Steam Turbine Localized Corrosion

8/3/2019 Steam Turbine Localized Corrosion

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Deterministic Prediction of Corrosion Damage in Low Pressure Steam Turbines

George Engelhardt1, Digby D. Macdonald2, Yancheng Zhang2, and Barry Dooley3

1OLI Systems Inc., 108 American Road, Morris Plains, NJ 07950

E-mail: "George Engelhardt" 2

Center for Electrochemical Science and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park,PA 16802

3Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.

In this paper, the foundations of the deterministic prediction of damage due to localized corrosion in

low pressure steam turbines have been outlined, including the theoretical basis for predicting a complete

cycle of damage development: the nucleation, growth, and death of individual events (pits/cracks) and the

evolution of damage as an ensemble of events occurring in a progressive manner. The application of damage

function analysis (DFA) has been illustrated with reference to the prediction of localized corrosion damage

in low-pressure steam turbines and it is predicted that deaeration of the turbine during shutdown may

dramatically reduce the probability of failure at long operational times.

1. Introduction

The accumulation of damage due to localized

corrosion [pitting, stress corrosion cracking (SCC)

and corrosion fatigue (CF)] in low-pressure steam

turbines components, such as blades, discs, and

rotors, has been consistently identified as being

among the main causes of turbine unavailability [1,

2]. Accordingly, the development of effective

localized corrosion damage prediction technologies

is essential for the successful avoidance ofunscheduled downtime in steam turbines (and other

complex industrial and infrastructural systems) and

for the successful implementation of life extension

strategies.

Currently, corrosion damage is extrapolated

to future times by using various empirical corrosion

or fracture mechanics models coupled with damage

tolerance analysis (DTA). In this strategy, known

damage is surveyed during each outage, and the

damage is extrapolated to the next inspection period

allowing for a suitable safety margin. As

previously noted [3], this strategy is inaccurate andinefficient, and in many instances it is too

conservative. Instead, it was suggested that damage

function analysis (DFA) is a more effective method

for predicting the progression of damage,

particularly when combined with periodic

inspection. DFA is based upon deterministic

prediction of the rates of nucleation and growth of

damage, with particular emphasis on compliance of

the embedded models with the natural laws.

Although corrosion is generally complicated

mechanistically, a high level of determinism has

been achieved in various treatments of both general

and localized corrosion, which can be used to

predict accumulated damage in the absence of large

calibrating databases.

Fig. 1. Moisture and droplet radius

measurements along the length of

the blade in a model turbine as a

function of different inlet steam

conditions. The symbols representdifferent steam chemistries [2].

Fig. 2. Chloride content in the

early condensate (EC) versus level

of chloride in the turbine inlet

steam. Samples were taken at the

mid-section of the blade height.

Na no addition to the cycle

chemistry, OT oxygen treatment

[2].

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At first glance it would seem that the

deterministic description of corrosion damage

reduces to the prediction of the size of the largest

corrosion events (pit or crack), Lmax, as a function of

time and operational conditions. However as

shown below, such an approach appears to be

inadequate for predicting damage in operating

systems, because the localized corrosion in these

systems is a progressive nucleation/growth/death

phenomenon.

Extensive work in the laboratory and on

operating test turbines [1, 2] has shown that the

failure of turbine blades and disks is a strong

function of the chemical conditions that exist in the

steam. Of particular importance is the deposition of

a thin liquid film on the turbine surfaces in the

phase transition zone (PTZ), where the conditionsof P and T are such that film deposition is

thermodynamically possible. Deposition is

preceded by the existence of significant moisture in

the steam, as shown in Figure 1 (upper plots). As

seen from this figure, the moisture content and the

average drop radius decreases with distance from

the blade root to the blade tip; these changes

corresponding to a drying of the steam partly due to

deposition of a liquid film on the blade surface and

partly due to expansion of the steam as it moves

outwards along the blade. In any event, thin liquid

(electrolyte) films form on the metal surface andthese films support a variety of corrosion processes

that ultimately lead to premature failure. These

electrolyte films concentrate steam impurities, most

notably chloride ion (Figure 2), which is known to

induce passivity breakdown. Passivity breakdown

is the precursor to the nucleation of all localized

corrosion damage, and it is the inhibition of

passivity breakdown where great gains are to be

made in the battle against corrosion-induced

premature failure of LP steam turbine components.

Examination of the data summarized in

Figure 2 suggests that the concentration factors areonly modest, of the order of 2 to 8, depending upon

the concentration of chloride ion in the inlet steam.

This finding is important, because it is commonly

assumed or postulated that concentrated solutions

form on the surface, with the result that many

laboratory studies are carrier out in concentrated

solutions yielding results that suggest that failure

should occur well before they are observed. To be

sure, concentrated solutions are thought to form on

the metal surfaces in restricted regions (e.g., blade

root crevices and in keyways) or even on bold

surfaces under specific steam conditions, but the

norm is the formation of relatively dilute solutions

as indicated in Figure 2. An important finding of

the studies reported in Reference 2 is that oxygen

does not concentrate in the early condensate, and

hence, because the oxygen level in the inlet steam

under normal deoxygenated operating conditions is

normally very low the oxygen level in the

condensate is also very low (sub-ppb levels). This

factor has important consequences for the

nucleation and growth of localized corrosion

damage (see below).

The development of damage due to

localized corrosion on steam turbine surfaces

involves complex interactions between deposits and

electrolyte films that form on the surfaces in the

phase transition zone, passivity breakdown and the

nucleation of stable pits, pit propagation, pitrepassivation, the transition of pits into cracks, and

the propagation of stress corrosion and corrosion

fatigue cracks, as captured in Figure 3. The

corrosion evolutionary path (CEP) includes periods

of shutdown and operation, with various

chemistries being possible during both periods. For

example, during shutdown exposure to the air

produces an aggressive environment in which pits

may nucleate and grow on the disk and blade

surfaces, with the result that during subsequent

operation the pits will transition into SCC or CF

cracks, ultimately resulting in failure. Indeed, animportant conclusion from previous work [2],

which is reinforced by the findings of the present

study, is that control of the environment during

shutdown is the key to trouble-free operation over

long periods.

