Meeting Materials Science & Technology 2013

Symposium Failure Analysis and Prevention

Presentation Title Failure Analysis of a Reformer Inlet Pigtail
Author(s) Mohammed Al-Rabie, Abdulaziz Al-Meshari
On-Site Speaker Mohammed Al-Rabie
(Planned)
Abstract Scope Cracked samples of inlet pigtail taken from a reformer in a
petrochemical plant were investigated to allocate the failure
mechanism. A detailed investigation showed that the
cracking was caused by a combination of stress relaxation
cracking (SRC) phenomenon and Polythionic Acid Stress
Corrosion Cracking (PTA SCC). It is expected that the SRC
was available near to the welded joints and the cracking
failure was then propagated through the microstructure by
PTA SCC soon after the starting up of the reformer. It is well
known that PTA SCC takes place as a result of condensate
formation in the pipes during shutdowns. Subsequently, the
presence of condensate, sulphides, and oxygen assisted the
initiation of PTA SCC and leading to the final cracking failure.
Several recommendations to prevent similar failure are
discussed in this paper.
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