UET TAXILA

Failure of Engineering Materials & Structures MECHNICAL

ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT
Code 12

Stress Distribution of the Gas Turbine Blade

Mohammad Javed Hyder 1 and Hafiz Laiq-ur-Rehman 2

1
Professor and 2 JE Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PIEAS, Islamabad

ABSTRACT The variations of different parameters such as Temperature (T), Pressure (P),
Velocities (v), Mach No. (Ma), Degree of reaction (Λ), Flow coefficient (Φ) etc. on the blade
passage has been presented. These calculations were done for a pressure ratio of 6 and at
very high velocities which are usually associated with the gas turbines. The stress
distribution due to the flow of gases was analyzed and the impact of flow gases is considered.
An analysis of gas turbine blade was performed to determine the regions of maximum stress
and moment which occur on a typical gas turbine engine at variable rotational speeds. The
results document the effect of velocities, pressure, temperatures and Mach numbers etc. on
the blade profile, the distribution of stresses and the moments.

INTRODUCTION

Over the past hundred years, aircraft and power generation gas turbine designers have been
trying to increase the pressure ratio of gas turbine and to permit working at elevated
temperatures. High values of temperatures not only increase the isentropic efficiency and
thrust, but also reduce the specific fuel consumption. Unfortunately, this freedom is
devastated by the material limitations and also different design parameters like Flow
coefficient (Φ), Degree of reaction (Λ), Blade loading coefficient (Ψ) and mass flow rate (m)
etc [1].

To satisfy all the parameters and prevent failure of turbine blades from disk burst phenomena
caused mainly by the excessive rotational speed (RPM), all these parameters need to be
incorporated in the design phase of the blade. In gas turbines the air first comes into the
compressor followed by the combustors and finally comes into the turbine in the form of high
temperature burned gases. A part of the entering air into the compressor is used in the cooling
of the blades to reduce the thermal stresses generated in the blades, while the remaining part
of air comes in turbine [2].
 Mohammad Javed Hyder and Hafiz Laiq-ur-Rehman FEMS (2007) 12 80

In addition to the high temperatures, recent measurements in actual gas turbine engines have
shown the flow exiting the combustor to be highly turbulent. Thus in designing with film
cooling, matching engine-representatives and free-stream turbulence levels has become
imperative. Selection of material and operations to be performed on blade manufacturing has
also become critical [2].

PRESENT STUDY

Until now the procedure adapted by the researchers is to select a series of NACA blade
profile according to their requirement but in this case the emphasis will mainly be upon the
formation of blade profile. Once all the parameters are calculated satisfying the necessities,
yet the big problem is to draw the profile optimally. For this a blade profile is generated for
simplicity a two dimensional profile is considered. The analytical calculations are then
compared to the software TURBN [1] and they are found in accordance with each other. All
the parameters have been calculated for two stage axial flow gas turbine. The profile
considered is from first stage rotor section and analysis has been performed. Reason for using
two dimensional flow is the blade of first stage is very small and the twist in the blade is
minimal. The results may not be matching with the values calculated analytically mainly due
to the consideration of two dimensional flow. Another reason for not been able to perform
three dimensional flows is the technology limitations. Even two dimensional flow needs
number of elements to be in thousands for meshing and problem will be compounded
drastically if three dimensional flow is considered. Three dimensional flows may need to be
performed on parallel computing as it demands more precise mesh and processing speed. The
parameters which have been calculated are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Geometrical Data

Rotational speed (RPM) 24,000

Mass flow rate (kg/Sec) 10
Inlet temperature to blade (K) 1100
Outlet temperature to blade (K) 872.5
Inlet pressure to blade (kPa) 608
Outlet pressure from blade (kPa) 199.3
Air inlet angle of Turbine (Degree) 0
Air outlet angle of Turbine (Degree) 43.9
Inlet velocity to blade (m/Sec) 253
Outlet velocity from blade (m/Sec) 271
Degree of reaction 0.65
Flow coefficient 1.02
Blade loading coefficient 2
Mean radius (m) 0.15

This data is for the two stages of the axial flow turbine. The analysis has been performed on
the rotor blade and data for the second stage rotor section is given in Table 2.