Fig. 3: Outline of conditions that exist in Low

Pressure Steam Turbines under operating and

shutdown conditions and the relationship of these

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conditions to the development of corrosion damage

[2].

It is often reported that SCC and CF

damage in low pressure steam turbines initiates in

highly localized areas, most commonly at corrosion

pits that act as stress raisers [4]. After nucleation,

the corrosion events develop and pass through

distinct stages, as schematically indicated in Figure

4. It is evident, if we wish to describe the

accumulation of damage quantitatively, that we

must be able to describe each of the stages in

mechanistic/deterministic form; namely, initiation

of metastable pits, the survival of a (few)

metastable pits to form stable pits, the growth of

stable pits, the transition of pit into cracks, the

growth of subcritical cracks, and finally unstable

fracture. As outlined below, in spite of the obviouscomplexity of the processes involved, a high degree

of determinism has been achieved in modeling the

individual steps and practical algorithms are now

available to predicting the accumulation of damage

over realistic CEPs (as described later in this

paper). In this regard, it is important that the reader

be conversant with the term deterministic model

as the word determinism is used rather loosely in

engineering disciplines. In the present context, a

deterministic model represents a physically viable

model whose output (predictions) are constrained

by the natural laws (conservation of mass, charge,etc). The viability of such a model depends heavily

upon being able to accurately describe the physico-

electrochemical processes involved in the system

that impact the nucleation and accumulation of

damage. The successful prediction of damage also

requires accurate definition of the corrosion

evolutionary path, which describes in parameter

space (T, [O2], pH, [Cl-], etc) how the system

evolves to the future state. We are somewhat

fortunate in this regard that as the result of

significant investment over many decades, a great

deal is known about LP steam turbineenvironments, particularly with respect to the

parameters that are of prime importance in the

present work.

Repassivation

Repassivation

Nucleation of metastable pit

Transition from metastable to stable

form

Transition from pit to corrosion fatigu

or stress corrosion cracking

Growth of stable pit

Growth of corrosion crack

Fig. 4. Schematic history of the

nucleation and propagation of

corrosion damage.

It is evident that some stages of corrosion

propagation must have a statistical nature for a

large ensemble of corrosion events. For example, it

is assumed that pit repassivation obeys a first order

decay law [3], i.e. that pit repassivate accidentally,

which is fundamentally statistical in form. The

statistical nature was also previously noted for the

stages of pit nucleation [5] and for the transition of

a pit into a crack [6], but that does not mean that

these processes are not fundamentally deterministic

in nature (c.f., quantum mechanics, which is

deterministic, yields a probabilistic result).

Furthermore, we cannot assume that the rate of pit

propagation is unequivocally determined by its

depth and by the external conditions, i.e. there is no

distribution in pit propagation rate for pits withequivalent depth. It is well known that the

morphology of pits on any given surface can vary

significantly, with some shapes favoring more rapid

mass and charge transfer, and hence greater

propagation rates [7]. In addition, some pits will

initiate at metallurgical features that may favor

more rapid propagation, e.g. MnS inclusion [7].

Again, this distribution may have deterministic

underpinnings. Thus, the distribution in pit

propagation rate might arise, for example, from the

spatial distribution in electrochemical activity of

the anodic and cathodic sites on the corroding

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kkk Rx

j

t

f=

+

, k = 1, 2,,K (3)

where jk and Rk are the flux density and the bulk

source (sink) of the particles k, respectively.

Thus, the subscript k enumerates the corrosiondefect and K is the total number of different

corrosion defects in the system. By definition,

Rk(x,t)dxdt yields the number of defects k (per cm2)

with depths between x and x+dx that arise (or

disappear) during the period of time between t and t

+ dt, due to the transformation (repassivation, in the

case of pits).

The system of Equations (3) can be solved

with the corresponding boundary and initial

conditions.

0t0,at x(t)nj kk >== (4)and

0t0,at x(x)ff k0k =>= (5)

where fk0(x) is the initial distribution of defect k

[usually we can assume that fk0(x) = 0, i.e., no

damage exists at zero time] and nk(t) is the

nucleation rate of the same defect [i.e, nk(t)dt is the

number of stable defects (per cm2) that nucleate in

the induction time interval between t and t + dt].

According to the theory developed above,

calculation of the damage functions requires thedetermination of three independent functions for

each kind of corrosion defect, k: The rate of defect

nucleation, nk, the flux density (growth rate) of the

defect, jk, and the rate of transition of one kind of

defect to another, Rk, (for example, the transition of

an active pit into a passive pit or the transition of a

pit into a crack). Below, we will discuss briefly the

feasibility of calculating each of these three

functions..

Rate of pit nucleationIn many practical cases, it is possible to

assume that all pits on a given surface nucleate

during an initial period of time that is much less

than the observation time, t, or the service life of

the system, ts (instantaneous nucleation). For

example, for the case of the pitting corrosion of

aluminum in tap water, practically all of the pits

were found to nucleate within the first two weeks

[11].

If pit nucleation is not instantaneous, the

simplest assumption concerning the pit nucleation

rate, n(t) = dN/dt, [N is the number of stable pits

(per cm2) that nucleate in the time interval between

0 and t.] is that n(t) is proportional to the number of

available sites, N0 N(t) [12], which yields.

)]t/texp([1NN(t) 00 = (6)

where N0 is the maximum number of the stable pits

(per cm2) that can exist on the metal surface and t0is some characteristic time that depends on the

corrosion potential, temperature, and electrolyte

composition.

A more general and sophisticated

prediction of the pit nucleation rate is given by the

Point Defect Model (PDM) [13-17]. In accordance

with this model, it can be shown that total numberof nucleated pits can be described by the following

expression [18]

( )b/erfcbt

aerfcNN(t) 0

+= (7)

Parameters a and b specifically depend on

temperature, pH, activity of halide ion, and the

metal potential, but do not depend on the induction

time. These dependencies can be found in the

original work. However, it is also important to notethat Equation (7) describes pit nucleation for the

case when the external conditions do not depend on

time. This restriction can be a serious impediment

in predicting the pit nucleation rate under practical

conditions, for example, when external conditions

differ substantially for operating and shutdown

periods. Generalization of PDM to the case of

variable external conditions can be found in Ref. 9.

