Boiler Inspection

The boiler inspection article provides information about inspection of boiler and boiler testing in construction shop as well as boiler in-service inspection in operational plants. This article provides you lots of invaluable information about following items:

Inspection and Testing During Manufacturing Phase Inspection and Testing During operation Phase Steam Boiler Codes and Regulations Maintenance and Repairs

Boiler Inspection article alongside other linked articles are useful for Manufactures Quality Control personnel, Second and Third Party Inspectors, Purchasers, Sellers, Plant Inspectors, HSE Engineers, Integrity Engineers, Operation and Maintenance Engineers and any Other Interested Individuals. How Steam Boiler is working?

There are two types of steam boilers, one is fire tube which is made from one combustion chamber and lots of tubes; and the hot gases which are produced from combustion process passes from inside of the tubes and make heat transfer with water which is in the outside of tubes.
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The other type is water tube steam boiler conversely to the fire tube steam boiler; the water is in the inside of tubes and hot gases in outside tubes. In the fire tube boiler we have limitation on the combustion chamber diameter and length and it cannot be exceeded from a certain value. So for large scale industry generally water tube boilers are used widely. This article designated for water tube boiler inspection requirement.

What is water tube boiler inspection Requirements in Construction Shop? The construction code for water tube boiler is ASME Code Section I and it covers the minimum requirements for design, materials, fabrication, inspection, testing, and preparation for initial delivery.

So this is when you require your water tube boiler meet ASME Code requirement or when you need your water tube boiler to be S stamped. For more detail about Stamped boiler and requirements, review the Pressure Vessel Certification article. The regulation is similar to the Boiler. With above explanation your inspection and test plan (ITP) for water tube boiler need to meet the requirements of ASME Code Section I. The water tube boiler is made from several components such as HP Drum, finned Tubes, Headers, Tube Bundle, Stack, Damper, Silencer, Deaerator and etc. For more detail information about water tube boiler shop inspection review following articles: Third Party Inspection for Water Tube Boiler Inspection and Test Plan for Water Tube Boiler What is Fire tube boiler inspection Requirements in Construction Shop? The construction code for fire tube boiler is ASME Code Section I and it covers the minimum requirements for design, materials, fabrication, inspection, testing, and preparation for initial delivery. For more detail information about fire tube boiler shop inspection review following articles: Third Party Inspection for Fire Tube Boiler Inspection and Test Plan for Fire Tube Boiler

What are In-Service Inspection Requirements for water Tube Boiler Inspection?

The In-Service Inspection code for your water tube boiler is ASME Section VII. The inspection regulation is different from one location to another location by regulated jurisdiction. In some states the inspection by authorized inspector of insurance company is mandatory. Generally the states which have mandated boiler manufacturing with S stamp, they also have mandated in-service inspection by authorized inspection agencies. The API also has recommendation practice API RP 573 for inspection of fired boilers and heaters which most practices and recommendations are similar to the ASME Code Section VII Recommended Guidelines for Care of Power Boilers. During the inspection and probable repair other codes and recommendation practices might be used. Some of these are API RP 577, and API RP 571 and also ASME Code Section IX. Please note if your water tube boiler is S stamped and you need to do repair, so you have to use Repair Organization holding R Stamp from National Board Inspection Code. What are Important Points in the water tube boiler Inspection in shutdown? Water Tube boiler inspection are categorize to the following components: Inspection of Internal Sections

Inspection of refractories in floor, walls and roofs of economizer, generation and superheater sections Inspection of refractories in manways, inspection and explosion doors Inspection of explosion and inspection doors for corrosion, warpage, and assurance for proper sealing contact and performance Inspection of refractories steel supports, beams and hangers

Inspection of Tubes

Supervision and inspection of tubes outside cleaning process such as walnut hulls or dry ice blasting or washing with water. Thickness measurement of tubes and headers Tube hangers inspection in economizer, generation and superheater section Inspection of tubes in economizer, generation and superheater for bowing, sagging, oxidation, splitting, external corrosion and deposit, leaking roll and bulging. Inspection of fin tubes for mechanical damage, distortion and corrosion Inspection of skin thermocouple weld joint in superheater section Inspection of tubes weld joints Replication test on superheater tubes (if necessary) Sampling of a tube in superheater for sectioning and corrosion analysis Inspection of tubes replacements Supervision of tubes hydrostatic testing

Inspection of Burners

Inspection of refractories around the burners Burner belonging components inspection such as burner tile, burner impeller, air register and damper Thickness measurement on fuel gas and fuel oil piping systems Inspection of air test process on the flexible hoses for fuel gas system

Inspection of Soot Blowers

Inspection of blowing tube for deformation and breaking Inspection of supports and their welding joints Inspection of blower tubes replacement (if necessary)

Inspection of Boiler External Parts

Inspection of paint and insulation Inspection external surface for bulging and mechanical damage Inspection of expansion joints in the ducts for any warpage, tearing and burning Inspection of thermowells for erosion and cracking Inspection of gasket seating area Inspection for performance of explosion and inspection doors (proper opening and closing)

Inspection of Stack

Thickness measurement in different location Inspection of thermowells for cracking and burning Inspection of refractories Inspection of concrete foundation and anchor bolts Inspection of earthing system Inspection of Guillotine frame and valves for corrosion and performance Inspection of paint surface Inspection of end nozzles

Inspection of Steam Drum

Inspection and supervision of cleaning process Inspection of thermowells for corrosion, erosion and cracking Inspection of nozzles, manway weld joints for corrosion and cracking Inspection of internal surface for fouling, discolorations and cracking Inspection of longitudinal and circumferential weld joints Inspection of demister pads for corrosion, cracking and deformation Inspection of internal ladder and supports for corrosion and deformation Internal inspection of tubes by borescope Inspection of chemical injection and blowdown holes Inspection of gasket seating area for corrosion and erosion Inspection of reinforcement plate and welding joints Inspection of supporting plate and structure Inspection of small bore connections for corrosion and mechanical damage

Inspection of Silencer

Inspection of cleaning process Inspection of ceramic blankets and perforated plates Inspection of weld joints Inspection of silencer heads and component