Systems for preventing wear on turbine blade tip shrouds

A system in a turbine engine for preventing wear on a tip shroud of a turbine blade, the system comprising:

• a pocket formed in a contact surface of the tip shroud;
• and
• a rigid plug that fits within the pocket and has a durable outer surface;
• wherein:
• the tip shroud comes into contact with an adjacent tip shroud during the operation of the turbine at the contact surface;
• the contact surface comprises a Z-interface, the Z-interface having an approximate profile of a “Z”;
• the tip shroud further comprises a cutting tooth that forms a ridge down the middle of a top surface of the tip shroud;
• and
• the Z-interface includes a middle contact face that corresponds to a middle leg of the approximate “Z” profile, the middle contact face having a substantially rectangular shape that substantially corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the cutting tooth.