INVESTIGATION ON THE FAILURE OF BOILER No 1 ECONOMIZER TUBES, SHUQAIQ PLANT1

Anees U. Malik, Mohammed Mobin and Mohammad Al-Hajri

Research and Development Center Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) P.O.Box 8328, Al-Jubail 31951, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: rdc@swcc.gov.sa

INTRODUCTION In a letter (Ref No. 2500/0852 dated 23.3.1426) addressed to the Manager, R&D Center, the Manager, SWCC Shuqaiq Plant informed about the failure of Boiler # 1 Economizer tubes. The Manager, Shuqaiq Plant requested RDC to carry out failure analysis and sought advice on any further operation and maintenance strategy. Two damaged tubes (tube #2 from row #13 and tube #2 from row # 14) were sent for investigations by the plant. The RDC decided to take up the task. BACKGROUND The T & I Department, Shuqaiq Plant provided the following first-hand information about the failure incidence took place related to economizer tube: During the normal boiler operation, on 24 January 2005, a heavy water leakage was observed at the flue gas outlet duct (upstream of economizer). Subsequently, the boiler was brought to shut down and the manhole was opened for economizer inspection. Heavy water leakage was observed from the bottom of the economizer coils at the 13th and 14th rows 2nd tubes from the top rows of the tube bank, approximately 300 mm away from the water wall tube. The washing of the external boiler tubes was carried out by the contractor followed by a detailed visual testing by the T & I department. The important observations made were as follows: (i) One tube ruptured (fish mouth opening) by 40 mm length and a 3 mm diameter hole and another having a pin hole (leak). (ii)
1

There were defects at the original welding in 17 other tubes.

Issued as Troubleshooting Technical Report No. TSR 3804/05007 in July 2005.

(iii)

Dimensional checking at random locations reveals tube thinning at the external surface.

(iv)

Tube thickness reduced by 1.2 2.5 mm as against standard thickness of 3.2 mm.

(v)

Thickness reduction was extended upto the water wall tubes.

The schematic of boiler # 1 showing 3 dimensional views of steam / water circulation system is illustrated in Fig. 1 and the schematic of boiler # 1 showing economizer tube leak location is represented in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 (supplied by the Shuqaiq Plant engineers) shows the location of rupture of inlet tube #2, row 13. Subsequent actions taken by plant authorities included replacement of 4 tubes starting from feed water inlet header and repairing of welding defects on the other 15 tubes. It is worth mentioning that uptill 2 years back, the fuel for the boilers had been crude oil which was replaced by Bunker C.

Table 1 provides details of Boiler # 1 which include information about operating parameter, tube configuration and material.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

The two samples of economizer tubes provided by the Shuqaiq Plant were visually examined in as received condition. The external surface of the tubes appeared to be cleaned without any deposits. Figure 4 shows two feed water inlet economizer tube # 2 samples from rows # 13 and 14, respectively. The magnified views of tube # 2, row 13 shows a large fish mouth rupture near the feed water inlet, a pin hole is also present slightly away from the rupture (Fig. 5). The cross section of tube # 2, row 13 shows wall thinning at the side of the rupture (Fig. 6). The shape of fish mouth rupture indicates that rupture occurred from inside of the tube. Fig. 7 shows a closer view of tube # 2, row 14. The tube appears to be without any pin hole, pit or rupture.

METALLOGRAPHIC STUDIES The microstructures of the cross sections of economizer tube provide information about the matrix structure and scaling. The fire side of the tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace)

shows matrix structure which is pearlitic ferritic without scaling but the side appears to be fissured (Fig. 8). The outer side of the tube # 2, row 14 (outside furnace) shows a coarsened peartliticferritic with no scaling but some decarburization (Fig. 9).

ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY (EDX) STUDIES The EDX studies have been carried out to determine the elemental compositions of the matrix and the deposits/scales on the boiler tubes.

