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Boiler Tubes Failures: A Compendium of Case Studies

Article  in  Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention · April 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s11668-015-9923-x

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Boiler Tubes Failures: A Compendium of
Case Studies

Anees Malik, Abdelkader Meroufel &

Saleh Al-Fozan

Journal of Failure Analysis and

Prevention

ISSN 1547-7029
Volume 15
Number 2

J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015)

15:246-250
DOI 10.1007/s11668-015-9923-x

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 Author's personal copy
J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250
DOI 10.1007/s11668-015-9923-x
TECHNICAL ARTICLE—PEER-REVIEWED
Boiler Tubes Failures: A Compendium of Case Studies
Anees Malik • Abdelkader Meroufel •
Saleh Al-Fozan
Submitted: 26 May 2014 / in revised form: 3 November 2014 / Published online: 14 January 2015
Ó ASM International 2015
Abstract Boiler tubes are a vital component in the steam/
power co-generation plants. Depending on materials, fuel
used, and operation practices, different failures could
occur. Most of these failures induce shut-down for cor-
rective maintenance. During the last 30 years, steam/power
co-generation plants that serve desalination were subject to
classical and particular boiler tubes failures. This paper is
dedicated for the presentation of some particular failures of
boiler tubes that have been studied previously. The par-
ticularity originates from the mechanisms combination, the
unsuitability of certain surface treatment, etc. Different
cases are discussed and some lessons are outlined with
regard to operation and maintenance practices that should
be respected for boiler tubes integrity.
Keywords Creep failure
High temperature

