Boiler Tube Leakage

Dibyendu Nath

Boiler tube failures are the main cause of forced outages on fossil-fired boilers. Such failures are a
substantial disadvantage to the overall company performance and contribute to loss of profit, a
reduction in staff morale and potentially to significant additional damage to the plant. The financial
penalty arising from the need for replacement generating capacity and maintenance costs is enormous.
The prevention of tube failures particularly those caused by the same failure mechanisms would
provide a very significant gain to the Companys financial performance.

A further benefit from reducing the rate of boiler tube failures is a reduction in secondary damage to
the plant. A trend in operating practice has been to force cool the boilers after tube leakages. The intent
with this procedure has been to reduce the repair time and hence the forced outage time. There is
mounting evidence, however, that force-cooling boilers may be causing secondary damage to the plant.
The largest category of tube failures is Mechanical Design Features. These are known to be promoted
by thermally induced transients and this category has been increasing in recent years with the increase
in starts that units have been required to make. Other components may also be affected by thermal
cycles and their severity. There is good evidence that inter-ligament cracking on Superheater outlet
headers is accelerated by such transients and the increase in the incidence of cracking on pipe works
may also be partly due to increased system loading. Reducing tube failures will also reduce secondary
damage due to steam washing and, particularly in high temperature surface, overheating down steam of
the failure caused by the practice of running on with a leak for a suitable outage period.

If the investigation into the tube failure is done correctly then it identifies the failure mechanism and
then recommends the correct actions. This will control and preferably remove the root cause(s) of that
failure. Such investigations can be quite complex and require effective communication between boiler
operators, maintenance engineers, station management, boiler manufacturers and technical experts in
materials, chemistry and mechanical engineering.

There are seven major groups into which all tube failures can be classified. These seven groups can be
further divided in number of primary types. All high pressure boilers commissioned and put into
operation go through a stabilization period, during which some teething problems occur, including a
few tube failures.

Classification of tube failures

Major classification of boiler tube leakage
1) Stress Rupture
i) Short term overheating failure
ii) Long term overheating failure (called also as creep failures)
iii) Dissimilar metal weld failure
2) Fatigue
i) Fatigue caused by vibration
ii) Thermal fatigue due to temperature fluctuation
iii) Corrosion fatigue failures
3) Steam / Water-Side Corrosion
i) Caustic Corrosion inside the tube
ii) Hydrogen damage in water wall internal surface
iii) Stress Corrosion Cracking
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 iv) Oxygen Corrosion
v) Galvanic Corrosion
4) Mechanical Damage
i) Damage during maintenance cleaning
ii) Mechanical Rubbing
5) Fire-Side Corrosion
i) Low temperature flue gas corrosion
ii) Coal ash corrosion
iii) Oil ash corrosion
6) Defects & Lack Of Quality Assurance
i) Furnace Wall Material Defects
ii) Site Weld defects
7) Erosion
i) Fly ash erosion
ii) Falling slag erosion
iii) Soot blower erosion
iv) Coal particle erosion

The following are the major causes of Boiler Tube Leakage

1.Fly Ash Erosion: One of the major damage mechanisms of the coal fired boilers in India has been
wear damage due to the higher ash content of coal and the harder constituents in it. Erosion damage can
be measured by using appropriate thickness measurement techniques. Major factors influencing ash
erosion are:

1) The velocity of flue gas: rate of abrasion increases by the power 3 to 5 of the rate of
velocity of flue gas. Hence a small increase in velocity can cause larger erosion of
pressure parts. This is mainly due to the presence of large quantity of alpha quartz and
pyrites in the ash which are very hard in nature. BHEL designed boilers have gas
velocity 12-13 m/s in the second pass. Based on the operational feed back the gas
velocity is being tried to reduce to 9-10 m/s. To prevent erosion related problem cassette
baffles and sacrificing shields are provided in the second pass.
2) The mineral content in coal: The abrasiveness of a coal is dependent on the
representative minerals contained in it and its hardness value. The harder and tougher
the minerals, they are difficult to pulverise and hence segregate into larger coal particles
after grinding. The larger particle sizes of minerals multiply the erosion damages
manifold. Alpha quartz and pyrite have high hardness value, 1300 HIV, 850 to 1150
HIV respectively. Alpha quartz content can be even 42% in Indian coal. Hence erosion
can never be prevented but can only be minimised.
3) The change in direction of flue gas: In a conventional boiler, the flue gas after
combustion passes through the goose neck, take almost 1200 turn and enters the
horizontal pass and then enters the second pass taking a 900 turn. This change in
direction is one of the major reason for second pass erosion.
4) The arrangement of pressure parts: There are two types of pressure part arrangement. i)
Staggered arrangement, ii) In-line arrangement. In staggered arrangement, the direction
of flue gas changes continuously. Hence the abrasive mineral particle in the ash also
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 changes its course and hit the pressure parts continuously causing erosion problem. In
inline arrangement, the flue gas passes uniformly through the tubes without vortex
formation and hence lower erosion of tubes.

