HOT TURBINE GUIDE VANE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT WITH METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AT SIEMENS ENERGY

Additive manufacturing (AM) of gas turbine components has been suggested as a measure to improve performance and create other value additions in several research papers. This paper focuses on application of AM for gas turbine performance improvement considering industrial scale of this activity at Siemens Energy. Efficient cooling designs, made possible by AM, are considered not only from the standpoint of cooling characteristics, but also inherent challenges, arising in the complete chain of manufacturing processes: from powder removal to coating. Practical limitations of cooling scheme complexity are discussed and the benefits of in-wall cooling, enabled by AM, are described. It is shown that thin cooled trailing edges, enabled by the AM, provide considerable reduction of losses. It is demonstrated that production challenges can be successfully overcome, and the components can be manufactured with the required quantity and according to the original design intent. The sequence and progress of AM components long-term validation in the field engines are discussed and illustrated with actual operation experience. The development of the AM vane was executed in line with the roadmap of AM portfolio development in Siemens Energy and supports the strategy of commercial validation and full commercial release of AM components..