CASE STUDIES IN BOILER VIBRATIONS AND BFP CAVITATION

By K.K.Parthiban, B.Tech ( IIT-M), M.E Thermal Engineering- RECT Trichy

In this paper two case studies are presented, which are relevant to boiler operating and design
engineers. One is a vibration problems experienced in CFBC boilers and other is about a repeated
BFP failure in a power plant.
VIBRATION OF SECOND PASS AT AIRPREHEATER
There were three cases which had come to us in this subject. Two cases were about the vibration
experienced in the APH casing of CFBC boilers. One case is the vibration of the steam cooled
second pass housing the primary superheater & economiser. Vibration of boiler is not a rare
phenomenon and many readers would have come across it. Vibrations of tube bundles / casing /
panels are due to a scientific phenomenon known as flow induced vibration. Some of us may doubt
whether fluid flow can cause vibration. Here is a famous example. The two photos below show the
collapse of a bridge named Tacoma Narrows Bridge in USA in the year 1940. Within three months

Photo 1 & 2 : Collapse of Tacoma narrows bridge - 1940

of construction, the bridge collapsed due to aero-elastic flutter due to wind at a speed of 68 kmph.
This phenomenon is due to flow of wind around the bridge. The subject is unique and such situations
occur in boilers too. Vibration and noise problems may be encountered as the air / gas / water / steam
flow over tube bundles in a power plant.
Vortices are formed and shed beyond the wake of the tubes,
resulting in harmonically varying forces on the tubes
perpendicular to the flow direction. It is a self-excited
vibration. If the frequency of vibration of the Von-Karman
vortices, as they are called, coincide with the natural
frequency of vibration of the tube bank, resonance occurs
Fig 1: Von korman street- is a which leads to tube vibration.
repeating pattern of swirling vortices
caused by the unsteady separation of Another phenomenon that is relevant for discussion here is
flow over bluff bodies
acoustic vibration, leading to noise. The duct or the
waterwall / steam cooled panels vibrate when the acoustic
frequency coincides with the natural frequency of tubes. The acoustic oscillation is normal to both

The
casing
vibration can lead
to
supporting
structure and hand
rails. It becomes
necessary
to
Figure 2: Picture of standing wave in a duct / enclosure, due to air / gas
identify the source
column.
of acoustics. In
boiler and duct systems the source of acoustics can be from fans, improper ducts, and abrupt
transitions, to list a few.
Case study 1: vibration of APH casing in a CFBC boiler
This is a 76 TPH CFBC boiler designed to fire 45% ash Indian coal. The boiler general arrangement
can be seen in figure 3 below. The 2nd pass APH casing was seen to vibrate heavily once the load
crossed 65 TPH. The APH casing started cracking on the heavy vibration. The boiler was inspected
during operation. Plant engineers had stiffened the duct casing, thinking that the duct stiffeners are
inadequate. Even after the additional stiffening of the casing, the casing was cracking. See photo 3 &
4 below. On shut down inspection, it became clear that the cause for vibration was the acoustics
created by the air leak from air side to gas side. Heavy air leak could be seen from the lifting holes of
APH blocks. See photo 5 & 6.

Figure 3: CFBC boiler Case study 1

Photo 3 & 4: APH casing cracks.

Photo 5 & 6: APH casing cracks can be seen due to acoustic vibration. The source of vibration was
the high pressure air leak from air side to casing side through the lifting lugs.

Photo 7 at top left shows the excessive gap between the casing and the end tube. Photos 8 shows
the incomplete seal welding around the APH blocks. Figures 4 & 5 below show the erection welds.
In shut down, more leakages were seen between the APH base and the structural supports. The
vibration possibilities due to vortex shedding and standing waves were checked, by calculations. The
procedure for checking the vortex induced vibration and the acoustic vibration is well written by
Mr.V.Ganapathy, expert in heat transfer. There was no possibility of APH tube vibration. Readers
could refer his article in internet. The spread sheet calculations is presented in this article for readers
interest. Another observation was that the tube to casing gap was much higher than the tube to tube
clear gap. This can lead preferential gas flow along the casing and cause casing vibration. Perforated
plates were installed at these locations, so that ash would not bridge and the gas flow would be
retarded. The vibration stopped once all the actions were taken as per the recommendations.

Case study 2: vibration of second pass in a 270 TPH CFBC boiler

The case is a CFBC boiler of 270 TPH with Indonesian coal as the fuel. See figure 6 showing the
boiler layout. As the steam generation was increased around 80% MCR, the second pass began to
vibrate. The boiler maker suggested dividing the gas path thinking that there is superheater coil
vibration due to acoustics. When the visit was made, we found there could be other causes which
needed to be attended first before implementing the gas side partitioning proposed by the boiler
maker. Our observations included the following.