The results obtained from TURBN [3] are in accordance with the analytical results as
mentioned in Table 2 and hence counterchecks the methodology. From these results one can
get some more useful data which will be helpful in designing blade profile includes chord
length, pitch and height of the blade etc. All results obtained are mentioned in Figs.1 & 2.
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Table 2. Geometrical Data for First Stage Rotor Blade

Hub Radius (m) 0.138

Mean Radius (m) 0.15
Tip Radius (m) 0.162
Temperature at the mean radius of the blade (K) 892
Pressure at the mean radius of the blade (kPa) 228.7
Mach Number at the mean radius of the blade 0.666
Air inlet angle of Turbine (Degree) 0
Velocity at the mean radius of blade (m/Sec) 384
Flow Area at the mean radius (m2) 0.0227
Height of the blade (cm) 2.4
Flow coefficient 1.02
Blade loading coefficient 2
Degree of Reaction 0.23

Figure 1. Stage data for two stages Axial flow turbine [3]

Figure 2. Results obtained from the software [3]

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Figure 3. Cross-sectional view of two stage Axial flow turbine [3]

The blade has also been generated in the software and all of its required parameters have also
been calculated. The problem is that to draw the profile more precisely and accurately. The
literature for drawing a blade profile is not available. Yet an attempt has been made to draw it
in designing software on the basis of calculated values and then analyze it in software. Fig 4.
shows the blade profile which is drawn into the software and all the parameters have also
been listed.

Figure 4. Blade profile [3]

Stress Calculations

Many kinds of stresses do come into play when it comes to turbo machinery especially
turbine where the temperature changes have also become vital. The important stresses in the
designing of gas turbine include Thermal stresses, Centrifugal stresses and Creep phenomena.
Prime concern of this paper is to calculate the stress distribution in gas turbine.

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Thermal Stresses

These stresses have considerable impact during the transient phase when the machine is
turned on. The temperature gradient is enormous at the start like during the take off of flight.
One can easily understand that the temperatures in turbine are quite significant than
compressor. So the thermal stresses play a vital role when it comes to the turbine to withstand
⎡ 1 rh 1
r
⎤
σ tr = α E ⎢ 2 ∫ T (r )dr − 2 ∫ T (r )dr ⎥ (1)
⎣⎢ rh 0 r 0 ⎦⎥

⎡ 1 rh 1
r
⎤
σ tθ = α E ⎢ 2 ∫ T (r )dr + 2 ∫ T (r )dr − T ⎥ (2)
⎣⎢ rh 0 r 0 ⎦⎥

Table 3. Thermal Stress distribution of disk at different values of radii

Radius Radial Stress Distribution Tangential Stress Distribution

(m) (MPa) (MPa)
0 286.16 286.16
0.005 274.43 262.70
0.01 262.70 239.25
0.015 250.98 215.79
0.02 239.25 192.34
0.025 227.52 168.88
0.03 215.79 145.43
0.035 204.06 121.97
0.04 192.34 98.51
0.045 180.61 75.06
0.05 168.88 51.60
0.055 157.15 28.15
0.06 145.43 4.69
0.065 133.70 -18.76
0.07 121.97 -42.22
0.075 110.24 -65.68
0.08 98.51 -89.13
0.085 86.79 -112.59
0.09 75.06 -136.04
0.095 63.33 -159.50
0.1 51.60 -182.95
0.105 39.87 -206.41
0.11 28.15 -229.87
0.115 16.42 -253.32
0.12 4.69 -276.78
0.122 0.00 -286.16

such drastic conditions. One assumption is made while calculating the thermal stresses is that
the temperature is changing linearly i.e. T=To+ΔT(r/rh). Eqs. 1 and 2 [4] are used to calculate
the radial and tangential stress distribution in the disk. E and α show the Modulus of

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Elasticity and coefficient of linear thermal expansion for high strength Nickel alloys at
corresponding temperatures. Table 3 shows the thermal stress distribution of disk at different
values of radii which clearly indicates that both have maximum magnitude at r = 0.