Rate of pit (crack) propagationThe quantitative description of pit (or

crack) growth remains as one of the key problemsin predicting corrosion damage in many practical

systems. This follows from the fact that the

calculated corrosion damage that is based only on

this (growth) stage can be compared with

experiment, in many limiting cases. For example

when all pits nucleate instantaneously, or when

the induction time for pit nucleation is much

smaller than the observation time, it is possible to

ignore the initial stage of pit nucleation when

estimating the damage. In addition, if the

probability of survival of a corrosion defect is

sufficiently high, we must take into account the

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possibility that a stable corrosion defect (pit or

crack) nucleates immediately after the start of

operation and propagates without repassivation. In

any case, calculations based only on the growth

stage yield the most conservative estimate of the

service life, ts,min, of the system. We can be sure

that, if calculation of the service life is based on

growth alone, the real service life, ts, will at least be

not less than ts,min.

In the simplest case, it is assumed that the

pit propagation rate, v, depends only on the depth

of the pit, and accordingly the flux density of the

active pits can be presented in the form

t)v(x)(x,ft)(x,j aa =

(8)

where, fa is the damage function of the active pits.It is well known from both experiment [19]

and theory [20] that the dependence of the

characteristic pit size (for example, depth, L) on

time, t, can be expressed by a simple equation of

the following form

L = ktm (9)

where k and m are empirical constants, and,

usually, m 1. However, this dependence of L on t

cannot be used directly in mathematical

calculations for small times, because of the non-physical limit

1mand0at t,kmtdt

dLv 1m t0.

In many cases, the period of time over

which the approximation

constantvv(t) 0 = (12)

is valid can be comparable with the observation

time (or even with the service life of the system).

The reason is that corrosion is, generally speaking,

a slow process and under real, practical conditions,

values of the critical pit depth of the system, xcr, and

typical service life, ts, impose significant

restrictions on the values of the initial and average

corrosion current densities and, thus, on the

potential and concentration drops that might be

observed in a corrosion cavity [9].

For constant external conditions, the

dependence of cavity propagation rate as a function

of the cavity depth, x, can be written in the form

(x)vdt

dLv 0== (13)

where function )x( satisfies the evident

boundary condition )x( 0 at x 0. For theparticular case, when Equation (11) holds, (x) can

be expressed in the form:

m)/m(1

0 )x/x(1

1(x)

+= (14)

where x0 = v0 t0/m.

It is important to note that parameters m, t0,

(or x0) can be estimated from first principles as a

result of solving the relevant system of mass and

charge conservation equations for the species in the

solution. Thus, it can be shown that

12

1

+

+=

eff

effm

(15)

where eff is the effective anodic transfer coefficient

for the metal or alloy (for the case of diffusion

limitations m = ) and x0 depends specifically on

eff , electrolyte composition and the thickness of

the electrolyte film on the metal surface [20].

After transition of a pit into a crack or into

a corrosion fatigue crevice, the total rate ofcorrosion crevice propagation, V, can be presented

as the sun of two parts

mecel VVV += (16)

where Vel is the electrochemical (environmental)

component, which is determined by Faraday law,

and Vmec is the mechanical component (crack

advance associated with mechanical fatigue/creep).

Generally speaking, for the case of corrosion

fatigue, Vmec can be written in the form

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n

mec K)C(V = (17)

where K is the stress intensity range and C and n

are empirical constants that depends on the alloy

[2]. For the case of stress corrosion cracking indisc materials, it is widely accepted that the

following relation holds [2]

ymec 0.0278 7302/T4.968lnV += (18)

where Vmec is measured in in/hr, T is the

temperature in 0R, and y is the room temperature

yield strength of the disk, in ksi [21]. In many

practical cases, the condition Vmec >> Vel exists and

the crack propagation rate reduces to its mechanical

component. For the cases when environmental

component Vel is comparable with Vmec the value ofVel can be found as a result of solving the relevant

system of mass and charge conservation equations

for the species in the solution (by analogy with pit

propagation rates). For this purpose, the various

coupled environment models [Coupled

Environment Pitting Model (CEPM), Coupled

Environment Crevice Model (CECM), Coupled

Environment Fracture Model (CEFM), and the

Coupled Environment Corrosion Fatigue Model

(CECFM)], which are based on the on the coupling

of the internal and external environments by theneed to conserve charge in the system, can be used

[20, 25]. In more detail, the problem of calculating

cavity propagation rates in steam turbines is

discussed in Ref. 26.

It has been tacitly assumed above that the

rate of pit propagation is unequivocally determined

by its depth and by the external conditions, i.e.

there is no distribution in pit propagation rate for

pits with equivalent depth. However, as noted

above, a distribution in pit propagation rate might

be observed in practical systems, because of

underlying distributions in system parameters thataffect the growth rate.

In generalizing DFA, for this case, we

assume that the pits that propagate with initial rate

v0 are nucleated in accordance with the equation.

=0

00 )dvv(t,n(t) (19)

Here, the function (t,v) yields the number of pits

(per cm2) that have initial propagation rates

between v0 and v0 + dv0 that nucleate in the period

of time between t and t + dt. It can be shown that,

in this case, the expression for the flux of pits can

be expressed in general form as

=0

0000a )dvv,x/v-(t)x/vexp(-t)(x,j

(20)where

=x

0

'

'

)(x

dxg(x)

(21)

Let us assume that the distribution in pit

propagation rate does not depend on time, i.e.

)(vn(t)v)(t, o= (22)

To move further, we must assume a distribution

function, (v0), for the pit growth rate, in order to

account for those factors that result in a distribution

in growth rate that are not captured by the (present)

deterministic models. For our purposes, it is most

convenient to approximate (v0) by Laplaces

distribution function

2

)/Vvexp()(v

00

0

= (23)

where V0 is the mean initial pit propagation rate and22 2 = is the dispersion.

