The use of additive manufacturing (AM), for example Selective Laser Melting (SLM), is poised to spark a revolution in the way high-temperature components for gas turbines are designed, but a number of grave uncertainties remain. These lie mainly with the materials sciences, but some questions with regard to manufacturing and operating SLM-parts as hot gas path components and the demands on the tolerances of the cooling features associated therewith remain as well. In order to quantify the impact of these uncertainties, Nozzle Guide Vanes (NGVs) with a geometry that would normally be investment-cast were produced with SLM. A back-to-back comparison of vanes from the two manufacturing processes was performed. The design of the SLM-vanes will be described and the SLMmanufacturing process of the NGVs will be touched upon, especially the use of MAR M-509, which is seldom used for SLM. In addition, characterization of the NGVs with 3D-scans of the outer geometry and the pin-fin matrix shall be discussed. The NGVs were operated for approximately 70 hours at relevant load conditions in a highly-instrumented test engine on a test bed at the Oberhausen plant of MAN. The temperatures of the AM and investment-cast vanes were measured using Thermal History Paints (THPs); a comparison between these different kinds of parts will be drawn.

The measurement of surface temperatures of hot-gas path components of gas turbines under operating conditions provides a considerable challenge because the complexity of measurements under the prevailing conditions is substantial. The results from temperature measurements from an engine test using Thermal History Paint (THP) are presented here. The sensor material in the THP is an oxide ceramic which is doped with lanthanide ions to make the material luminescent. The properties of the luminescence depend on the temperature of exposure. The paper describes the first application of this technology in an extended, rather than dedicated, engine test in which components in both the hot gas path and the secondary air system were coated with THP. During the test campaign the engine components operated below maximum temperature for extended periods of time, which required a novel approach to the calibration of the paint. An overview over the correspondence between the temperatures measured with the THP, thermal paints and CFD calculations is provided for a sideplate and turbine blade. There is very good correlation between the results of the different methods. For the sideplate, the temperature measured with the THP was within 10K of the CFD calculation. Furthermore, the THP exhibited only minor erosion damage after over 50 hours of engine testing. The high durability and measurement accuracy demonstrate the feasibility of using the THP in extended engine tests.

The THM 1304 industrial gas turbine is a two shaft machine incorporating a two stage free power turbine suitable for mechanical and generator drive applications (Fig. 1). As part of an ongoing uprating and upgrading program design modifications were made to the power turbine. The aim was not only to increase power output and efficiency but also to improve on the high availability. The latest design incorporates new blades and vanes, increasing the aerodynamic efficiency and improving the high temperature endurance. Additionally, a new single piece casing and a redesigned mechanical turbine discs arrangement and shaft leads to a higher performance and optimized maintainability. The up rated turbine covers the entire nominal design load range from 9 to 14 MW and extends the available speed range compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, compatibility with the existing product range has been considered. A test program was carried out on the MAN TURBO test bed in Oberhausen, Germany to verify the achievement of the design goals. The program covered not only thermodynamic and aerodynamic measurements but also temperature and mechanical measurements. Special emphasis was put on the validation of the vibration characteristics by means of a telemetry system. Examples will highlight the development testing program in detail. The first production engine went into service at the WINGAS pipeline compression station in Reckrod, Germany. Not only the station layout but also the purpose of the station will be described. Service data registered by the installed monitoring system within the first 10,000 service hours will be discussed and the service experience with the new engine will be presented. During the in house test program the entire turbine performance map was covered.

This paper describes an experiment on a GHH BORSIG Type THM 1304-10 Gas Turbine engine to test the effects of variable vane setting on the vibration behaviour of the blades in all 10 stages of the axial compressor. The rotor was fitted with a network of strain-gauges. An analogue telemetry system was arranged using standard hardware and special application software to display in real-time and to log the full range of frequencies and amplitudes for all instrumented blades. The data acquisition system is described together with a presentation of the live display which allowed engineers to interact with measured results to maximise the benefits of the test whilst all strain-gauges were still functional. Tests were arranged to maximise the vibration data collected at all points before gauge mortality was experienced. Prior to the test, blades were vibrated statically to determine shapes of the first four vibration modes. The paper discusses the fixing techniques for the gauges, the modal shape measurement technique and the calibration of the strain-gauges. The telemetry system architecture and multiplexing arrangement are described together with examples of typical test data and the conclusions concerning the effects on blade vibration of different variable inlet guide vanes (IGV) settings.