Thermal fatigue
LME Aluminum
Introduction
Steam generation plants are vital part of thermal desalination
industry producing potable water for population. Failures in
these plants cause forced shut-down resulting in the loss of
potable water production and together with economical loss.
Generally, these plants are in continuous operation under full
load to supply water for population. The main concerned
A. Malik
A. Meroufel (&)
Saline Water Conversion Corporation - DTRI Corrosion, Jubail,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: nabil_wahran@hotmail.fr; nabilwahran@gmail.com
S. Al-Fozan
SWCC - R&D Center, Jubail, Saudi Arabia
123
constituent causing steam generation plant shut-down is the
boiler and especially its tubes, such as water wall, econo-
mizers, superheater, and reheaters. Since these components
are subject to severe conditions, high creep-resistant ferritic
steels were chosen by designers from the beginning of 1980s.
However, damage failures of these components occured and
could be due to different reasons depending on material,
operation and maintenance practices, feed water and fuel
chemistry, etc [1]. An extensive literature is available
describing the different failures with their mechanisms, cau-
ses, and remediation [2, 3]. Most of the time, a strict control of
the feed water chemistry and the use of fuel additives against
fire-side attacks are requested in terms of operation. Chemical
cleaning of tubes has been recommended to maintain boiler
tubes efficiency and avoid failures. This maintenance opera-
tion has to be well planned respecting safety issues in order to
be successful and cost effective. However, as mentioned
above, because of continuos operation due to increased water
demand and the noncontrol of the quality of the fuel used,
failure still exists with sometimes a combination of mecha-
nisms and unusual cases.
This paper describes some special failure cases from dif-
ferent boilers serving multiple stages flash (MSF) desalination
plants that were studied in order to determine the root causes
and the appropriate remedial actions that need to be undertaken.
Double Overheating with Fire-Side Attack
on Superheater Tube
Background
Failed high-temperature superheater (HTSH) tube was detected
during shut-down inspection. The 5 mm thickness tube was
made of low alloy steel SA.213 T12, and part of boiler operating
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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250
at 93 bar and steam temperature reaching 515 °C. Since
boiler commissioning and during 31 years of operation, no
acid cleaning has been carried out for internal surface of
superheater tubes. The tube was located at high-temperature
region of primary superheater. Following were the main
observations noted during visual inspection of the failed tube:
(i) Longitudinal open cracks with bulging and typical
fish-mouthed open crack (Fig. 1),
(ii) violent rupture located at 0.5 m from the first fish-
mouth opening (Fig. 2),
(iii) thick fire-side scale was found (Fig. 3a),
(iv) tube thinning near the fish-mouth opening (Fig. 3b).
Study Conclusions
The first failure (fish-mouthed open crack) occurred due to
long-term overheating caused by internal scale build-up
(126.8 mg/m2 and 329 lm thickness). The high amount of
Fig. 1 Longitudinal-opened crack as fish-mouth appearance
Fig. 2 Second violent rupture of superheater tube of boiler
Fig. 3 a Thick external scale
over the tube; b tube thinning at
the fish-mouth opening crack
247
internal scaling has led to the metal temperature to exceed
the threshold creep temperature limit for superheater tube
(510 °C [4]). As the first failure occurred, the steam leaked
out from ruptured opening creating flow disturbance and
affected heat transfer. In such scenario with high pressure
difference, most of the steam will be ejected from the tube;
therefore, a rapid increase in metal temperature would
occur and in consequence, a second rupture followed. The
second violent rupture was due to rapid overheating. In
addition, the tube thinning could be explained by external
corrosion attack caused by combustion by-products.
Recommendations
Considering the long boiler service duration and to control
metal tube temperature below the creep threshold, the internal
surface must be chemically cleaned by acid and solvents. This
chemical cleaning should be performed through a well-
defined plan by considering type and design of the steam
generator, amount of flow, and possibility of drainage.
Unusual Liquid Metal Embrittlement on Water Wall
Tube
Background
Superheater and water wall boiler tubes were found leaking
leading to a difference in feed water and steam flow.
Especially, a longitudinal cross section of a riser tube
(made of plain carbon steel ASTM A210) showed two deep
dents on fire-side and wide circumferential crack origi-
nating from the center of the dent (Fig. 4).
Study Conclusions
Metallography study revealed wide intergranular crack
with few branches and presence of copper in the form of
inclusions. A carbide precipitation was also found on the
steam side (Fig. 5). EDX analysis indicates the presence of
copper within cracks and its branches (Fig. 6). The pre-
sence of significant amount of copper within crack and the
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248
Fig. 4 Water wall failed tube as-received for investigation
Fig. 5 Steam-side microstructure of water wall tube showing
carbides precipitation in ferrite–pearlite matrix
overheating suggest liquid metal embrittlement (LME)
failure mechanism. In fact, such type of attack was recor-
ded by Hargrave in his study [5]. According to this work,
copper causes LME of plain carbon steel boiler tubing
when metal temperatures exceed 871 °C. The source of this
copper in our case might be the brass brush which was used
for slag removal during cleaning. Brass material is known
to melt at 900 °C which is within operating temperature
range. Indeed, brass brush fiber left on tube surface might
have melted and penetrated into cracks. Copper embrit-
tlement of boiler equipment is usually associated with a
rapid, high-temperature overheating incident. Grain-
boundary penetration of liquid copper via LME can result
in severe intergranular cracking and brittle fracture of
normally ductile steel tubing.
Recommendation
To avoid recurrence of this type of LME attack, tube
cleaning should be performed in such way to keep the
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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250
Fig. 6 EDAX analysis of water wall tube a iron element; b copper
element
surface clean without any contamination which can induce
future failures. The up-grade of the tube material could be
suggested but this up-grade does not guarantee that LME
will not occur.
Soda Wash Effluent at the Origin of Generation Bank