Rate of pit repassivation and transition of pits intocracks

As noted above, we assume that the

repassivation process obeys a first-order decay law

Ra(x,t) = - fa(x,t) (24)

where is the delayed repassivation (death)

constant (i.e., the rate constant for repassivation ofstable pits). The repassivation constant, , is, in

general, expected to be a function of the external

conditions, including the corrosion potential,

temperature, and electrolyte composition.

Generally speaking, is also expected to be a

function of the depth of the pit,x, because the local potential in the solution at the cavity surface

depends on the IR potential drop in the cavity, i.e.

might be a function of both the spatial

coordinates and time. Of course, if the potential

and concentration drops inside the corrosion cavity

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are insignificant during pit propagation, it is

possible to neglect changes in parameter (see

above). However, the value of this constant still

depends on the external conditions, such as

potential, pH, and concentration of aggressive

species in the bulk electrolyte. Finally, active pits

may no longer be viable if the potential, E, at the pit

internal surface is less then some critical value, Ecr.

Accordingly, if the value of Ecr is reached at some

pit depth, xcr, active pits passivate and cannot

penetrate further into the metal.

Regarding the transition of a pit into a

crack, we assume that a pit immediately transforms

into crack if its depth exceeds some critical value

xcr. According to Chen, et. al., [28], two conditions

must be satisfied for crack nucleation to take place;

namely, KI > KISCC (for SCC) or KI > KI,th (CF)

and Vcr > Vpit (Vcr and Vpit are crack and pit propagation rates, respectively). The first

requirement defines the mechanical (fracture

mechanics) condition that must be met for the

prevailing stress and geometry, while the second

simply says that the nucleating crack must be able

to out run the pit.

The analytical solution of Equation (3) for

the differential damage functions for active pits, fa,

passive pits, fp, and cracks, fcr, are found as (albeit

in rather complicated form):

0

0

0

v 0t r

0

00

a d v) ( v

x ])x,U [ ( m a x ( x

( x )v

)g ( x ) / v-] n ( t g ( x ) / ve x p [

f

=

(25)

0

0 0

00

trp

(v(x)v

)g(x)/v-]N(tg(x)/vexp[

x)-U(xf

=

(26)

00

0

v 0v 0v 0

v 0v 0t r

v 0v 0t r

t rv 0t r

t rc r

) d v ( v

t ) ],xA ( x ,) )x( x ,-t,[ B ( x

)x-) U ( xx-U ( x

t )x ) B ( x ,-) U ( xx-U ( x

t ),x) A ( x ,x-U ( x

)xU ( xf

+

+

++

+

=

(27)

where

(x)V

y)](x,-g(y)/v-]n[tg(y)/vexp[t)y,A(x,

cr

cr00=

and

'

x

'

0

'

0

'

0

'

cr

dx)(xv

)]x(x,-)/vg(x-]n[t)/vg(xexp[

(x)V

t)B(x,

tr

=

x

U(x) is the unit function [U(x) = 0 at x1 and U(x)

= 1 at x>0], max(a,b) = a for ab and max(a,b) = b

for a Vpit is fulfilled.

Using the solutions obtained, the

percentage of pits with cracks at specific pit depths,

, is readily calculated from the relation

%100f

f cr = (29)

where f = fa + fp + fcr is the total differential damage

function for corrosion defects. The value of has

been measured on 3NiCrMoV steam turbine disk

steel employing self loaded specimens to 90 % of

0.2 for aerated pure water and aerated water

containing 1.5 ppm of chloride ion at 90 oC [6] (see

Figure 3). In Ref. 3, it was noted that a remarkable

similarity exists between the percentage of pits with

cracks at specific pit depths, despite changes in

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exposure time and presence or absence of chloride.

It was also mentioned that, whilst the crack depth

usually exceeded the pit depth, there were examples

where the pit depth extended significantly beyond

the crack; i.e. the crack may not have initiated from

the base of the pit. Accordingly, simple application

of fracture mechanics principles based on the pit

acting as the effective crack of the same depth

would not be pertinent.

Pit depth, m

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

%of

pitswithcrack

0

20

40

60

80

100

Aerated 1.5 ppm Cl-

solution:

5107 hours

9187 hours

7173 hours

Aerated pure water:13528 hours

15758 hours

Figure 5. Likelihood of cracks

developing from pits as a function

of depth for 3NiCrMoV disk steel.

The lines are calculated using

Equation (25) (29). The

experimental data are taken from

Ref. 6.

It can be shown that, for the same values of

the kinetic parameters, Equations (25) -(27) can

explain satisfactorily the observed experimental

data. Thus, in accordance with the experimental

data, we note that xtr is of the order of 50 m, and

Vcr 10-10 m/s for corrosion in aerated, 1.5 ppm

Cl- solution (in the case of pure aerated water, the

crack growth rate is lower by factor of 2). In

addition, we assume that the distribution in the pit

propagation rate is described by Equation (23) withV0 3Vcr and 0.1V0 (very sharp distribution), x0 xtr and 1 /(1000 h). Finally, we assume that

instantaneous nucleation of pits occurs in the

system.

Figure 5 shows that satisfactory coincidence is

observed between the calculated and measured

values of . Of course, this procedure cannot be

regarded as an independent experimental

determination of the unknown kinetic parameters

(for example, ). These measurements will be

reported in consequent papers. Figure 5 only shows

that DFA allows us to explain satisfactorily the

principal experimental data [6] for the transition of

pits into cracks during the stress corrosion cracking

of steam turbine disk steel on the basis of the

proposed mechanical conditions [4].

3. Statistical properties of the damage function

There exists a close correspondence

between Damage Function Analysis (DFA), which

has been described at some length above, and

Extreme Value Statistics (EVS). The latter

technique has been used extensively to extrapolate

damage (maximum pit or crack depth) from small

samples in the laboratory to larger area samples in

the field. Furthermore, DFA provides a means of

calculating the central and scale parameters and

their time-dependencies in EVS from first

principles, and hence represents a unification of the

two prediction philosophies.From a statistical point of view, all

distributed properties of the system are completely

determined by the Cumulative Distribution

Function (CDF), (x). By definition, (x) is the

probability that the depth of a randomly selected pit

(crevice) is x. We postulate that the pit

distribution on the metal surface is uniform.

