Power Generation Maintenance Teams, Gas Turbine Overhaul Shops & Outage Managers

3D Scanning for Power Generation & Gas Turbine Overhaul | Blade Profile, Casing Inspection & Component RE | Schimmel Engineering Nashville

For Power Generation Maintenance Teams, Gas Turbine Overhaul Shops & Outage Managers

The overhaul window is open, the hardware is split and accessible, and the repair vs. replace decision has to be made before reassembly. Scanning during the outage window gives the engineering team objective geometry — blade profiles, casing distortion, combustor wear, rotor disk condition — instead of visual assessments and discrete measurements that sample what's there rather than documenting it completely.

We capture turbine and compressor component geometry at 0.025mm (0.001"), NIST-traceable. The HandyScan MAX Elite handles large casings and structural components up to 50 feet. Carry-in cases, battery-powered, operational in 20 minutes anywhere the hardware is accessible. We plan around your outage schedule and work without extending the critical path.

Turbine & Compressor Blade Airfoil Profile Scan

Turbine blade and compressor blade airfoil geometry captured at multiple span stations — leading edge radius, trailing edge geometry, chord, twist distribution, and tip geometry. Deviation mapped against OEM serviceable limits or nominal profile to produce a complete picture of where blade geometry has moved relative to the original. Used for repair disposition during major overhauls, bucket life extension assessments, and trending across inspection intervals to identify accelerating wear patterns. The full surface map identifies erosion and distortion between measurement stations that discrete point inspection can miss.
From $850
Est. per blade set

Compressor & Turbine Casing Distortion Scan

Casing bore geometry captured during overhaul when the casing is split and accessible — out-of-round, ovality, and axial distortion documented against nominal to support repair vs. replace decisions and to verify that bore geometry is within serviceable limits before reassembly. Casing distortion that accumulates through thermal cycling affects tip clearances, efficiency, and mechanical integrity in ways that aren't visible at the exterior. The only window to assess it objectively is during the overhaul with the unit open.
From $2,200
Est. — contact for quote

Combustor Liner & Transition Piece Geometry Scan

Combustor liner, transition piece, and cap and end cover geometry scanned for wear documentation, erosion mapping, distortion assessment, and repair disposition. Applicable to GE Frame 7 and 9, Siemens SGT, Mitsubishi, Solar, and other OEM combustion systems. Erosion depth, burnthrough location, liner shell distortion, and transition piece wear are all documented with objective geometry — the basis for an independent repair scope decision that doesn't rely solely on OEM assessment.
From $1,100
Est. per combustor can

Rotor & Disk Stack Geometry Scan

Turbine and compressor rotor disk geometry scanned during overhaul — dovetail slot condition, disk face geometry, balance weight pocket positions, and disk bore geometry documented. Used to assess dovetail fretting, quantify slot wear, and verify disk geometry before reinsertion of blades. Balance weight pocket geometry captured for replacement weight fabrication when original drawings are unavailable. Applicable to both axial flow gas turbines and steam turbines.
From $1,800
Est. — contact for quote

Nozzle & Vane Segment Condition Scan

First and second stage nozzle segments and vane assemblies scanned for throat area documentation, erosion depth mapping, and repair disposition against OEM serviceable limits. Throat area variation from segment to segment affects combustion dynamics and turbine efficiency — full surface scanning documents the actual throat area at every flow path position rather than the spot checks that conventional inspection provides. Used for repair disposition and for documenting nozzle condition history across overhaul intervals.
From $950
Est. per stage

Steam Turbine Casing & Diaphragm Scan

Steam turbine inner and outer casing geometry, diaphragm groove positions, nozzle ring geometry, and packing land dimensions scanned during major overhaul. Casing bore condition, diaphragm fit geometry, and the spatial relationship between the inner casing and the rotor path are documented for alignment verification and replacement component fit check. Used when a steam turbine is undergoing its first major overhaul in a decade or more and the as-installed geometry needs to be verified before ordering replacement diaphragms or packing rings.
From $1,800
Est. — contact for quote

Generator & Exciter Component Geometry Scan

Generator rotor, stator bore, and exciter component geometry captured during major overhaul — air gap documentation, bore distortion assessment, and component replacement fit verification. Air gap uniformity around the full bore circumference documented against design specification. Stator bore geometry captured for assessment of distortion that would affect air gap and efficiency. Used when generator performance has trended negatively and the cause needs to be isolated to rotor condition, bore distortion, or alignment.
From $1,200
Est. — contact for quote

Outage Planning & Deployment

We plan around your outage schedule. Battery-powered carry-in equipment deploys in 20 minutes anywhere the hardware is accessible. The HandyScan Black Elite at 0.025mm (0.001") for blade and component work; the HandyScan MAX Elite for large casing and structural geometry up to 50 feet. We don't extend your critical path. Within 50 miles of Nashville is included in all base prices. Contact us with your unit type, outage window, and component list.

