Addressing stress corrosion cracking in the turbomachinery industry

Stress Corrosion Cracking is a common problem affecting turbomachinery components such as rotor discs, steam turbine blades and compressor impellers, and is a major factor driving component repair. This type of cracking may lead to catastrophic failures which result in unplanned down time and expensive repairs.
 A comprehensive root cause failure analysis is always needed to determine and confirm the root causes. Based on the findings of the analysis, different methods can be used to alleviate the cause of stress corrosion cracking. The design of the component, operating environment and other factors should be considered when selecting a method to mitigate stress corrosion cracking.