Remedial measures to reduce erosion:

1. Reduced gas velocity in second pass

2. Inline arrangement for all second pass heat transfer surface
3. Shielding of places prone to high erosion
4. Cassette baffles for superheater and economiser bends.
5. Refractory lining, where shields can not be put
6. Pressure parts layout improvement in second pass

2.Slag erosion: This problem is contained only in water wall bottom hopper panel (S panel) region,
wherein all the falling slag are collected and flowing out to water sealing arrangement. The major cause
of the problem is due to poor quality of coal which has got more slagging tendency, especially when 2
or more mines coal are mixed and fired. Operation adjustment may eliminate this problem.

3.Soot blower erosion/steam erosion: Soot blower erosion is due to excessive soot blowing or
jamming of soot blower inside the furnace or continuous opening steam puppet valve or steam
impingement on the boiler tubes. This problem is also happening due to wet steam blowing through the
soot blowers and due to operational problem of improper setting of soot blower operation.

4.Oxygen corrosion: Oxygen corrosion results from a complex electro-chemical reaction between
oxygen and iron. Corrosion is an electro-chemical phenomenon in which an electrical potential exists
between two different metals or between different parts of a single metal. The potential difference
initiates a current to pass through the metal causing reactions at anodic and cathodic areas. Anode is the
region of lower potential and here the metal goes into the solution.

FeFe++ + 2e
The free electrons migrate to the cathodic area via the metal and a reaction with O2 is initiated.
O2+2H2O+4e4OH-
The OH- combines with Fe to form Fe(OH)2
Fe+++ 2OH-Fe(OH)2
Which again undergoes oxidation to Fe(OH)3 and finally breaks down as rust.
4Fe(OH)2+O2+H2O4Fe(OH)3
2Fe(OH)3Fe2O3+3H2O

Oxygen attack is particularly insidious since it takes the form of pitting, resulting in rapid failure, even
though actual metal loss and the overall corrosion rate may be low. It is enhanced by low ph, high
temperature. Maintaining proper deaeration and proper oxygen scavenger residual levels especially
during the idle period is required to prevent oxygen attack. The protective layer of magnetite iron oxide
will become unstable and will get dissolved at ph level below 5.

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5.Caustic corrosion (Gouging): Caustic corrosion occurs when caustic ( NaOH) concentrates under
porous boiler deposits and dissolved the protective magnetite (Fe3O4) layer. Iron in contact with the
boiler water continually restores the protective layer. However, as long as high concentration of caustic
exists, the magnetite is continually dissolved, causing a loss of base metal and eventually failure. Film
boiling or steam blanketing can also cause corrosion since the blanket permits caustic concentration at
the tube wall.

6.Fire side corrosion: The fire side corrosion has occurred in the areas that receive highest heat flux.
The cracks identified as fire side (stress) corrosion attacks. Analysis of fireside deposit showed
presence of iron sulphide. Fire side corrosion is a result of direct reaction of water wall tube with
partially combusted coal particles containing sulphur. This occurs when there is direct impingement of
coal particles/flame on the water wall tubes. These particles will release vapours containing SO3 which
produces localised reducing condition close to the tube surface. The localised reducing condition tends
to lower melting temperature of deposits and increases its ability to dissolve oxide scales on the tubes.
Under reducing conditions iron sulphide is the expected corrosion product. Presence of iron sulphide in
fireside deposit along with a molten phase confirmed the above mechanism of corrosion. The cracking
indicates the prevalence of furnace condition such as flame impingement and reducing atmosphere.

7.Galvanic corrosion: Galvanic corrosion encountered in power stations involves contact of 2

dissimilar metals like iron and copper. The differential cell formation may also be due to the presence
of deposits which can initiates corrosion.

