TITLE:
Low Cycle Fatigue Life Estimation and Tracking for Industrial Gas Turbine Blades Using Fatigue Factor Approach
AUTHORS:
Ebigenibo Genuine Saturday, Thank-God Isaiah
KEYWORDS:
Damage Summation Rule, Fatigue Cycles Accumulation, Fatigue Factor, Fatigue Life Tracking, Low Cycle Fatigue
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Mechanical Engineering,
Vol.8 No.2,
May
11,
2018
ABSTRACT: Low cycle fatigue life consumption analysis was carried out in this work. Fatigue cycles accumulation method suitable even if engine is not often shut down was applied together with the modified universal sloped method for estimating fatigue cycles to failure. Damage summation rule was applied to estimate the fatigue damage accumulated over a given period of engine operation. The concept of fatigue factor which indicates how well engine is operated was introduced to make engine life tracking feasible. The developed fatigue life tracking method was incorporated in PYTHIA, Cranfield University in-house software and applied to 8 months of engine operation. The results obtained are similar to those of real engine operation. At a set power level, fatigue life decreases with increase in ambient temperature with the magnitude of decrease greater at higher power levels. The fatigue life tracking methodology developed could serve as a useful tool to engine operators.