THERMALL ENGINEE

ERING TIL 10
049-R3
PRODUCTT SERVICE
E 24 APR
RIL 2012
Compliance Category A
Timing Code - 4

TECHNIICAL INF
FORMATTION LE
ETTER
B AND E CLASS
C GAS
S TURBINE WHEEL DOVETAIL
D MATERIALL LOSS
A
APPLICATIO
ON
M
MS6001, 7001,, and 9001 B and
a E class gass turbine unitss (with the excception of 9EC)).

P
PURPOSE
TThis TIL describ
bes the proceddure to determ
mine and corre
ect excessive b
bucket movem nly referred to
ment (common o as bucket
rrock) and whee el dovetail material loss.
R
REASON FOR REVISION
N
Added Table 1 with limits for dovetail mate
A erial loss.

Compliance Category
C
O - Op
ptional Identifies changes that m
may be beneficial to some, but not nece
essarily all,
operators. Accomplishme
A ent is at custom on.
mer's discretio
M - Maintenance Identifies ma
aintenance gu best practices for reliable e
uidelines or b equipment
operation.
C - Co quired
ompliance Req Identifies the
e need for acttion to correctt a condition that, if left un
ncorrected,
may result inn reduced equ uipment reliab bility or efficien
ncy. Compliance may be
required withhin a specific ooperating timee.
ert
A - Ale Failure to co ment damage
omply with thee TIL could reesult in equipm e or facility
damage. Co ompliance is m
mandated with e.
operating time
hin a specific o
afety
S Sa Failure to co
omply with thi s TIL could reesult in person mpliance is
nal injury. Com
mandated within
w me.
a specificc operating tim

Timing Code
T
1 Prior to Uniit Startup / Prio
or to Continue
ed Operation (fforced outagee condition)
2 portunity (nextt shutdown)
At First Opp
3 eration of Affe
Prior to Ope ected System
4 At First Exp
posure of Component
5 At Schedule
ed Componen
nt Part Repair or
o Replacemen
nt
6 Next Sched
duled Outage
7 Optional

2012 Gen neral Electric Com mpany

TThe proprietary innformation published in this Techn nical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing saless and service
reelationship with your
y organization. However, since the operation of your plant involvves many factors not within our kn nowledge, and sin nce operation
oof the plant is inn your control an nd ultimate respo onsibility for its continuing succeessful operation rests with you, GE specifically d disclaims any
reesponsibility for liability based on claims for damag ge of any type, i.ee. direct, consequuential or special that may be alleged to have been n incurred as
reesult of applying this information regardless
r of whe of contract, in breeach of warranty, negligent, or
ether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach o
iss in other respectss responsible for any
a alleged injuryy or damage susta ained by your orgganization as a ressult of applying th his information.
TThis Technical Info ormation Letter contains
c proprieta
ary information ofo the General Eleectric Company, USA and is furnisshed to its custom mer solely to
aassist that custommer in the installattion, testing, opera
ation and/or main ntenance of the eequipment describ bed. This docume ent shall not be reeproduced or
ddistributed in whole or in part nor shall
s its contents be
b disclosed to an ny third party withhout the written a approval of GE En nergy Services Eng gineering. All
rights reserved.
 TIL 1049-R3
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
This TIL is an update to TIL 1049-R2, "Gas Turbine Wheel Dovetail Measurements" which addressed inspection of wheel
dovetails on MS 7001 gas turbine units. The TIL has been rewritten for clarity. The overall recommendations have not
changed from the previous revision. This TIL is not applicable to F-class units.

By design, there is a clearance between buckets and turbine wheel dovetail tangs on the unloaded surfaces. This allows
for a different thermal response of the bucket and wheel and will result in "rock" at low rotor speeds. If a condition were
to exist that locked the buckets and prevented them from moving to the intended operating position, high stresses
could result. To reduce this risk, rotor-turning recommendations should be followed as defined in GER 3620.

Some MS6001, 7001 and 9001 units operating in the field have experienced excessive bucket rock and wheel dovetail
material loss. These occurrences can be attributed to unit operation on extended turning gear and corrosion in the
wheel dovetail area. During turning gear operation, the buckets are not centrifugally loaded as they are during machine
operation. Without the centrifugal load, the buckets traverse from side to side as the rotor revolves. This motion can
cause the wheel dovetails to lose material with extended turning gear operation. If corrosion is present in the dovetail
area, the rate of wear can be accelerated by corrosion acting as an abrasive. There are several areas of concern with
dovetail material loss and increased bucket rock:
Potential for the shank radial seal pins to fall out
Excessive dovetail stress due to tang material loss
Overlap of bucket shrouds due to tang material loss
Loss of wear surfaces on shrouded buckets
Slight radial rubs
Potential twistlock unstaking

Because of the need to prevent rotor bow on shutdown and bucket lock-up during extended outage, users rely on
extended turning gear operation. As this may cause significant loss of material if there is corrosion present, several
steps are outlined in this TIL that will help extend the life of a wheel. However, if the material loss is excessive, the
replacement of the wheels may be necessary.

