Hydrogen Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking of Fuel Oil Premix Burner Nozzles in a Heavy-duty Gas Turbine Engine

A number of M8 fuel oil pre-mix (FOPM) burner nozzles in a heavy-duty gas turbine engine were found loosened after some 32,000 operating hours. They were removed and tended to crack in the shaft upon disassembly. It was determined on site that they were fractured at the fillet radius below the head, at the thread's end. A metallurgical root cause investigation was ordered to determine the cause of the cracking. Selected dimensional checks, chemical analyses, microstructural examinations, and evaluations of fuel oil analyses conducted by external sources were performed to achieve the required results. Fractographic studies were not possible in this case due to the corrosion products covering the fracture surfaces. The FOPM burner nozzles fractured due to hydrogen-induced stress corrosion cracking (HISCC). No evidence of pre-existing cracks was found. There are no signs of over-torqueing nor of any other damage caused by manufacturing or assembly; hence this failure was caused by engine service and is not fabrication related.