Session: 13-02 - Additive Manufacturing

Paper Number: 126843

126843 - From Early Development to Industry’s Successful Adoption, the Journey in Additive Manufacturing Cooling Technology for Improved Gas Turbine Capabilities 

The power industry is a critical sector that fuels the global economy, heavily reliant on high-performance industrial gas turbines. Leading manufacturers of turbine hardware are continually investing in cutting-edge technologies to meet the industry's growing demands. Among these technologies, additive manufacturing has emerged as a game changer.

In its early stages, additive manufacturing primarily focused on aspects such as powder morphology, process optimization and material properties characterizations. However, it quickly paved the way for the creation of innovative cooling designs for gas turbine components. Collaborations with prominent universities conducting fundamental experiments have been instrumental in gaining a deeper understanding of the advantages and challenges posed by these novel cooling design features and how they might perform in real engine conditions.

A significant milestone was reached in 2018 when Power Systems Mfg., LLC (PSM) successfully conducted a groundbreaking technology demonstration, featuring an additively manufactured advanced cooling design airfoil running in a heavy-duty industrial turbine. This demonstration provided valuable insights and experiences that marked a turning point in the gas turbine industry’s acceptance of this transformative technology.

Since that pivotal moment, numerous gas turbine units around the globe have been operating with this adopted technology, with some surpassing the impressive milestone of three years in continuous operations. This paper will present the latest field experience of an additively manufactured F class row 1 turbine nozzle equipped with advanced cooling solutions. The authors will also highlight valuable lessons learned from applying additive manufacturing technology to enhance cooling designs, ultimately leading to improved gas turbine efficiency.  

Presenting Author: Gregory Vogel PSM

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Gregory Vogel, PSM’s Senior Manager of Technology Programs, has over 21 years of experience in the industrial gas turbine (IGT) business. Since 2018 he is responsible for the development and integration of new technologies applicable to IGT products.
Greg started his career in 2002 as a Development Engineer in the New Gas Turbine Business for Alstom in Baden, Switzerland. In 2006 Greg became the Group manager for the Aero, Cooling and Secondary Air Flow at the Alstom Turbine Technology office in West Palm Beach, Florida. Greg then joined Power Systems Manufacturing in 2010 and as the Manager of Airfoil Engineering, where is successfully led all technical aspects of PSM Airfoils upgrade programs including the development of the first super alloy additive manufactured airfoil operating in IGT
Greg holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD on advanced turbine airfoil cooling, both from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He is the author of many gas turbine related papers, and holds several patents as inventor of novel designs.

Authors:

Gregory Vogel PSM
Michele Borja Power System Mfg., LLC
Mark Zangara Power Systems Mfg., LLC
John Hunt Power Systems Mfg., LLC