TURBINE AIRFOIL DEGRADATION IN THE PERSIAN-GULF-WAR

Helicopter turbine engines used in the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations experienced excessive sand ingestion. Fine particles were a ble to bypass filters and proceed through the combustor or cooling gas paths. The first-stage turbine vanes were impacted with viscous silica te particles, forming a deposit on the leading-edge root platform and resulting in overheating and oxidation. The chemistry of the raw sand determines that of the ingested powders, the deposits and the material reactions.