8.Stress corrosion: Stress corrosion cracking results from a combination of factors involving tensile
stress, corrosive environment and a susceptible material. It leads to the brittle failure of the metal at
stresses of considerably lower levels necessary to cause failure in a non corrosive environment. Theses
failure are more common in superheater and reheater where austenic steel is used. It is initiated by high
level of chloride and hydroxide in the boiler water. Stresses are usually residual in the metal or caused
by thermal excursion due to rapid start up or shut down. Stress corrosion produces hair line cracks
which may be trans-granular or inter-granular and may require microscopic examination for detection.

9.Long term overheating/Thick-Lipped burst: Generally overheating failures can come only due
to prolonged operation of the unit at higher temperatures (in the creep region). Mostly these types of
failures are time dependent. Overheating conditions are caused by abnormal conditions like the absence
of coolant fluids like water or steam in the tubes or excessive boiler gas temperature. These conditions
are reached when the tube has internal blockage, low water level in the boiler or uneven firing in the
furnace. Blockages are usually due to debris left during erection or repair with carry over of pre boiler
oxide deposits also contributing. Thick lipped burst is caused by a prolonged overheating of the boiler
tube metal leading to degradation of the metal structure to a point where it no longer can contain the
operating pressure. Long term overheating can be caused by:

1. Excessive water side deposition

2. Flame impingement
3. Poor water or flue gas circulation patterns
4. Mild flow restrictions or a combination

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 Short Term Overheating Long Term overheating

10.Hydrogen Embrittlement: Mild steel corrodes very slowly in pure water or deoxygenated alkaline
solution at boiler temperature. The normal corrosion product is magnetite which forms a protective
layer over the steel surfaces as per the following reaction. 3Fe+4 H2O=Fe3O4+4H2. This is the usual
situation in an operating boiler. The corrosion rate decreases with time and even after years of
operation, the protective magnetite film is no more than a few micron thick. If this protective layer
dissolves in the stream of flowing water there is rapid removal of the base material until in the worst
the tube bursts. The protective layer of magnetite iron oxide will become unstable and will get
dissolved at ph level below 5 and above 12. Under low ph condition, corrosion reaction results in
production of atomic hydrogen which results in hydrogen damage to the tubes. Hydrogen damage
occurs in high pressure boilers usually under heavy scale deposits on the water/steam side of a boiler.
In the power industry, hydrogen damage is frequently referred to as hydrogen embrittlement. Once
concentrated sodium hydroxide in feed water dissolves the magnetite iron oxide-the protective coating,
then i) water is able to react directly with iron to evolve atomic hydrogen, ii) the sodium hydroxide
itself may also react with iron to produce hydrogen. If atomic hydrogen is liberated, it is capable of
diffusing into the steel. Some of the diffused atomic hydrogen will combine at the grain boundaries or
inclusions in the metals to produce molecular hydrogen or will react with iron carbide in the metal to
produce methane. Since neither molecular hydrogen nor methane is capable of diffusing through the
steel, these accumulate primarily at grain boundaries producing discontinuous inter-granular micro
cracks. As micro cracks accumulates, the tube strength diminishes. Once the stress imposed by boiler
pressure exceeds the strength of remaining intact metal, a thick walled, longitudinal burst may occur.
Depending upon the extent of hydrogen damage, a large rectangular section of wall will be blown out
producing a gapping hole/window opening. Location of hydrogen damage will occur at places having i)
high heat flux zone such as near burners, ii) horizontal or inclined tubing, iii) flow disruptions such as
welded joints, bends or deposits. Boiler water chemistry monitoring and control practices are
important factors in prevention of internal tube deposit and hydrogen damage corrosion attack.
Successful chemical cleaning can remove the internal deposits and stop the further generation of
hydrogen.

11.Welding defects /Site weld failures: These failures are due to gradual degradation of welds due to
thermal fatigue. Most of the weld failures are caused due to lack of fusion in site welds. Most of the
50% of the weld failures are concentrated only near the tube to tube and tube to beam/sheet attachment
weld. Most of these attachment weld failures are happening only in the water wall area, either due to
expansion restriction or due to unequal expansion between two tubes. Sometimes furnace pressurisation
above trip values also causes these types of failures.

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12.Mechanical rubbing: Tubes that have come out of connectors or distorted attachments can cause
failure. This type of failure is also due to improper erection or alignment of coils or due to vibration of
the assembly.

