GE Power Systems and the Toshiba Corporation have developed new 40 and 48 inch steel last-stage buckets for steam turbine applications. They are designed for 50-Hz and 60-Hz applications and should lead to increased turbine power output and plant efficiency. The 48 inch version is the largest steel full-speed (3000 rpm) last-stage bucket in the world in terms of annulus area. GE and Toshiba expect to offer it for combined-cycle and fossil power plant applications shipping in 2003. The development of the buckets was a joint programme between GE and Toshiba spanning several years. Its design has been validated through extensive testing in Japan and the US and combines GE compressor bucket materials with Toshiba improved rotor heat treatment methods. It will be manufactured in a new factory in Yokohama,
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