In situ deposition behavior of silica-based layers and its effect on thermal degradation of IN713 turbine blades during operation of a micro-gas turbine

Abstract This study examined the in situ deposition behavior of silica-based layers on IN713 turbine blades during the operation of a 13 kgf-class gas turbine at a rotation speed of 20,000/min as well as its effect on the degradation of the metallic substrate. Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) was mixed with the fuel (liquid petroleum gas, LPG) and burned to generate silica-based coating precursors for deposition from the flame. Two deposition conditions were adopted. For condition 1 (C1), the silicon-to-carbon ratio in the mixed fuel was set at 0.1 mol% for the first 5 min and at zero mol% for the final 95 min in a 100-min operation. For condition 2 (C2), the ratio was set at 0.005 mol% during the entire 100 min operation. The total TEOS feed was the same under both conditions. C1 resulted in a rather uniform and thicker (5–10 μm on the pressure side) porous silica-based coating on the blade than C2. The in situ deposited layer of C1 was well preserved on the blade and protected the underlying metallic substrate from oxidation during the entire 100 min operation. The layer on the C2 blades was ∼5 μm thick at the region near to root, but was too thin in the other areas on the blade to be protective. The early build-up of a porous layer to an effective thickness on the blades produced a thermal barrier toward the substrate as well as a diffusion barrier toward the oxidizing elements during operation.