RECOMMENDATIONS

INSPECTION
The first inspection for evaluating bucket rock is the bucket platform gap measurement. If the gap falls within the stated
limits, any wheel dovetail material loss is considered acceptable. If the bucket platform gap measurement exceeds the
stated limit, the wheel dovetail material loss measurement should be taken. The results of this measurement will
determine what repair options are available. These measurements, their limits, and recommended modifications are
discussed below. The inspection process is summarized in the Inspection Flow Chart (Figure 1).

2012 General Electric Company

This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of the General Electric Company, USA and is furnished to its customer solely to
assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or
distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy Services Engineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 2 of 7
 TIIL 1049-R3

Figure 1: Inspection
I Flo
ow Chart

1
1. BUCKET PLATFORM
P GAP
G MEASU
UREMENT
BBucket platform gap is mea asured as show wn in Figure 2.
2 This measurrement can deetermine if the e bucket tang gs will load
ccorrectly and if seal pins will be retained during low sp peed turning. Though platfo orm gap and wheel doveta ail material
lo
oss are relateed (increased dovetail mate erial loss meaans increased
d gaps), a meeasurement off platform gap is not a
mmeasurement of wheel dovvetail materiall loss. This is dued to the ap pparent rando omness of the e loss of mate erial in the
wwheel dovetaill tangs. Thereffore, a correlation between platform gap and dovetail material loss may not be esstablished.
MMeasurementss should be taken with the buckets
b that will
w be run in th
he unit. If new
w buckets will b
be installed, th
hey should
bbe used for the
e measuremen nt.

e 2:
Figure Buckett platform gap
p measuremeent

YYour GE representative will have the pro ocedure and limits for the pplatform gap inspection. If the measured d platform
ggaps are unde er the allowable size, then no further checcks are requireed and the wh heel and buckkets can be ussed as is. If
tthe gap measu urements are close to or above the limit, then
t larger seal pins shouldd be installed iff possible. Insttallation of
laarger seal pins will most like
ely require mo
odification to the
t seal pin sloot at a GE serrvice shop. If in
nstallation of llarger seal
2012 Genneral Electric Commpany
TThis Technical Info
ormation Letter contains
c proprieta
ary information of
o the General Eleectric Company, USA and is furnisshed to its custom mer solely to
aassist that custom
mer in the installattion, testing, opera
ation and/or main
ntenance of the eequipment describ bed. This docume ent shall not be re
eproduced or
ddistributed in whole or in part nor shall
s its contents be
b disclosed to an
ny third party withhout the written a
approval of GE En
nergy Services Eng gineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 3 of 7
 TIL 1049-R3
pins will not increase the allowable gap measurement sufficiently, then the buckets must be removed and the wheel
dovetail material loss (wear) must be measured.

2. WHEEL DOVETAIL MATERIAL LOSS LIMITS

If the bucket platform gap exceeds the limits, a second measurement is required to determine if excessive material loss
has occurred. Excessive wheel dovetail wear can affect bucket loading on the wheel during operation and cause areas
of high stress. If the amount of wear is greater than allowable, the wheel must be retired because the structural
integrity of the dovetail joint may be compromised. In order to estimate the life expectancy of the wheel, determine the
material loss per fired hour and time on turning gear for each wheel. Wheel dovetail slot measurements are taken at
the locations shown in Figure 3. As more readings are taken over time, the trend may be used to estimate the time
remaining before the wheel exceeds the maximum allowable material loss. If the wheel has not yet exceeded the
allowable dovetail material loss, but bucket rock is above the limit, there are options to correct this condition that are
described in the next section.

Figure 3: Wheel measurement location

Table 1: Wheel dovetail material loss limits

2012 General Electric Company

This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of the General Electric Company, USA and is furnished to its customer solely to
assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or
distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy Services Engineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 4 of 7
 TIL 1049-R3
OPTIONS FOR BUCKET ROCK CORRECTION
There are several options available to users with acceptable levels of wheel wear, but with high bucket rock. Each
method has advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular circumstances for that unit. These
modifications will serve as a guide to extend the life of a wheel. It is important to note that while each procedure will
lengthen wheel reliability, the ultimate solution for wheels with excessive wheel dovetail material loss is wheel
replacement.