Tubes Failure
Background
Failure in steam/power generation plant was reported in the
form of leakages in the generation bank tubes. While
inspection revealed leakage in tube #1 (pinholes at 6’O
clock position), another tube #2 made of SA.210 A-1 was
found ruptured near the water drum (Fig. 7). The boiler
was in service for approximately 23 years, and hydrojetting
was carried out during shut-down using alkali (10% NaOH
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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250
solution) to remove heavy salt deposition on the external
surface of the tube.
Study Conclusions
Metallographic study combined to SEM-EDS study
revealed the absence of any possibility of overheating, and
the rupture was mainly due to acidic corrosion attack of the
external tube surface. Indeed, improper draining after the
soda wash (hydrojetting with NaOH solution) favored the
presence of acidic effluent (pH B 2) which attacked locally
the tube near the refractory material. This acidic attack
induced a thinning of the tube (Fig. 8). In addition, the
presence of sulfur and vanadium (originating from heavy
fuel used for firing) on the external tube surface outlines
Fig. 7 Ruptured generation bank tube #2 in as-received condition. a
Front view, b back view
Fig. 8 Picture of the portion of ruptured generation tube showing
localized attack and metal loss
249
the contribution of dew point corrosion and vanadium
attack to the mechanisms. Therefore, under high pressure
(70 bar) inside the boiler, the rupture of the tube ultimately
occurred.
Recommendations
It is recommended to control the draining after soda wash
to avoid any stagnant effluent that could induce future
complications. The pH of the washing effluent on boiler
tubes at different locations should be monitored and must
not go below 7.5. Also, proper temperature control has to
be maintained to minimize the acid condensation.
Accelerated Attack of Boiler Tube in the Presence
of Aluminum Coating
Background
Failure of boiler tubes near the water drum was reported.
The tube material was SA 210A-1 and tubes were exter-
nally coated with aluminum. The failure was in the form of
big holes on the fire side near the bend (Fig. 9). The tubes
did not show any sign of chemical attack, development of
cracks, or fissure on either fire side or steam side of the
tube.
Study Conclusions
Fire-side scale was analyzed by EDS showing the presence
of Al, P, V, and S. These two later elements are combustion
by-products of the heavy fuel used for firing. Al source is
the external coating on the boiler tubes; and P is due to
sodium phosphate dozing in boiler feed water. Some
locations at the fire side had presumably been overheated
and V2O5 would have reacted with Al2O3 and or iron oxide
to undergo fluxing reaction. The progress of accelerated
attack (hot corrosion) resulted in consumption of metal and
formation of deep pits or holes. Localized overheating was
due to the presence of non-uniform internal deposits
insulating the tube metal from the cooling effect of steam.
It was concluded that the failure of boiler tubes was
caused by localized overheating and V- and S-induced hot
corrosion attack. The external Al coating on boiler tubes
had a detrimental effect on tubes performance.
Recommendations
It was recommended that the use of aluminum coating in
the case of heavy fuel containing S and V must be avoided
because of his partial responsibility for accelerated corro-
sion attack.
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250
Fig. 9 a and b represent SEM pictures of two fire side surface of
boiler tube showing hole in failed area
Fig. 10 a Tube #1 picture as-received; b tube #2 close view after
surface cleaning (fire side); c tube #2 close view after surface cleaning
(steam side)
Corrosion Associated to Thermal Fatigue
of Superheater Tube
Background
Failure was reported of HTSH from two boilers (noted 1
and 2) that belong to steam/power generation plant. The
HTSH tubes were from roof panel located in between coil
and supporting tube and having dimension of 59 OD and
50 ID. The base material was carbon steel sa-178 grade A.
Tube 1 showed circumferential cracks surrounded by
1.5-mm pits depth. Similarly, tube 2 showed crack opening
surrounded by 3-mm pits depth (Fig. 10). It was found that
pitting started on the fire side and its depth increased far
from the crack.
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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250
Study Conclusion
EDX and XRD analysis of corrosion products showed the
presence of magnetite as steam-side corrosion product and
particularly for tube #2, sulfur and vanadium were present in
the oxide scale. Microstructure study revealed trans-crystalline
crack path for both tube #1 and 2 with decarburization process.
In addition, some micrograph showed needle-shaped crack.
Crack propagation was perpendicular to the metal surface
which suggest a thermal fatigue process. Thus, the presence of
corrosion process combined with thermal fatigue seems to be
the most plausible mechanism by which the failure occurred.
Recommendations
It was recommended to use low alloy steel containing Cr
and Mo as boiler tube material due to its better corrosion
resistance and high threshold creep temperature. Also,
decarburization could be avoided to a greater extent by
effective cleaning of the steam-side surface of the tube.
Thermal fatigue could be eliminated by reviewing the start-
up and shut-down procedures.
Conclusions
Different boiler tube failures were summarized in this paper.
Each case (usual or unusual) presents a particular aspect
which is related to the operation and/or maintenance prac-
tices. It appears clearly that materials used in the design of
power plant during the late seventeenth and beginning of
eighteens seem offering good performance globally and
mainly if proper operation and maintenance programs are
followed. In addition, some fire-side corrosion solutions
have to be considered carefully in maintenance program.
Recently, steam/power generation industry is more oriented
to enhance creep-resistant tubing material such as P91.
Some benefits are recorded, but research efforts are still
focused on the different microstructures and its impact on
either creep or thermal fatigue resistance.
References
1. R.B. Dooley and W.P. McNaughton, Boiler Tube Failures: Theory
and Practice, vol. 1–3, TR-105261-V1 to V3, EPRI, 1996
2. D.N. French, Metallurgical Failures in Fossil Fired Boilers, 2nd
edn. (Wiley, NY, 1993)
3. R.D. Port, H.M. Herro, The NALCO Guide to Boiler Failure
Analysis (McGraw-Hill, NY, 1991)
4. J. Parker, The Grades 11 and 12 Low Alloy Steel Handbook,
1Cr‘Mo, 1Cr‘Mo, CrMo44, 620/621, STPA 22/23. TR-
1013358EPRI, 2007
5. R.E. Hargrave, Unusual failures involving copper deposition in
boiler tubing. Corrosion 47(7), 555–567 (1991)