The EDX profile (Fig. 10) of the fire side of inlet tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace) shows iron in very high concentrations (81.3%) with low vanadium (4.7%). The EDX (Fig. 11) of the inner most layer has some vanadium (2.9%) with very low sulfur (0.22%). The results of EDX studies indicate that there is substantial incorporation of vanadium compounds in the economizer tube during boiler operation. The source of the vanadium compounds is flue gas. ANALYSIS OF FLY ASH SAMPLES Due to cleaning of economizer tubes after failure, the boiler samples received by the RDC had no deposits on the external surface. This information is very important in point of view of failure investigation. However, Shuqaiq Plant authorities sent fly ash sample from boiler # 1, economizer area, which was collected during third economizer tubes failure on 26/6/2005. This ash sample reflects the nature of ash deposited on economizer tube during first failure on 24/1/2005. The composition of the ash sample is given in table 2. EDX profile (Fig. 12) indicates significant concentration of sulfur (12.8%), low concentration of vanadium (1.5%) and high concentration of iron (34.0%). The high iron contents indicate that the ash is rich in iron sulfide / sulfate containing corrosion products. MEASUREMENTS OF ECONOMIZER TUBES OUTER AND INNER DIA The average reduction in the outer and inner diameter of economizer tubes measured on the same tube at two different locations, namely, inside the furnace and outside the furnace is listed in Table 3. A reduction in the outer dia of the tube indicates the thinning (loss in wall thickness) from outside (fireside) whereas a reduction in inner dia is indicative of the inside (steam side) scaling. The portion of both the tubes located

inside the furnace show appreciable reduction (4 -5%) in outer dia indicating the initiation of wall thinning from fire side. The inner dia of the tube are almost unaffected at both the locations; this indicates negligible attack from steam side. DISCUSSION When a firing fuel containing sulfur or sulfur compounds is subjected to combustion, the sulfur present in the fuel oxidizes to form SO2 and to a small extent of SO3. CO2 and water vapors are invariably present in the combustion gases. The SO3 combines with water vapor to form H2SO4. At certain temperature H2SO4 condense on the metallic surfaces and initiate corrosion. The temperature at which H2SO4 first condenses is known as H2SO4 dew point. The H2SO4 dew point depends upon the concentration of SO3 and water vapor in the flue gas. In general, the dew point increases with an increase in the concentration of SO3 and moisture content in the flue gas. The concentration of SO3 in the flue gas increases with increase in the level of excess air, gas residence time, gas temperature and sulfur level in the fuel. The moisture content in the flue gas depends upon many factors. The source of moisture is attributed mainly to the fuel, leaks in boiler tubes and steam from soot blowing.

When the temperature of a metallic component drops below the H2SO4 dew point of the flue gas, the H2SO4 is condensed on the metal surface and corrodes the metal. This type of corrosion, known as cold end corrosion, is mainly encountered in relatively low temperature boiler components such as economizer, air preheater, stack, etc. The critical factors governing the cold end corrosion include the presence of sufficient concentration of SO3 and moisture in the flue gas and a metal surface whose temperature is below the H2SO4 dew point. It should be noted that in this type of corrosion it is the temperature of metal which is critical and not the temperature of flue gas. Even if the temperature of flue gas is above the dew point, the corrosion is very likely to occur wherever the metal temperature is less than dew point.

Considering the present failure the economizer feed inlet temperature appears to be on lower side keeping in view the high sulfur content in the flue gas. As the H2SO4 dew point is directly dependent upon the sulfur content of the flue gas, a higher dew point than the feed inlet temperature is most probable. This in turn, favored the condensation of H2SO4 on the economizer tubes outer surfaces causing severe corrosion. This, in