Air was seen gushing in the soot blower stuffing box making a whistle noise. This was later
attended by the plant engineers.
The oxygen levels were also high. The CFBC operation was not stabilized with adequate dust in
the upper furnace. There would be combustion pulsations which lead to vibration. Vibration was
experienced at another plant, when O2 level was at 12% in flue gas.
We did notice that there was air ingress in the fabric joint flange, wherein sealing rope was used.
The flange was not rigid too. We advised the flange be seal welded. Internal bracings were added
at the flange frame.
The boiler operation was corrected by proper loop seal parameters and adequate upper furnace
dust. Vibration was gone after the modifications.

Figure 6: General arrangement of the 270 TPH CFBC boiler which had developed vibration in the
second pass.

A clip from literature on vortex induced vibration and acoustic vibration modes.

Gas flows / air flows in a heat exchanger bank can generate a loud noise called acoustic resonance.
The noise can occur when the frequency of flow periodicity generated in the array resonates with
one of the natural transverse acoustic standing waves of the duct. The relevant standing waves are
oriented in a direction normal to both the tube axis and the flow direction. When resonance occurs
an intense pure tone noise is usually produces that can cause damage to the HX internals by fatigue
and will be harmful to plant personnel. The loudness of the noise can reach up to 175 db, depending
upon the pressure drop of the tube array and the damping capacity of the tube bundle and the duct.
The most common remedy is to install one or more anti-resonant baffles within the tube bundle to
distort and suppress the resonance acoustic waves.

Photo 9 & 10 show the position of the large fabric joint just below the economiser, which deflected
inside and created air ingress. The internal tie pipes were added to prevent the caving of the flange.
The flanges were seal welded. When the unit was put back on line, there was vibration. Acoustic
disturbances can be in many forms. Air ingress also seem to create more problem in CFBC as the
negative draft is high in the second pass as compared to other stoker / AFBC or even PF boilers.
In fact the doors in the second pass had to be sealed well. Incidentally this boiler is provided with
perforated baffles to prevent the preferential flow of the gases close to the casing / steam cooled
wall.

CASE STUDY 3: FEED PUMP CAVITATION

In this case, the BFP had been subject to cavitation damage during turbine trip / load throw
occasions. The deaerator is given steam from the turbine extraction in order to maintain the feed
water temperature at 160 deg C. This corresponds to operating pressure of 5.2 kg/cm2 g. When a
load throw occurred in the turbine, the deaerator pressure comes down. During this period the NPSH
is upset. The pump supplier had informed the plant engineers that the suction piping pressure drop is
too high and hence the cavitation has been occurring.
Plant engineers had made arrangements are to inject cold condensate from the CEP. But the basic
problem remained. The various data for every second was available with plant engineers as this
problem had been a seven year old problem for the plant.
Why should there be a cavitation when the pressure drops at deaerator?
During a transient condition the volume of water trapped in the suction piping is at a higher
temperature as compared to the deaerator tank water temperature. The temperature of water at
deaerator storage tank would be at the saturation temperature corresponding to current pressure
above water level. In the event of turbine trip, the deaerator tank pressure will drop. The hot water at
storage tank will produce flash steam in case of pressure drop and adjust its temperature. But the
temperature sensors would indicate slow change. It is the trapped water in suction piping that can
cause cavitation. It can be about 60 seconds for the water to be replaced, with the feed water flow
rate present after the load reduction. It is within this period that the cavitation damage could occur.
Any vibration in BFP should be in this period only. Once the water inside the suction piping is
replaced, there should not be any continuity of cavitation or vibration.
Our diagnosis points

First thing was the pressure drop calculation for the suction piping. The pressure drop in suction
piping with boiler MCR flow was calculated to be only 0.23 mWC. The truth was that the pump
maker did not make a calculation or measured the pressure drop with calibrated pressure gauge.
The pump suction strainer DP was seen to be 750 mmWC normally. This is considered to be high
in a stabilized plant operation. The DP transmitter was calibrated to 5000 mmWC. The set
pressure for alarm as per BFP supplier document was 0.35 kg/cm2. Trip was to be set at 0.5
kg/cm2. Plant engineers had set the trip at 1200 mmWC. Perhaps this was done after the failures
were experienced in the BFP.
The strainer DP was seen to increase at every load throw in the past. Whenever there was
reduction in boiler feed water flow, there was an increase in DP. See photo 11 to 14. This
indicates there is ARC passing. The DP rise had been instant, that this was not due to flashing.
The ARC may be passing more flow than the stipulated minimum. ARC is designed to relieve 33
m3/h and act at a pressure of 142.3 kg/cm2 as the FCV starts closing. In the past instances the
pressure had never touched the 142.3 kg/cm2 value, but there is sufficient rise in the strainer DP.
This indicates there is passing of ARC at a lower pressure itself. More flow will call for higher
NPSH. The available NPSH declines as the turbine load reduces, due to reduction of deaerator
pressure.
ARC was seen to be passing at the time of visit. The ARC outlet piping temperature at turbine
hall was seen to be 138 deg C as measured by the IR camera. This was seen when the feed water