3. WHEEL DOVETAIL SPRAY MODIFICATION

Short of wheel replacement, the most effective method to correct bucket rock is the wheel dovetail spray modification.
This method consists of applying a metal spray hard coating to the top of the dovetail posts. Figure 4 shows the location
of the coating on the wheel in red. The hard coat is then ground down as the buckets are installed to achieve the
minimum amount of bucket rock. The build-up of material at the dovetail posts tightens the clearance between the top
of the bucket tangs and the bottom of the wheel tangs. With this clearance reduction, bucket rock becomes restricted.
This reduction in bucket rock reduces the rate at which the wheel dovetails will lose material and keeps the radial seal
pins from falling out of the machine. Since the coating is applied to an unloaded surface, it does not affect the bucket
loading on the wheel during operation. The drawback to the wheel post spray method is that it often requires a longer
outage because the rotor must be removed from the unit and sent to a GE service shop. After wheel post spray is
applied, the bucket rock and wheel wear should continue to be monitored at each outage. The wheel may continue to
wear and coating may chip off over time in service, potentially requiring reapplication of the coating.

Figure 4: Wheel post spray

4. BUCKET DOVETAIL SPRAY MODIFICATION

An alternative to the wheel dovetail spray modification is to apply small pads of hard coating on the non-loaded side of
the bucket dovetails. This coating accomplishes the same reduction in bucket rock as the wheel post coating but does
not tend to last as long. After some time on turning gear, the hard coated pads on the buckets wear into the wheel and
the rock reduction is gone. This procedure is recommended only when time constraints do not allow the wheel fix to be
implemented.

BUCKET REPLACEMENT
Since the material loss occurs on the wheel dovetail, replacement of buckets is not generally an effective solution. This
would only be recommended in a case where new buckets would allow the use of larger pins than the old buckets
would allow. The gap measurements would then be repeated for the new buckets with the new pins. If the wheel spray
coating is not applied to reduce rock, then the wheel dovetails will continue to wear and the excessive platforms gaps
will return.

WHEEL CORROSION
Low utilization units can experience problems that relate to corrosion of the wheel dovetail. Corrosion on the dovetails
can allow faster wheel wear and pitting to occur. GE service shops can apply CC1 coating to prevent this corrosion
pitting. The wheel wear measurement will not measure the pitting of the dovetail surfaces due to corrosion.

The pressure face contact surface area is an important aspect in dovetail design. It is recommended that GE be
informed when there is a loss of 15 percent or more of pressure face contact surface area. Pits deeper than .010 inches
2012 General Electric Company
This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of the General Electric Company, USA and is furnished to its customer solely to
assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or
distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy Services Engineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 5 of 7
 TIL 1049-R3
in that same region should also be reported. This information will be used to evaluate the condition of the wheel and
may be brought to the attention of GE Energy Engineering for additional recommendations.

PLANNING INFORMATION

Compliance
Compliance Category: A
Timing Code: 4

Manpower Skills
GE blade technicians

Parts
Possible use of bucket seal pins (See Table 1).

Special Tooling
Gage pins from table 2 or wheel dovetail wear measurement gage from GE service shop.

Reference Documents
NA

Previous Modifications
TIL 1049-3R1, TIL 1049-R2

Scope of Work
Time required to complete work scope will vary based on level of inspection and modification required.

Contact your local GE Service Manager or Contract Performance Manager for assistance or for additional
information.

Contact your local GE Service Manager or Contract Performance Manager in order to update GE unit record sheets
for changes incurred by this TIL.

NOTE: If you would like to receive future TILs by email, contact your local GE Service Manager or Contract Performance
Manager for assistance.

2012 General Electric Company

This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of the General Electric Company, USA and is furnished to its customer solely to
assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or
distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy Services Engineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 6 of 7
 TIL 1049-R3

TIL COMPLIANCE RECORD

Compliance with this TIL must be entered in local records. GE requests that the customer notify GE upon compliance of
this TIL.
Complete the following TIL Compliance Record and FAX it to:
TIL Compliance
FAX: (678) 844-3451
Toll free FAX: 1-888-896-TILS (1-888-896-8457)

TIL COMPLIANCE RECORD For Internal Records Only #

Site Name: Customer Name:
Customer Contact Information GE Contact Information
Contact Name: Contact Name:
Address: Address:

Email: Email:
Phone: Phone:
FAX: FAX:
Turbine Serial Number(s):

INSTALLED EQUIPMENT TIL Completed Date:

100% TIL Completed:
Description:

Unit Numbers: Part Description: Part Number MLI Number

Comments:

NOTE: If there are any redlined drawings that pertain to this TIL implementation, please FAX the drawings along with
this TIL Compliance Record.
FAX this form to: TIL Compliance
FAX: (678) 844-3451
Toll free FAX: 1-888-896-TILS (1-888-896-8457)
2012 General Electric Company
This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of the General Electric Company, USA and is furnished to its customer solely to
assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or
distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Energy Services Engineering. All
rights reserved.
Page 7 of 7