13. Thermal Fatigue: Fatigue is a phenomenon of damage accumulation caused by cyclic or

fluctuating stresses, which are caused by mechanical loads, flow induced vibration. Components are
subjected to cyclic temperature and flow fluctuations restrict thermal expansion. Thermal fatigue is
classified in two categories, corrosion fatigue and thermal fatigue. Corrosion fatigue is the result of the
fluctuations in circulation of water in the boiler tube Thermal fatigue is the result of frequent starts and
stops Typically occurs at areas such as header ligaments, welded attachments , tube stub welds,
circumferential external surface cracking of water wall tubes in supercritical units, and fabrication
notches

Thermal Fatigue Failure

14. Creep life exhaustion: Creep is a time-dependent deformation that takes place at elevated
temperature under mechanical stresses. Such failure results in overheating or overstressing the tube
material beyond its capabilities for either a short term or a long-term period.

15. Tube failure during stabilization period: The tube failures in a boiler during initial phase of
operation are different from the types that occur after prolonged operation. During the initial period of
operation of boiler the type of tube failures seen are short term overheating, weld failures, material
defects, chemical excursion failure, and sometimes fatigue failures. The short term overheating failure
is mainly due to blockage in the fluid path by some foreign material which gets into the tube surface
during fabrication or during erection of the unit. The blockage can also happen when debris after acid
cleaning of the boiler is not removed completely. This failure can be visually identified by it
characteristic appearance of a fish-mouth-like opening and so is also called as fish mouth failure.

16. Tube failure during normal operation period: Any of type of boiler tube failure mechanisms can
be the cause of a tube failure during normal operation. However, a few like water side corrosion,
caustic corrosion, hydrogen damage in the water wall, soot blower erosion, damage during maintenance
cleaning, and tube internal pitting can be totally eliminated in a boiler if good operating and
maintenance practices as told by the boiler designers are followed. The failures due to long term
overheating, fatigue, fly ash erosion, fire side corrosion, falling slag damage, etc can still happen in a
boiler due to fuel quality variation, operating temperature, startup and shutdown rate, etc. Hence it is
not fully possible to avoid tube failures in a high pressure boiler, but the number of them can be
minimized by analyzing all failures and taking corrective and preventive action.
Tube failure in high pressure boilers follow a normal bath tub curve, with higher rate during initial
operation period, stabilizing to a lower rate during the normal operating period and again increasing as
the boilers age and cross ten to fifteen years of operation. During this period the boiler pressure parts
are evaluated for their remaining life and corrective action taken. A few photos of tube failure are
shown below.
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17. Failure Investigation: Investigation into failures of boiler tubing is a complicated process which
involves the inaccessibility of the tubing, the requirement for rapid restoration of the boiler to operation,
the multitude of failure mechanisms including long term operational deficiencies, and the inability to
always ascertain an exact failure mechanism without laboratory analysis. Determination of the exact
failure mechanism is only part of the process. A complete failure investigation should determine the
root cause of the failure and the corrective action necessary to prevent similar failures. In extreme cases,
this process can take several months and involve many individuals and organizations.

Information from various sources is required to compile all the pertinent evidence and to formulate
conclusions so that specific recommendations can be made. An important information source is the
initial on-site examination performed within the boiler prior to repair or removal of the failed tube. This
examination must be thorough, complete and accurate since there is usually no time allowed for a
second on-site examination. The initial on-site examination is usually performed by the stations boiler
maintenance personnel because there is no enough time for a centrally located metallurgist or boiler
plant specialist to travel to the site.

18. On-Site Examination: The initial on-site examination can provide meaningful data on the
relationship of the tube failure to the possible malfunction of other boiler components. AN
ACCURATE DETERMINATION OF THE FAILURE LOCATION IS IMPORTANT not only in
knowing where to make a repair but in showing if the failure incident involved excessive slag, fly ash
or scaling or malfunction of burner equipment, sootblowers, hangers, attachments or adjacent tubes.
The time spent can be beneficial if an on-site examination procedure or checklist is used to document
all pertinent information regarding the failure.
While information on service history, material properties and boiler design conditions can be obtained,
when necessary, subsequent to a failure repair, the physical conditions present at the time of failure
discovery can only be obtained by the person(s) first observing the failure. A written record of these
observations is important documentation for the follow-on failure investigation.
A means of labeling and trending failures that occur in particular sections of a boiler is desirable.
Chronological numbering of each failure on side elevation and plan view sketches of the affected area
allows for early detection of patterns. Forms and procedures provide the means for documenting the
failure-related information that is necessary for improving boiler availability. Figures C-1 and C-2
show examples of pictorial records used to document boiler tubes failure location.