flow was 80% of MCR and the BFP discharge pressure was 125 kg/cm2. We suggested adding a
pressure gauge near the TG floor in the ARC discharge line to know the passing of ARC. Power
consumption is also an issue with passing ARC.
We looked in to the details of strainers provided by the pump supplier as the normal DP itself
was high. Strainer flow area was seen to be 1.5 times the cross sectional area of piping. We
compared the area with strainer design by a well known pump supplier. Their BFPs are provided
with 3 times the flow area of piping.
We went in to further details of mesh selection. The mesh opening was 0.315 mm square. The
usual strainer openings by another pump supplier used to be 0.5 mm sq. Small mesh openings
can also be reason for cavitation.
We looked in to the suction piping arrangement taken by plant engineers in the previous
occasions. The feed pumps suction tapping at deaerator storage tank was found located near the
ring stiffener. This could affect the flow. See photo 16 & 17. We advised to trim the part of
stiffener which could obstruct the flow. We recommended that the wire mesh area at inlet shall
also be equal to thrice the flow area of the piping. It was advised that the wire mesh openings
should be made bigger as it was required only to trap the spray nozzle components. We made this
suggestion by comparing with another deaerator in the same plant.

Review of the transient curves given by the plant engineers

With the latest DCS control system in place, nice transient curves were taken out by the plant
engineers in the past. These curves are presented in this paper for readers interest. Such data could
help the plant engineers to improve the analytical skills.

The transient curve on TG load, deaerator pressure, BFP suction pressure, BFP vibration on
31/8/2013 5.43 AM was reviewed. The curve is attached in photo 11. The load throw (from 25
MW to 15 MW) occurred at about 5.46 AM. Both deaerator pressure and BFP suction pressure
had come down and recovered after the pegging steam supply was commenced. In 30 seconds the
difference between the suction pressure and deaerator pressure was re-established. The deaerator
pressure change had been only 0.7 kg/cm2. But the vibration level had gone up and remained for
a longer duration. It seemed to follow the frequency / rpm rise in the drive.
The transient curve on TG load, deaerator pressure, BFP suction pressure, BFP vibration on
30/8/2013 16.50 PM was reviewed. The curve is attached in photo 12. The load throw (from 22
MW to 11 MW) occurred at about 16.56 PM. Both deaerator pressure and BFP suction pressure
had come down and recovered after the pegging steam supply was commenced. In 90 seconds the
difference between the suction pressure and deaerator pressure was re-established. The deaerator
pressure change had been only 5.7 -5.2 kg/cm2. But the vibration level had gone up and
remained for a longer duration. It followed the frequency / rpm rise in the drive. In this case the
suction pressure came below the deaerator pressure and lasted for 1.5 minutes. This is the case of
cavitation.
In both the above cases, there is a small change in deaerator pressure. The change is about 3 to 7
mWC in head. The NPSH available excluding the strainer DP is 11.47 mWC. If the pressure
decay is too fast then there will be flashing of steam in suction piping. If we assume 1 kg/cm2 is
the decay, the flash steam percentage is 1.4%.

Photo 11: Both BFP suction pressure and deaerator pressure declined during the load throw. The
BFP suction pressure to deaerator pressure difference is maintained.

Photo 12: The BFP suction pressure had gone down below that of deaerator pressure. This can
happen due to high DP across strainer / ARC acting or due to momentary frequency raise.

Photo 13: The DP had gone to 1325 mmWC instantly, even when the water flow is 90 TPH. There is
a load throw of 24 to 20 MW. In one minute the deaerator pressure had come down by 0.7 kg/cm2.

Photo 14: The BFP strainer DP went up when the steam flow was dropped.

Photo 15: The ARC back pressure considered is 12 bar. This may be checked by installing a pressure
gauge downstream of ARC. ARC should operate only at 158.2 kg/cm2 as per the data sheet. The
minimum flow for ARC is 33 m3/h.

Photo 16 & 17: The photo on the left shows the suction pipe location in the deaerator. The stiffener
should be trimmed. The coarse mesh flow area shall be 3 times that of pipe c/s area. Photo on the
right shows the coarse strainer in another deaerator of the same plant.

Photo 18 & 19: The photos above show passing of ARC valve. The heat is seen in the piping.

Photo 20 & 21: The photo on the left shows the strainer DP in another plant and the photo on the
right shows the DP in the affected pumps. It implied the strainer flow area is less as compared to
other installation.

Conclusions
The ARC passing, small mesh in strainer, less flow area in strainer could reduce the NPSH available
during transients. We recommended two important points for immediate implementations.

Pressure decay can be reduced in the make up from CEP is stopped at the deaerator for one
minute, the flashing of steam in the water entrapped in suction piping can be reduced.
The deaerator vent pipes at this plant were 2 nos of 40 nb lines. We recommended adding 1 x 15
nb parallel vents to reduce the loss of steam and to reduce the rate of decay.

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M/S Sri Devi engineering consultancy and agency engaged in non
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K.K.Parthiban

M/S Sri Devi boiler equipment and spares engaged in supply of

pressure part spares for all type of boilers