency; the
compression of the cooling air (which does not contribute power to the engine) incurs an energetic
penalty; and the cooling circuit adds considerable complexity to the engine.[37] All of these factors
have to be compensated by the increase in overall performance (power and efficiency) allowed by the
increase in turbine temperature.[38]

Cooling effusion
The blade surface is made of porous material which means having
a large number of small orifices on the surface. Cooling air is
forced through these porous holes which forms a film or cooler
boundary layer. Besides this uniform cooling is caused by effusion
of the coolant over the entire blade surface.[29]

Pin fin cooling

In the narrow trailing edge film cooling is used to enhance heat
Cooling by effusion
transfer from the blade. There is an array of pin fins on the blade
surface. Heat transfer takes place from this array and through the
side walls. As the coolant flows across the fins with high velocity, the flow separates and wakes are
formed. Many factors contribute towards heat transfer rate among which the type of pin fin and the
spacing between fins are the most significant.[32]

Transpiration cooling
This is similar to film cooling in that it creates a thin film of cooling air on the blade, but it is different
in that air is "leaked" through a porous shell rather than injected through holes. This type of cooling is
effective at high temperatures as it uniformly covers the entire blade with cool air.[31][39]

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Transpiration-cooled blades generally consist of a rigid strut with a porous shell. Air flows through
internal channels of the strut and then passes through the porous shell to cool the blade.[40] As with
film cooling, increased cooling air decreases turbine efficiency, therefore that decrease has to be
balanced with improved temperature performance.[38]

See also
Combustor
High temperature corrosion
Gas turbine
Superalloys

Notes
1. Creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly move or deform permanently under the
influence of stresses. It occurs as a result of long term exposure to high levels of stress that are
below the yield strength of the material. Creep is more severe in materials that are subjected to
heat for long periods, and near the melting point. Creep always increases with temperature. From
Creep (deformation).

References
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2. Acharya, Sumanta; Kanani, Yousef (1 January 2017), Sparrow, Ephraim M.; Abraham, John P.;
Gorman, John M. (eds.), "Chapter Three - Advances in Film Cooling Heat Transfer" (http://www.sc
iencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065271717300059), Advances in Heat Transfer, Elsevier, 49,
pp. 91–156, doi:10.1016/bs.aiht.2017.10.001 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fbs.aiht.2017.10.001),
retrieved 30 August 2019
3. Goldstein, Richard J. (1 January 1971), "Film Cooling" (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/artic
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4. Bogard, D. G.; Thole, K. A. (1 March 2006). "Gas Turbine Film Cooling" (http://pdfs.semanticschol
ar.org/da63/b1f40f8812ccfda47cc233637f30097ce82c.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Propulsion and
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5. Bhagi LK, Rastogi V, Gupta P (2017). "Study of corrosive fatigue and life enhancement of low
pressure steam turbine blade using friction dampers" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31
2071089). Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology. 31: 17–27. doi:10.1007/s12206-016-
1203-5 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12206-016-1203-5).
6. Flack, p. 406
7. Flack, p. 407
8. Bhagi LK, Rastogi V, Gupta P (2013).Fractographic investigations of the failure of L-1 low
pressure steam turbine blade (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S22132902130001
02/pdfft?md5=1ef4531752b9f5d166d71a48a1961bed&pid=1-s2.0-S2213290213000102-main.pd
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9. Flack, p. 429.
10. Flack, p. 410

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