Experimental investigation on erosion performance and wear factors of custom 450 steel as the first row blade material of an axial compressor

A first-stage blade of an axial compressor was fractured after 30,895 hours of operation due to existence of pits and micro-cracks, which were created by erosion and poor corrosion mechanisms. In this research, erosion of the blade material is tested under simulated conditions of the real blade. Abrasive particles impingement angles of 90° and 54° are tested to predict the erosion characteristics on the blade. The predicted blade erosion is validated using the data taken from on-site blades. The eroded specimens are examined by scanning electron microscopy, and wavelength- and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. According to the observations, although the 90° impingements make more pits than 54° impingements, the latter creates longer and more critical pits than the former. Furthermore, the results show that the erosion in the on-site blades is strong enough to assist the formation of severe pits on them which eliminates the crack initiation time.