Patent ID: 8058591

Claim:
A method for providing localized heat treatment of a gas turbine component, said method comprising: identifying a plurality of welds on a gas turbine component to which localized heat treatment is to be performed, which welds include a first identified weld and a second identified weld; configuring a resistance heating element to provide a plurality of localized heating zones including a first heating zone and a second heating zone, wherein the resistance heating element comprises a wire connecting a plurality of ceramic insulators, and wherein the first heating zone comprises a first plurality of the ceramic insulators and the second heating zone comprises a second plurality of the ceramic insulators, the heating zones being separated by a gap with the first and second pluralities of the ceramic insulators being connected by at least one ceramic insulator or a portion of the wire spanning the gap, electrically coupling a current-limiting power controller to the resistance heating element; and locally heating the first identified weld using the first heating zone of the resistance heating element and the second identified weld using the second heating zone of the resistance heating element, with power being provided to the resistance heating element via the current-limiting power controller.