Centrifugal Stresses

Centrifugal stresses depend upon the size of the rotor and the rotational speed of the rotor.
Equation 3 [4] is used for this which shows Ab as its area of interest at the required radius
from the centre, ρ shows the density of the material, Ah shows the area at the hub and ω
represents the angular speed. Equation 4 [4] shows the more simplified form of the equation 3
in which all the parameters are already calculated. This shows that stress is directly
proportional to the ρAω2 and if the blade is tapered linearly then the magnitude of the stress
can be reduced considerably. Cross-sectional area of flow is shown by A.
r
Fc t A
σc = = ∫ ρω 2 b rdr (3)
Ah rh Ah
⎡ ⎛ ⎞⎤
⎢
ρω A ⎢ 2 ⎛ At ⎞ ⎜
2
1 ⎟⎥
σc = 2 − ⎜1 − ⎟ ⎜1 + ⎟⎥ (4)
4π ⎢ 3 ⎝ Ah ⎠ ⎜ 1 + rh ⎟⎥
⎢ ⎜ rt ⎟⎥
⎣ ⎝ ⎠⎦

After simplifying the expression the ratio of σc/ρ is calculated in terms of A·N2 and then from
graph [4] the values of stress can be calculated for Nickel based alloys which are used for the
turbine blades. The distribution of centrifugal stress is given in the Table 4 which clearly
indicates that the magnitude of centrifugal stresses are reduced to half of its original value if
there is no tapering (i.e. At = 0 rather than Ah= At).

Table 4. Centrifugal Stress distribution with area change

Centrifugal Stress Distribution

At/Ah
(MPa)
1 199.09
0.9 189.14
0.8 179.18
0.7 169.23
0.6 159.28
0.5 149.32
0.4 139.37
0.3 129.41
0.2 119.46
0.1 109.50
0 99.55

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Strength to Weight Ratio

Strength has also been calculated for 1% creep for 100 hours from graph [4] and is found to
be 48.26 MPa. Similarly the strength to weight ratio is found to be 58.6 MPa which is also
found for 1% creep for 100 hours from graph [4]. These two values are the maximum
possible values below which the turbine can run without any fear of disk burst phenomena.

CONCLUSIONS

All the calculations show that the trends of the results are in accordance qualitatively with the
results obtained from the software. However same may not be true when it comes to
quantitative analysis. One of the prime reasons for this is the assumption of two dimensional
flow rather than three dimensional flow. The other prime factor which has created hindrance
is the technology limitations. It is quite obvious that the requirement for three dimensional
flow will be much more than simple two dimensional flow. Yet two dimensional flow gives
good approximations. This work also reveals that the value of centrifugal stress can be
controlled by just simply tapering the blades and the twist in the blade can incorporate the
moments which are developed in the blade. One main thing is that the path for satisfying all
the parameters within a given specified region is also very difficult to control. Since all the
parameters are interdependent so a small change in one parameter may spoil all the
calculations. So graphs have been drawn to see the interdependencies of these and then to
finalize the values.

REFERENCES

1. Hafiz Laiq-ur-Rehman, Design and Analysis of Turbine Blade, Thesis, Department of

Chemical and Materials Engineering, PIEAS, 2006.
2. Hyder, M. J., Rehman H. L.U., (2007) Design and Analysis of Turbine Blade using
ANSYS-10, IBCAST, Islamabad. Pakistan.
3. Mattingly, J.D., Heiser, W.H. (2002) Air Craft Engine Design, 2nd edition, AIAA
Education Series
4. Mattingly, J.D. (1996) Elements of Gas Turbine Propulsion, International edition,
McGraw Hill.

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