Accordingly, the total number of nucleated pits in

the entire system is SN(t), where S is the area of

the system and, from the definition of the integral

damage function, F, the number of pits that have

the depth x, is S[N(t)-F(x,t)]. Accordingly, fromthe definition of probability we have

N(t)

t)F(x,1

SN(t)

t)]F(x,S[N(t)t)(x, =

=

(30)

We see that the CDF for a given

observation time, (x,t), can be predicted if we

know (can calculate) the integral damage function

of the system [note that the number of nucleated,

stable pits, N(t) simply equals F(0,t)]. Thisrelationship can be regarded as being the bridge

between the statistical and deterministic approaches

for estimating the accumulation of localized

corrosion damage on a surface.

From the practical point of view, the most

important value for characterizing corrosion

damage is the failure probability, Pf, of the system.

By definition, Pf, is the probability that at least one

corrosion event in any form (pit, crevice, stress

corrosion crack, or fatigue crack) reaches a depth,

x, at a given observation time, t, where x, in this

case, is the critical dimension. It is evident that the

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probability of a corrosion event not achieving the

depth x at the tine, t, is (x,t). Accordingly, the

probability that none of the corrosion events will

reach the depth of x is, (x,t)SN(t) where S is the

surface area of the system and, finally, the

probability of failure is

SN(t)

f t)/N(t)}F(x,-{1-1=t)(x,P

(31)

Using the well known limit relation,

xasexp(a))a/x+lim(1 x , by

assuming that 1t)/N(t)F(x,


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rate does not depend on the pit depth, i.e. )x( =

1 (concentrated or moderately dilute solutions).

Our numerical calculations confirm this conclusion,

at least for the case where the function )x( is

described by Equation (14). In some cases

parameters and h can be expressed in analyticalform. Thus, for the case of instantaneous

nucleation and constant pit propagation rate, these

parameters can be presented in the form [9]:

t/V1

ln(0.5SN[Vhand,

t/V1

t

0

00

0 ++

=+

=

(42)

4. Application of DFA to the Prediction of

Corrosion Damage in Steam Turbines

First of all, we will demonstrate how DFA

can help us to extrapolate corrosion damage into

the future. i.e. by using the results of short term

experiments we will predict the results of long term

experiments on the same system. As opposed to

damage tolerance analysis (DTA), prediction can be

made over times that are much longer than the

experimental calibrating time, because of the

deterministic nature of the embedded models.

Thus, Figure 6 shows our predictions compared

with experimental data from Ref. 11 for the pitting

of aluminum in tap water. Note that only data atthe two shortest times (and zero time) were used to

calibrate the model.

Practically, the calibration was done in the

following way. The model was fitted to the short-

term experimental data (those for 7 and 30 days) to

determine values for the three parameters:

a1 = , a2 = V0 + ln(0.5SN0) and a3 = /V0 (43)

and values for parameters and h [see Equations

(42)] were obtained. From these parameters, we

calculated the mean depth of the deepest pit (themost probable value), maxx , as a function of time

by using the relationship

hx emax += (44)

Time, day

0 100 200 300 400

PitDepth,micron

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Aluminum in Tap Water

Fitted by using data for 7 and 30 days

3-parameters fitting

Fig. 6. The mean depth of the

deepest pit as a function of time.

Experimental data are taken from

Table 3. Ref. 11.

where e = 0.5772 is Eulers constant [29]. We

see that DFA allows us to predict satisfactorily the

results for times that are an order of magnitude

greater than the times used for fitting. Had the

data for the first three times (including t = 0) been

used to empirically extrapolate the damage, the

mean value of the deepest pit would be predicted to

be several thousand micrometers after 200 days.

The difference is due to the fact that the system

under study is strongly passivating (stifling) and

hence all pits die before any attain depths beyondabout 800 microns, a feature that is captured by the

deterministic model, but not by empirical

extrapolation. The practical consequence is that the

empirical method would severely over-predict the

accumulation of pitting damage on aluminum

exposed to tap water.

It is important to note that the evolution of

the pit depth with time, for the case of steam

turbine disc steel, can be described by Equation (9)

with m = 0.38 [6]. However, theoretically, the

lowest value of, m, that should be observed for an

isolated, open pit corresponds to diffusion controlwith m equaling 0.5. The hyperbolic forms of

parameters h and [see Equation (42)] can be

easily extrapolated using Equation (9) with m < 0.5.

This means that observed pit propagation rates with

m


12/18

accumulated pitting damage in real or simulated

phase transition zone environments, in the manner

that we did above for the pitting of aluminum in tap

water. However, Turnbull and Zhou [6] have

recently published an extensive data set for the

pitting of 3NiCrMoV turbine disc steel in simulated

phase transition environments extending over

15758 hours (656.6 days). This set appears to be

the most extensive in existence for well-controlled

conditions and, while it falls short of service life

(40 years or 14600 days), it does provide an

opportunity to test the ability of DFA to predict

damage over periods that extend beyond normal

laboratory times. However, examination of Figures

9, 10, and 11 in Turnbull and Zhous paper [6]

shows that the form of the damage function is

remarkably similar to those predicted by DFA for a

strongly repassivating system [3,18]. Furthermore,the damage functions demonstrate that the

maximum pit depth is not a strong function of time,

which is another characteristic that is consistent

with strong repassivation.

Experimental studies are also underway in

the Pennsylvania State University and Frumkin

Institute (Moscow) and some preliminary results

for Type 403 SS turbine blade alloy obtained at

PSU for relatively short observation times are

presented in Figure 7. Excellent agreement is

obtained between the experimental and calculated

mean maximum pit depth for the longest time, andthe form of the data demonstrates that this, too, is a

strongly repassivating system.