consequence, resulted in the thinning of metal to a stage when it could not bear the inside pressure of the feed water and ultimately got ruptured. Further, the external deposits on the tubes helped in lowering down the tube metal temperature and thus favoring acid condensation over the deposit. A reduction in the wall thickness of the tubes, located inside the furnace support the initiation of corrosion from fire side as a result of acid condensation. CONCLUSIONS 1. The thinning and perforation in the economizer tubes are due to H2SO4 dew point corrosion. 2. The relatively low temperature of feed water caused the lowering of the tube metal temperature and promoted the condensation of H2SO4. 3. The external deposits on the tubes, as a result of bunker oil firing, further helped in lowering down the tube metal temperature, thus promoting H2SO4 condensation over the deposit. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. An increase in the economizer feed inlet temperature will help in reducing the severity of cold end corrosion. 2. An exact feed inlet temperature can be determined by knowing the acid dew point temperature of the flue gas. 3. The possibility of carrying out condition/remnant life assessment of economizer tube banks and header should be explored. 4. Sulfur content should be reduced to minimum which can help in preventing the acid dew point corrosion. 5. An efficient fuel chemical additive program will help in reducing the possibility of acid dew point corrosion. 6. The efficiency of soot blowing process should be improved.

Table 1.

Details of Boiler # 1, Shuqaiq Plant

Boiler Type: Hitachi Zosen/Steinmuller Type HS5-400, Natural Circulation, Single Drum, Radiant, Semi-Outdoor Type. Firing System (at present) : Max. Working Pressure Drum & Superheater / Economizer : Evaporation at MCR (FSH outlet) : Steam Condition at MCR (FSH outlet) : Total Operating Hours (approx.) from its inception up to Dec. 2004 (G) : Economizer Type : Design Pressure : Outside Diameter of Tubes : Spacing of Tubes Vertical : - Horizontal : Tube Wall Thickness - Minimum : - Nominal : Number of Elements : Number of Tubes in Parallel : Material : Heating Surface : 74 barg. 38.1 mm 100 mm 75 mm 3.2 mm 3.2 mm 200 2 SA 210 Gr. A1 1529 m2 Bunker C 70 / 74 barg. 105.4 Kg/s. 56 barg., 496 deg. C 116123 Hrs.

Table 2.

Chemical Composition of the Ash Deposited on Economizer tubes as determined by EDX analyses.

Element

Element % 11.72 38.04 1.61 0.26 12.84 1.52 34.00 100.00

Atomic % 21.84 53.22 1.48 0.20 8.96 0.67 13.62 100.00

C O Mg Si S V Fe Total

Table 3.

% reduction in Economizer tubes # 2, Outer and Inner diameter . Tube Location Out side the Furnace 38.18 Inside the Furnace 36.22

Tube row #

Average Tube dia (mm)

Average % Reduction reduction in in dia dia (mm)

Outer 13 Inner

1.96

5.13

30.46

30.36

0.10

0.32

Outer 14 Inner

38.09

36.46

1.63

4.28

30.11

30.01

0.10

0.33

Figure 1. Schematic drawing of Boiler # 1 showing steam/water circulation system

Figure 2. Economizer tube leak location in Boiler # 1 Shuqaiq Plant

Figure 3. Photograph showing failure of Economizer inlet tube # 2, Row 13

Figure 4. Photograph of the samples from economizer inlet tube # 2, row 13 and 14

Figure 5. Closer view of economizer inlet tube # 2, row 13 showing fish mouth open rupture and a hole

Figure 6. Thinning of the economizer inlet tube # 2 row 13

Figure 7. Economizer inlet tube # 2, row 14

Figure 8. Photomicrograph of the fire side scales on economizer tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace) X 200

Figure 9. Photomicrograph of the outer side scales on economizer tube # 2, row 14 (outside furnace) X 200

cps

Fe 60

40

20 O Fe

V Ca 0 0 5

10

15

20 Energy (keV)

Figure 10. EDX profile of a cross section of economizer tube # 2, row 14 (fire side) located inside furnace

cps

60

Fe

40

20 O

Fe C S 0 0 5 10 15 20 Energy (keV) Ca V Mn Ni

Figure 11. EDX profile of a cross section of economizer tube # 2, row 14 (fire side) located inside furnace

cps

50 S

40

Fe 30

20

10 C Mg Si 0 0 5 10 15 20 Energy (keV) V Fe

Figure 12. EDX profile of the ash deposits collected from economizer outer surface