CASE STUDY OF BRAZING OF LACING WIRE OF

LOW PRESSURE TURBINE OF UNIT 5

At
KORBA EAST THERMAL POWER STATION

Submitted by
NARENDRA PATEL
EASE KORBA



KTPS KORBA EAST AT A GLANCE

Korba east thermal power station is operated by Chhattisgarh state power
Generation Company limited.
Korba east thermal power station, Korba was commissioned its first unit of 50 Mw
capacity on 5 Sep -1966 with the collaboration with Russian government and added three
more units by 31
st
Oct 1968. It has increased its capacity to 440 mw capacity by adding
two unit of 120 mw capacity by 1981 with the help of Bharat heavy Electrical Limited and
with a boiler of its own and one boiler of ABL.
Korba east thermal power station has always welcomed new ideas and concepts for
improvising its efficiency. Reformation of process is a regular feature at KTPS. The plants
officials are always ready to adopt newer technologies and believe in continual
improvement and setting newer bench marks. EWAC Association goes hand in hand from
last 3 decades. EWAC services are regarded very high at Korba east thermal power station.
Various technologies have been offered to the plant which has been very well accepted by
the plant













ABOUT THE JOB


The fifth unit of Korba east thermal power station was commissioned on 27-apr-
1976 and is running successfully for a period of nearly four decades supplying continuous
service to the state of Chhattisgarh (which was earlier a part of Madhya Pradesh). The
power plant is built with the help of Russian technology.
During the capitol over hauling it was found that there were very small cracks
developed at the joint of blade and lacing wire and pitting marks are observed on of 5
th
and
6
th
stage blade of low pressure turbine.



(Low pressure turbine)



Position of crack in the valve


Application details

Nature of problem- crack developed in joint area of lacing and blade and pitting marks due
to erosion by steam.
Working parameters
Base metal- Alloy steel
Recommended electrode- Eutecrod 1801
The Salient features of Eutecrod 1801 is as follows
Low melting temp of 600 degree Celsius which ensures that the blades never got over
heated to form any distortion and cracks.
Silver bearing alloy due to which it is very thin flowing so that it can fill very
intricate gaps in the joint.
Especially designed for dissimilar metal combinations.
It has a tensile strength of 90,000 Psi which ensure a high safety of margin.











STEP BY STEP WELDING PROCEDURE
1st step-
Dye penetration test is done on all blades to find the cracks and pitting marks. It
was found that almost all blades of 5
th
and 6
th
stages had developed small cracks at the
lacing wire area and pitting marks were also present at blade tips.




Dye penetration test





2
nd
step-
After the cracks are found out it is removed by grinding. Due to which the parent
material is also exposed and also the oxides are also removed from the surface




Grinding is being done

Surface after grinding
3
rd
step-
Eutector 1801 flux is applied on the freshly prepared surface.
Function of flux
It dissolves the oxides and removes it to the surface of molten filler metal.
Spread ahead of the filler metal and so protect the metal surface from oxidation.
Promotes capillary of the filler metal.

Flux being applied before brazing


4
th
step-
Now the brazing area is broadly heated with an excess acetylene flame till the flux
liquefies. When the flux liquefies filler rod is introduced into the joining area and is melted
with the flame and deposited at the joint.


Brazing is being done

Joints after brazing
5
th
step-
The joints are cooled slowly and all the flux residues are removed. Then with the
help of grinder the surface profile is matched.



Final view of the turbine blades after the excess material is removed by grinding

















For Further Information Please Contact
NARENDRA PATEL
EASE KORBA
Ph-07509572413
Mail- np.ewac@gmail.com

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes
life meaningful