Time, hour

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Averaged

MaximumP

itDepth,micron

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Fitted by using data for 24 and 240 hours

Experiment

Fig. 7 Variation of the extreme value (EV) in pit

depth with exposure time for Type 403 SS in

0.10M NaCl-containing deaerated borate buffer

solution at pH = 8.1, T = 25 oC, and at an applied

potential of 0.090VSCE.

It is important to emphasize that the

application of DFA for describing and predicting

localized corrosion damage has real advantages

over the purely statistical approaches. Thus, DFA

yields the connection between the CDF (cumulative

distribution function) and the physical parameters

that determine the accumulation of damage (i.e.,

with the mechanism). This connection allows us

to reduce the number of fitting parameters for the

CDF, to predict the time dependencies of these

parameters, and to predict the influence of the

external conditions (corrosion potential,

temperature, electrolyte composition, etc.) on the

fitting parameters.

In accordance with the theory developed

above, calculation of the damage functions requires

the determination of three independent functions

for each kind of corrosion defect, k: The rate of

defect nucleation, nk; the flux density of defect, jk;

and the rate of transition of one kind of defect intoanother, Rk, (for example, the transition of a an

active pit into a passivated pit or a passivated pit

into a crack). Accordingly, the algorithm for

estimating the damage function must have at least

three modules for handling these functions, but the

operation of the algorithm is quite independent of

the form of each function. Of course, additional

modules are required for determining external

parameters, such as the composition of the liquid

film, temperature, corrosion potential, and so forth.

A general algorithm together with a general,

modular computer code for predicting localizedcorrosion damage in steam turbines has been

developed. The code contains five modules, as

outlined in Figure 8.

5. Damage Function Module. The DFM is the

main module of the code. To start the calculation,

input information, such as the initial distribution of

damage, i.e. initial values for damage functions, fk0,

environmental conditions, etc., are entered.

Sometimes, but not in the general case, we can

simply assume that allfk0 are equal to zero (there is

no initial damage in the system). Practically, thefunction of this module reduces to one of

numerically or analytically solving the system of

differential Equations (3) for calculating the DF for

all kinds of defects in the system. For each time

step, this module calls the:

Nucleation Module (NM), which calculates

the rate of defect nucleation, nk, at the metal surfaceas a function of induction time;

Growth Module (GM), which computes theflux of corrosion events, jk, as a function of its

depth and, in the general case, at sufficiently small

12


13/18

time steps, if the external conditions depend on

time;

Transition Module (TM), which computesthe rate of transition (transformation) of one defect

into another, Rk, (for example pit repassivation ortransition pit into crack) as a function of population

of defects, depth, and, in the general case,

observation time.

In turn, the three modules, NM, GM, and

TM, call the Environmental Module (EM) that

defines the external conditions for the system, such

as the chemical composition, conductivity, and the

thickness of the electrolyte film on the steel surface,

corrosion potential, temperature, mechanical

conditions, and so forth. In the general case, all

parameters may depend on time (for example, due

to shutdowns and startups and due to transients

during operation). After obtaining reliableelectrochemical kinetic data for oxygen, hydrogen

ion, and water reduction on the steam turbine steel,

along with the value of the passive corrosion

current density, we will incorporate into the EM the

Mixed-Potential sub-Module (MPM), which

calculates the corrosion potential of the turbine

blades and disks as a function of electrolyte

composition, temperature, and electrolyte film

thickness. The MPM is based on the Wagner-

Traud hypothesis for free corrosion processes and is

customized for the case of general corrosion under

thin electrolyte films and for the realelectrochemical conditions that exist in a steam

turbine. Many of the experimental data that are

required for the MPM have been obtained and will

be published in near future.

After determining the damage function for

the system, we are in a position to address some

important design questions. Thus, the output of the

algorithm can be specified in three forms:

(1) For a specified probability of failure, the

algorithm estimates the damage function as a

function of exposure time, and computes theobservation time at which the depth of the

deepest crack exceeds a critical dimension.The calculated observation time is theservicelife.

(2) For a specified probability of failure and

design life, the algorithm calculates the

critical dimension that can be tolerated toensure acceptable performance.

(3) For a specified wall thickness and design life,the algorithm estimates the failure

probability.

Failure Probability Wall Thickness

Specif ier

nk

Rk

kGrowth

Module

Init ial Damage

fk0(x)

Damage

Function

Module

Nucleation

Module

Environmental

Module

Ck

Ecorr

Transit ion

Module

Service Life

T

Dk

Fig. 8. Structure of algorithm for prediction

of damage function.

We have recently modeled the

accumulation of damage due to pitting corrosion

and corrosion fatigue in disks and blades for aturbine that is subjected to cyclical operation, as

summarized in Table 1. Thus, in this case, the

corrosion evolutionary path comprises multiple

cycles of an operational period of 500 hours at 95oC under cyclic loading followed by 100-hour

shutdown period at 25 oC. The transition period

between shutdown and operation was considered to

be 0.5 hours, during which time the properties of

the system change linearly with time. Thus, the

total cycle time is 600.5 hours and the total

operational time was assumed to be 12,5 years

corresponding to 219 cycles. The accumulated

damage at any given time (i.e., after the

corresponding number of cycles) is obtained by

integrating the cavity growth rate over the

evolutionary path to that point. The

electrochemical parameters assumed in the

calculation for the low alloy disc steel and the Type

403 SS blade alloy actually correspond to those for

iron and Type 316 SS [the experimental data for

electrochemical kinetic parameters for 316 SS are

taken from Ref. 30], respectively, because of a lack

of data for the actual alloys of interest. Details of

13


14/18

the calculations will be published at a later date.

We note, however, that the exchange current

densities for the redox reactions (evolution of

hydrogen and the reduction of oxygen) for Type

316SS and carbon steel are not expected to differ

significantly from those for Type 403SS and

3NiCrMoV disk steel, respectively.

Table 1. Assumed operating cycle

parameters for the development of

corrosion fatigue damage in Low

Pressure Steam Turbine blades.