Desirable aspects of the on-site examination are as follows: -

1. Determination of exact location of failure.
2. Selection, identification and preservation of all failure specimens.
3. Record of appearance of the failed tube (photography may be desirable).
4. Determination of extent of the failure (non-destructive testing may be necessary).
5. Preservation of deposits, scale or coatings on the inside or outside surfaces.
6. Documentation of boiler conditions and the position of other boiler components such as
burners, sootblowers, hangers, attachments and adjacent tubes at the time of the failure.

Most tube failure types require tube replacement while other failure types can sometimes be repaired
without tube removal (e.g. for a weld failure). Previous failure history will provide significant
information for deciding whether to remove a tube for metallurgical analysis. Where unexplained
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repetitive failures are occurring or there is doubt as to the mechanism or cause of failure, failed tube
specimens should be provided for laboratory examination.

Conditions within the boiler are noteworthy. An observation of the amount, location and type of slag,
ash deposition and scale at the failure location and in the boiler needs to be made upon first entry into
the boiler prior to cleaning and may involve several persons and plant work groups. Photographs of the
failed tube can provide important information and documentation. Dimensional measurements and
failure appearance sketches can also provide pertinent information. Creep swelling, wall thinning and
other forms of distress can be indicated in hand-drawn figures or illustrations as shown in figure C-3.

19. Selection and Handling of Failure Samples:

The selection of samples for failure analysis often seems so obvious that it is not given much
consideration. In some cases this results in problems which make the task of distinguishing the causes
from the consequences of the failure much more difficult. Furthermore, once samples have been
selected, they should be handled with care to preserve as much information about the failure
mechanisms as possible. Any unusual conditions or event, which were noted prior to, during or
following the failure, should be recorded and submitted with the failure specimen.
In the usual situation, failure of a boiler tube involves rupture and it is obvious that the sample for
failure analysis should include the ruptured section. In addition, there should be some reference
material, if possible, to allow comparison which can distinguish between a local phenomenon such as
localised overheating and a more general problem such as long term overheating. If a long sample of
tube is provided so that part of it is fairly distant from the rupture, then the one piece may be sufficient.
However, it is advisable in some cases to provide another sample such as a segment from an adjacent
tube.

Tube samples are best removed using a saw with cuts at least twelve inches from the point of rupture. If
necessary, a torch can be used for cutting but since overheating can change the microstructure of the
steel and destroy corrosion evidence, cutting with a torch should be performed at least 500MM from
the point of rupture.

For certain failure types, especially those where corrosion is involved, the less coolant or other
contamination applied to the specimen the better. Removal procedures should be used that will
minimise the amount to debris that can fall into the remaining tube. This is particularly important with
superheaters and reheaters where this debris could pass directly into the steam turbine. Any debris or
tools left in the remaining tubing could cause partial blockage and result in an overheating stress-
rupture-caused tube failure.

Special samples are required in specific areas. For instance, if there is an accumulation of scale on the
tube exterior and fireside corrosion is a likely candidate for the cause of the failure, then extra samples
of the scale are helpful. These can be analysed for abnormal, harmful chemical species.

Fracture samples must be treated with care to preserve as much information as possible. Fracture
surfaces should not be cleaned with a wire brush or by any other means since microscopic features may
be critical to determination of the cause of failure and should be preserved. The most important
consideration in preserving steel samples is that they should be kept dry.

Careful record keeping is essential. General operating conditions (e.g. temperature and pressure) and
the age of the tube should be indicated. Samples should be marked in such a way that their position and
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orientation in the plant are identified. Direction of steam or water flow should be marked. If more than
one sample is taken, their positions with respect to each other and with respect to soot blowers, burners
etc. should be carefully noted. The design specified material, tube diameter and wall thickness should
also be noted. Before any samples are removed, if the circumstances are unusual, a photographic record
of the failure tube and location would be very useful. The sample should be identified and specific
information should be provided either with the sample label or as a separate report as listed in table T-1.
If samples are to be transported, they should be securely packaged so they will not be damaged by
handling, collisions, or rubbing between samples in the same package.

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