Within 50 miles of Nashville 37206Included
51–150 miles+$180
151–300 miles+$295
300+ miles / Multi-day outageQuoted individually
National travelContact for quote

When Outage Teams Call Us

Scenario — Blade repair disposition
A GE Frame 7 is in major overhaul. The T1 buckets have fired 24,000 hours and the OEM says replace. The owner wants an independent geometric assessment.
The OEM's repair recommendation is based on their inspection criteria and their replacement parts business. An independent owner wants to know what the blade geometry actually looks like before committing to a full bucket replacement. We scan the T1 buckets at multiple span stations, deviation-map the airfoil against the OEM nominal profile, and produce a report showing exactly where the geometry has moved and by how much. The owner has objective geometry to evaluate against the serviceable limits and make the repair decision independently.
Scenario — Casing distortion, combined cycle plant
A compressor casing shows suspected distortion from a recent trip event. The unit is open and the outage window is limited.
A hard shutdown trip left the compressor casing with suspected thermal distortion. The plant engineering team needs to assess casing bore geometry before reassembly — if the casing is distorted beyond acceptable limits, the repair decision needs to be made before the unit is closed. We scan the bore geometry during the outage window and deliver a deviation map showing out-of-round, ovality, and axial distortion against nominal. The engineering team makes the repair vs. reassemble decision on objective geometry, not visual inspection.
Scenario — Combustor independent assessment
An independent repair shop is assessing a set of combustor liners. The OEM's repair estimate came back high. The shop needs geometry to scope the repair themselves.
Eight combustor liners from a Siemens unit — the OEM quoted full replacement. An independent repair shop believes most of them can be repaired, but needs objective geometry to scope the work. We scan all eight liners, document erosion depth, burnthrough locations, and shell distortion, and the repair shop scopes each liner's repair based on measured geometry rather than OEM inspection opinion. Five liners are repaired; three are replaced. The owner saves the difference.
Scenario — Steam turbine, first overhaul in 15 years
A 1985 steam turbine is undergoing its first major overhaul in 15 years. Nobody knows if the as-installed geometry still matches the original drawings.
A vintage steam turbine where the as-installed configuration has diverged from the original drawings through decades of minor repairs and undocumented modifications. Before ordering replacement diaphragms and packing rings, the engineering team needs to verify actual groove geometry — an expensive mistake if replacement parts are ordered to drawing dimensions that no longer match what's in the machine. We scan the casing geometry, document the actual diaphragm groove positions and packing land dimensions, and the replacements are ordered to fit what's actually there.
Scenario — Generator air gap documentation
Generator output has trended down over three years. The rotor and stator have been inspected visually without finding the cause.
A generator where visual inspection hasn't identified the cause of declining output. We scan the stator bore geometry — full circumference — and document the actual air gap at every position around the rotor. The scan shows the stator bore is out-of-round by 2.8mm on one side, reducing the air gap below the design minimum at the tight point. The distortion is the cause. The repair scope is defined by objective geometry rather than a continued search for a cause that conventional inspection wasn't finding.
Scenario — Balance weight pocket RE
A rotor needs balance weight replacement. The original OEM drawings for the balance weight pockets are unavailable. The pocket geometry needs to be captured before the rotor leaves the plant.
A rotor with worn balance weight pockets where the original OEM drawings are no longer available and the OEM no longer supports the unit. Replacement balance weights need to be fabricated to match the pocket geometry exactly — wrong geometry means the weights won't seat correctly and the balance can't be achieved. We scan the pocket geometry before the rotor ships to the balance shop and give the fabricator the exact dimensions they need.

Questions from Outage Managers & Plant Engineering Teams

Can you fit scanning into a planned outage without extending the critical path?
Yes — that's the constraint we design around. A blade set scan takes four to six hours. A casing scan takes three to five hours. A combustor liner set takes four to eight hours depending on the number of cans. We identify the point in the outage sequence when the target hardware is most accessible — typically mid-overhaul when components are clean, split, and staged for inspection — and work in that window without adding to the schedule. Equipment deploys in 20 minutes and requires no facility power.
Can you scan blades and components from any OEM turbine platform?
Yes. Scanning is geometry-agnostic — we capture the surface of whatever is accessible regardless of OEM. We work on GE Frame 7 and 9, Siemens SGT, Mitsubishi, Solar, Pratt & Whitney, and other platforms. Nominal models for deviation comparison come from OEM drawings when available; if not available, we use symmetry analysis and surviving geometry to construct a reference. Independent of OEM, the scan data is a complete geometric record the repair engineer works from.
How does full-surface scanning differ from conventional blade inspection?
Conventional blade inspection measures discrete points — leading edge at three or four span stations, trailing edge at the same, maybe a chord measurement. It samples what's there. Scanning captures millions of points across the full blade surface — every point on every airfoil surface at every span station simultaneously. Erosion that develops between measurement stations, leading edge distortion that varies in severity across the span, and twist variation that can't be measured by conventional means are all documented. The full picture, not a sampled estimate.
Can you scan casing geometry during an outage when the casing is only partially accessible?
It depends on what's accessible. With the casing split and the upper half lifted, we can capture the full bore of the lower half and the mating face geometry. With the upper half horizontal, we can capture the upper bore geometry. Full circumferential bore documentation requires both halves scanned separately and registered together — a two-session approach we discuss and plan during scope review based on your outage sequence and rigging plan.
Is 0.025mm accuracy appropriate for turbine component work?
The HandyScan Black Elite at 0.025mm (0.001") is appropriate for blade airfoil geometry, combustor liner condition, nozzle segment throat area, and most component-level turbine work. For large casing geometry where the feature of interest is the overall bore distortion rather than fine surface detail, the HandyScan MAX Elite at 0.075mm (0.003") captures the same bore geometry at larger scale. We bring both instruments and select based on the component size and precision requirement.

Ready to discuss your outage?

Tell us the turbine platform, the outage window, and what components you need documented. We'll respond within one business day.

Previous
Previous

White House TN Facility Upgrade

Next
Next

Defense Contractors