Shutdown Operation Cycle

t = 100 h =

m+ 0.5sin(2ft)

T = 250C

[Cl-] = 0.3 M

[O2] = 8 ppm

pH = 6.96

t = 500 h

= 0

m= 84 ksi, = 2 ksi, f = 600 Hz

T = 950C

[O2] = 20 ppb

[Cl-] = 3 M

pH = 6.13

Time, year

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

CrackDepth,cm

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Carbon Steel

316 Stainless Steel

Incubation Periods

Fig. 9. Plots of accumulated

pitting/corrosion fatigue damage incarbon steel and Type 316 SS

along a simulated LP steam turbine

corrosion evolutionary path

comprising multiple cycles of

shutdown followed by operation, as

summarized in Table 1.

The calculated, accumulated damage (the

most probable cavity depth as a function of time)

for both materials is summarized in Figure 9. In

this figure, the incubation period corresponds to

pitting corrosion, followed by corrosion fatigue

becoming the principal mode of damage

accumulation. For the case of the stainless steel, in

particular, the failure time is dominated by

initiation (incubation) and once a crack nucleates it

grows rapidly to a super critical dimension. In the

case of iron (disk steel), however, the initiation

period is predicted to be short, compared with the

total failure time, so that this case corresponds to a

growth dominated failure scenario (see below).

A number of important conclusions were

drawn from this study:

At loading frequencies above ca. 100 Hz,

fatigue crack growth is due to mechanical

fatigue, with negligible impact of the

environment.

At loading frequencies below 0.1 Hz, for

low R-ratio loading, advection has little

impact on corrosion fatigue crack growthrate. Accordingly, crack propagation can

be treated as stress corrosion cracking.

The service life of a system is very

sensitive to the electrochemical (corrosion)

properties of the alloys employed and the

environment.

Increasing of the initiation period is the key

to increasing of the service life of the

system.

The pit propagation rate is predicted to be

much higher during shutdowns than it is

during operation for the current mode of

operation (aerated conditions during

shutdown). Accordingly, it is possible to

significantly increase the service life of a

system by controlling the environmental

conditions (e.g., deaerating) during

shutdown.

Using these data, we are ale to estimate the

failure probability by specifying a super critical

crack (i.e., one at which unstable fracture ensues, in

this case a 1-cm long crack). The probability offailure is calculated as the likelihood that a crack

will become supercritical in the stated observation

time (15 years for the cycling regimen specified in

Table 1). With reference to Figure 10, we see that

the failure probability for Type 403 SS blades is

reduced by a factor of 104 by simply reducing the

oxygen concentration in the condensate on the

blades to 1 ppm during shutdown. This is a

dramatic effect and is one that is easily enacted in

turbine operation.

14


15/18

Oxygen Concentration, ppm

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Probabilityo

fFailure

1e-5

1e-4

1e-3

1e-2

1e-1

1e+0

Service Life = 15 years

Lcr

= 1 cm

Fig. 10. Probability of failure of a

turbine blade as a function of

oxygen concentration during the

shutdown period.

It is important to emphasize that, while the

calculations described above (Figures 9 and 10)

were made for illustrative purposes only (i.e., we

still have to introduce parameters for Type 403SS),

they do demonstrate the level of sophistication that

is now being achieved in corrosion damage

prediction.

Table 2. Assumed operating cycle

parameters for the development of

stress corrosion cracking damagein Low Pressure Steam Turbine

disks.

Shutdown Operation Cycle

t = 100 h

= 105 ksi

T = 250C

[C l-] = 1.5 ppm

[O2

] = 8 ppm

pH = 6.96

t = 500 h

= 0

T = 950C

[O2

] = 20 ppb

[C l-] = 1.5 ppm

pH = 6.41

We now turn to consider corrosion-induced

failure of LP steam turbine disks; in this case by

stress corrosion cracking. Full details of these

predictions will be published at a later date, but the

corrosion evolutionary path is that specified in

Table 2. The crack growth rate used in these

calculations has been estimated by using the

standard Equation (18).

Oxygen Concentration, ppm

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

ProbabilityofF

ailure

1e-5

1e-4

1e-3

1e-2

1e-1

1e+0

Lcr

= 0.5 cm


1.5 ppm Cl-

0.15 ppm Cl-

15 ppm Cl-

Fig. 11. Calculated failure

probability for LP steam turbine

disks as a function of oxygenconcentration during shutdown for

different chloride concentrations in

the electrolyte film. The corrosion

evolutionary path is that defined in

Table 2.

Typical predictions of the failure

probability versus oxygen concentration for SCC in

LP turbine disk steel for different chloride

concentrations in the PTZ condensate for a service

life of 15 years are shown in Figure 11. The critical

crack length for the onset of unstable fracture is

assumed to be 0.5-cm.The calculated failure probability plotted in

Figure 11 is clearly a sensitive function of both the

oxygen concentration and the chloride

concentration in the PTZ condensate. Increasing

the oxygen concentration under shutdown

conditions displaces the corrosion potential in the

positive direction and hence increases the pit

nucleation and pit growth rates, thereby resulting in

an increase in the failure probability as shown in

Figure 11. At sufficiently low oxygen

concentration, oxygen reduction is no longer the

principal cathodic reaction (hydrogen ion and water

reduction become dominant), and the failure

probability is sensibly predicted to be independent

of [O2] in the condensate. However, the

propagation and nucleation rates of pits are also

predicted (see above) and found [31] to increase

with increasing [Cl-], so that the failure probability

versus oxygen concentration shifts upwards and to

the left (i.e., the environment becomes more

aggressive). Figure 11 displays the sensitive

relationship that is predicted to exist between the

oxygen concentration during shutdown and the

15


16/18

chloride concentration in the phase transition zone,

which is also assumed to persist on the disk

surfaces when the turbine is taken out of service.

Thus, decreasing the probability of failure over

many operating cycles of the turbine is seen to be

not only a sensitive function of oxygen

concentration during shutdown, but also of the

chloride concentration on the steel surface. Clearly,

the life of the disk (and blades) can be extended

substantially by deaerating the environment and

washing the surfaces during and prior to shutdown.

tsh

/(tsh

+ top

)

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

ProbabilityofFailure

0.01

0.1

1

Lcr

= 0.5 cm


1.5 ppm Cl-

Fig. 12. Probability of failure

versus the fraction of the time

spent in shutdown under aeratedconditions for a surface chloride

concentration of 1.5 ppm and a

shutdown concentration of

oxygen of 8 ppm and = 105

ksi.

