Induced Draft Fan Blade Erosion Protection
Eroded ID fan blades and housing rebuilt cold and coated to resist ash-laden gas and extend the run between rebuilds.
A job completed with Belzona. This describes what the Belzona system does and how it goes on, not a record of a specific project by this distributor.
The challenge
An induced draft fan pulls ash-laden flue gas across its blades and housing, and the suspended particulate wears the metal away wherever it strikes hardest. The leading edges of the blades lose profile first, the housing thins behind them, and the loss throws the rotor out of balance. As that wear spreads, the fan vibrates, moves less gas, and runs the risk of an unplanned trip. Left untreated, the blades and housing keep degrading until the fan has to come out for a full rebuild far sooner than the plant can afford.
The Belzona approach
The rotor and housing, where the metal has been carried away by the gas stream, are brought back. Blasting takes the worn surfaces to clean, profiled steel, then Belzona 1000 Series composites rebuild the lost leading edges and the thinned housing, applied cold so the blades see no heat distortion that would warp the profile or shift the balance. Once the metal is back to shape, an erosion-resistant coating goes over the blades and the high-wear paths so the new surface takes the particulate instead of the steel. The coating gives the gas a sacrificial face that is easy to renew at the next outage, which is what stretches the run between rebuilds.
- Assess and mapAn inspection of the rotor and housing locates where the ash-laden gas has eaten the leading edges and thinned the metal, and confirms the wear paths through the fan.
- Surface preparationThe worn blades and housing are grit-blasted back to clean, profiled steel so both the rebuild and the coating bond properly.
- Cold rebuild leading edgesBelzona 1000 Series composites rebuild the lost leading edges and thinned housing, applied cold so the blades take no heat distortion.
- Apply erosion-resistant coatingThe blades and high-wear paths are coated with an erosion-resistant system that gives the gas stream a sacrificial face instead of bare steel.
- Cure and return to serviceCure is confirmed and the finished profile checked, and the fan goes back ready to run within the outage window.
The result
- Eroded leading edges and housing rebuilt in place without replacing the rotor
- Blades returned to profile cold, with no heat distortion to the balance
- Erosion-resistant coating gives the ash-laden gas a sacrificial face that renews at outages
- Longer run between fan rebuilds, delivered by factory-trained and factory-certified Belzona applicators
In the field
More Power Generation projects
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Cold-rebuilding an eroded pump casing and lining it to restore clearances, no new casting required.
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Eroded tube ends rebuilt and the tube sheet face coated to separate the dissimilar metals from the cooling water and stop galvanic attack.
Turbine Pedestal Chocking and Grouting
Load-bearing chocks cast in place under a turbine baseplate that had lost foundation contact, restoring full support and alignment.
Seeing something like this?
Belzona Houston is the authorized Belzona distributor for South Texas and the Gulf, based in Alvin, Texas, we’ll survey your equipment and recommend the right cold-applied Belzona system, with 24-hour support.