Increasing the Efficiency of Forming Coatings on the Working Rotor Blades of Steam Turbines1

Abstract

The article is devoted to an analysis of the characteristics of the KGB-5M electric-spark plant developed by the authors for use in the formation of erosion- and abrasion-resistant protective-reinforcing coatings on the leading and trailing edges of the rotor blades of the steam turbines of thermal and atomic power stations. It is shown that an increase in the thickness of electric-spark coatings and the efficiency of the plant may be produced by decreasing the “stray” inductance of the external discharge circuit and through rational selection of new wear- and erosion-resistant synthetic materials. The results of metallographic investigations of coatings produced by the KGB-5M plant are presented. The KGB-5 plant, which consists of a low-voltage vessel and a high-voltage vessel, was developed to achieve electric safety in the formation of coatings in closed metallic vessels (for example, in the capacitor of a turbine).