Creep Failure Behavior of Notched Structure in the Simulated Steam Turbine Rotor: Experimental and Damage Analysis

Notched structures widely exist in steam turbine components in fossil power plant, e.g., the groove of the rotor, etc. Previous studies indicate that creep failures occur at the groove of the rotor or the adjacent regions. Thus, it is essential to study the creep failure behavior of the notched structures for the safe operation of the system. In this work, creep tests of the simulated steam turbine component have been conducted at the temperature of 605 °C, and the creep-damage constitutive equation is used to track the evolution behavior of creep strain and damage of this component. The influence of structural and loading configurations on creep failure behavior of the component is discussed. Results demonstrate that the shearing failure at the contact area between the blade root and the rotor is observed for the tested component, while the cracking at the groove of the rotor is not found. Creep-damage constitutive equation employed in this work could provide an adequate solution of the simulated component. Parametric studies indicate that creep crack initiation and creep failure of the simulated components may occur at the contact region (i.e., between the blade root and the rotor) and the groove of the rotor, which is closely related to structural and loading configurations of the components.