The modeling work outlined above shows that the

tendency toward blade and disk failure depends

critically upon the conditions that exist during shut

down. Assuming that the shutdown conditions are

aerated (8 ppm O2 in the liquid film on the disk

surface) and that the chloride concentration is 1.5

ppm, the probability of failure versus fraction of

time spent in shutdown is shown in Figure 12. This

figure shows that the probability of failure increases

rapidly with increasing time spent under aerated

shutdown conditions and that fractional times of

greater than 10 % essentially ensure that failure will

occur over 190 cycles as described in Table 1. Of

course, by lowering the oxygen and chloride

concentrations during shutdown will pus this curve

dramatically to the right, thereby substantially

decreasing the probability of failure for increasing

time spent under shutdown.

The final issue that we wish to address in

this paper is stress. Stress (residual or operating) is

an issue, because it determines the depth at which a

pit will transition into a crack and it affects the rate

of crack growth, particularly in the Stage I region

of the crack growth rate versus stress intensity

correlation. Extensive laboratory and field

observations [2] shows that stress is an important

factor and the relationship between the apparent

mechanical crack growth rate and the yield stress of

the disk steel is given by Equation (18). The

calculated relationship between the probability of

failure and the stress is shown in Figure 13. One

sees that the failure probability is a strong function

of stress, but it is also important to note that a

threshold stress level exists below which theprobability of failure is zero. This threshold value

corresponds to the minimum stress that is necessary

to ensure that the condition KI > KISCC holds, which

is one of the two conditions that must be met for the

nucleation of a crack at a (passivated) pit.

, ksi

0 50 100 150 200

ProbabilityofFailure

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Lcr

= 0.5 cm


1.5 ppm Cl-

Figure 13. Probability of failure

versus yield strength under aerated

conditions for a surface chloride

concentration of 1.5 ppm and ashutdown concentration of oxygen

of 8 ppm.

Finally, we note that the above is but a

small sample of the correlations between the failure

probability and the various independent variables

that exist in a low pressure steam turbine that can

be generated by Damage Function Analysis. Much

of the work in the immediate future will be

concerned with evaluating these predictions against

laboratory and field observation, but it is important

to note that the theoretical basis for the

16


17/18

deterministic prediction of damage in these systems

has now been largely established.

6. Summary and Conclusion

In this paper, the foundations of the

deterministic prediction of damage due to localized

corrosion have been outlined, including the

theoretical basis for predicting a complete cycle of

damage development: the nucleation, growth, and

death of individual events (pits/cracks) and the

evolution of damage in an ensemble of events

occurring in a progressive manner. The application

of damage function analysis (DFA) has been

illustrated with reference to the prediction of

localized corrosion damage in low pressure steam

turbines. The important conclusions from this

study are as follows:1. Damage Function Analysis (DFA) provides

a powerful deterministic framework for

predicting the accumulation of localized

corrosion damage in Low Pressure Steam

Turbines.

2. Localized corrosion damage can beeffectively described in terms of a

progressive nucleation/growth/death

(repassivtion) process in which active pits

repassivate and repassivated pits transition

into cracks if the conditions of KI >KISCC( KI > Kth) and (da/dt)crack >

(da/dt)pit.

3. DFA successfully accounts for the data of

Zhou and Turnbull [6] on the probability of

crack nucleation at pits in LP steam turbine

disk steel by assuming a narrow

distribution in crack growth rate.

4. The pitting damage accumulation scenarios

examined in this study (Al in tap water,

Type 403SS in chloride solutions) are

characterized by strong repassivation atlonger exposure times; this finding is

readily accommodated by DFA but not by

empirical methods.

5. The failure of stainless steels in LP turbine

environments is dominated by initiation,

corresponding to the nucleation and growth

of pits, repassivation of the pits, and the

transition of pits into cracks upon

realization of the necessary fracture

mechanics and pit growth rate/crack growth

rate conditions.

6. The failure probability is found to be a

sensitive function of the conditions that

exist in the turbine during shutdown,

including the oxygen concentration, the

chloride concentration, the stress, and the

fraction of the time spent under shutdown if

the shutdown environment is not deaerated

and the steel surfaces are not washed free

of chloride ion. These predictions are

consistent with damage nucleating

preferentially during shutdown.

7. DFA predicts that washing the steel

surfaces (in order to remove chloride ion)

and deaerating LP steam turbines (in order

to remove oxygen) prior to and during

shutdown, respectively, could have a major

impact on decreasing the probability of the

failure of turbine components (blades anddisks) during operation and hence would be

effective strategies for increasing turbine

reliability.

7. References

1 O. Jonas, Materials Performance, 24, 9,(1985).

2 T. H. McCloskey, R. B. Dooley, and W. P.

McNaughton, Turbine Steam Path

Damage: Theory and Practice, Vols 1 and

2, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo

Alto, CA, 1999.

3 D. D. Macdonald and M. Urquidi-Macdonald, Corrosion, 48, 354 (1992).

4 G.S. Chen, K.-C. Wan, M. Gao, R. P. Weiand T. N. Flournoy, Mat. Sci. Eng., A219,

126 (1996)

5 D.E. Williams, C. Westcott, and M.Fleischmann, J. Electrochem. Soc., 132,1796 (1985).

6 A. Turnbull and S. Zhou, Corros. Sci., 46,1239 (2004).

7 G. P. Marsh, I.D. Bland and K. J. Tailor,Br. Corr. J., 23, 157 (1988).

8 J. E. Strutt, J. R. Nicholls and B. Barbier,Corros. Sci., 25, 305 (1985).

9 G. Engelhardt and D. D. Macdonald, Corr.Sci., (2004). In press.

10 G. Engelhardt, and D. D. Macdonald,Corros. Sci., 46, 1159 (2004).

11 P. M. Aziz, Corrosion, 12, 495 (1956).

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Steam Turbine Localized Corrosion