DAVID N . F R E N C H , I N C .

, METALLURGISTS
O N E LANCASTER ROAD

SPRING 1 9 8 4 NORTHBOROUGH. M A S S A C H U S E T T S 01532 VOL. 1, NO. 1

(617)393-3635

A VIEW FROM THE PENTHOUSE: USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE WORLD OF BOILERS

Thoughts on Superheater & Reheater Replacement

Over t h e l i f e o f a b o i l e r , 40- r e a c t i o n is i n e v i t a b l e and proceeds

50 years or s o , the superheater(SH) more r a p i d l y a s t e m p e r a t u r e is increased.
a n d r e h e a t e r (RH) w i l l h a v e t o b e T h i s s c a l e on t h e i n t e r n a l s u r f a c e a c t s
replaced twice. P a r t o r a l l of as an i n s u l a t o r t o h e a t flow from f l u e
t h e s e c o m p o n e n t s may b e r e p l a c e d g a s t o steam. One i m p o r t a n t c o n s e q u e n c e
a f t e r 12-18 y e a r s s e r v i c e . I n many is t o r a i s e the tube metal temperature.
c a s e s "nothing" has changed. The The graph below g i v e s t h e c a l c u l a t e d
f u e l a n a l y s i s i s n o d i f f e r n e t now i n c r e a s e i n metal t e m p e r a t u r e , a T ,
than previously. No c h a n g e s h a v e compared w i t h a c l e a n , s c a l e - f r e e t u b e
occurred i n t h e operation of the as a function of s c a l e thickness f o r
unit. Steam temperatures are within s e v e r a l heat f l u x conditions found i n
the expected range. Yet e x t e r n a l a SH o r R H .
c o r r o s i o n and a r a p i d i n c r e a s e i n TUBE DIMENSIONS
2 OD n o 1 8 0 W A L L
t h e f r e q u e n c y o f SH a n d R H t u b e ID.

f a i l u r e s "suddenly" appear, usually OIA 10000

before the design l i f e is reached. MI. OIA 18000

B e f o r e a d e c i s i o n i s made on
changes needed i n t h e replacement O[A 16000

SH o r R H , s e v e r a l q u e s t i o n s n e e d t o - SO.
V-
be addressed. - 011 14 W O

1. W h a t i s t h e o v e r a l l c o n d i - OlA I21WO
tion? T h e d e s i g n c a l l s f o r a steam ..
temperature of 1005"F, s a y , but OLA lUI(Il.

i n d i v i d u a l t u b e s vary from 950" t o

1065°F. It i s a f a c t o f l i f e t h a t 014 8 nnlr

t h e h o t t e s t t u b e s w i l l be t h e most 70 01A 60UC

seriously, (only?) ones distressed.
These few, perhaps lo%, w i l l have
t h e g r e a t e s t metal w a s t a g e , c o r r o s i o n , Ill

i n t e r n a l o x i d a t i o n , and c r e e p f a i l -
ures. It is l i k e l y t h a t replacement
of t h e s e w i l l be s u f f i c i e n t t o 005 0 ~ 0 013 020 025

restore acceptable reliability. In lllr!dr Scale T ~ , ~ , . . . ~ sI , ~ ~ ~ . . ,

any e v e n t , c a r e f u l m e t a l l u r g i c a l For t h e cooler tubes a small i n c r e a s e of

e v a l u a t i o n may b e r e q u i r e d f o r a 25" - 35°F is o f no s i g n i f i c a n c e . How-
satisfactory inventory o f t h e overall ever, f o r the hottest ones such an
condition. i n c r e a s e can be devastating. Thus, t h e
2. What h a s b e e n t h e h i s t o r y , suggested metallurgical evaluation
frequency, l o c a t i o n , type, and nature should include a characterization of t h e
of the tube failures? A s noted i n t e r n a l s c a l e t h i c k n e s s . By k e e p i n g
above, the hottest tubes cause t h e g o o d r e c o r d s o f f a i l u r e s , by c a t a l o g u i n g
majority of problems. Also, on t h e the kinds1 high temperature creep, ash
s t e a m s i d e o f e a c h t u b e , s t e a m (HZ0) c o r r o s i o n , weld r e l a t e d , t h e amount o f
r e a c t s with steel (Fe) to form tube wastage, spacer and attachment,
magnetite (Fe 04), an iron oxide: by m a p p i n g t h e l o c a t i o n , t h e o v e r a l l
4H20 + 3 F e = ?e304 + 4H2. The m e t a l l u r g i c a l c o n d i t i o n is more e a s i l y
m e t a l l u r g i c a l c o n d i t i o n i s more e a s i l y
established.
3. What k i n d o f m a t e r i a l s s h o u l d
be used? Until the early 1970's the
o x i d a t i o n l i m i t o f SA-213 T22 ( 2 i C r -
1Mo) w a s 1 1 2 5 O F . Because of deteriora-
t i o n of t h i s a l l o y f o r reasons noted,
t h e l i m i t was r e d u c e d t o 1 0 7 5 O F .
U n i v e r s a l l y , b o i l e r s w i t h 1005OF s t e a m
t e m p e r a t u r e s now c o n t a i n s t a i n l e s s
s t e e l (SA-213 TP304, 304H, 3 2 1 , 321H,
347 o r 347H) t u b i n g i n t h e f i n i s h i n g
legs. Thus i f t h e e x i s t i n g u n i t h a s
T 2 2 , a n u p - g r a d e t o 3 0 4 o r 304H
s t a i n l e s s s t e e l would make s e n s e .
E i t h e r 321 o r 347 g r a d e s are more
expensive than 304 without any apprec-
i a b l e improvement i n c o r r o s i o n resist-
ance. Note, a change from T22 t o 304
w i l l allow a t h i n n e r w a l l tube t o be
u s e d a s t h e ASME B o i l e r a n d P r e s s u r e
Vessel Code h a s h i g h e r a l l o w a b l e
s t r e s s e s f o r 304. H o w e v e r , t h e steam
f l o w c o n d i t i o n s may h a v e t o b e r e c a l -
culated. A thinner w a l l gives a
l a r g e r I D which changes t h e p r e s s u r e
drop and steam flow. I f similar I D ' S
a r e k e p t , t h e OD o f t h e s t a i n l e s s w i l l
b e s m a l l e r t h a n t h e T 2 2 a n d t h e r e may
be inadequate s u r f a c e f o r proper f i n a l
steam temperature.
I n t h e c a s e of s a t i s f a c t o r y per-
f o r m a n c e f o r 1 2 - 1 5 y e a r s f o l l o w e d by
rapid fuel ash corrosion, the feeling
may b e t h a t " s o m e t h i n g " b e t t e r t h a n
s t a i n l e s s steel is needed. A replace-
m e n t i n k i n d may m a k e e c o n o m i c s e n s e
rather than shields t o protect against
c o a l a s h corrosion o r "super" a l l o y s
t o protect against o i l ash corrosion.
I f "nothing" has changed, t h e cause
o f t h e c o r r o s i o n may b e t h e i n t e r n a l
scale that has raised the tube metal
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temperature so that fuel ash corrosion
occurs. R a p i d w a s t a g e i s c a u s e d by
liquid constituents i n the ash. By
keeping t h e temperature below t h e
m e l t i n g p o i n t of t h e s e compounds, a s h
attack cannot occur. Thus replacement
i n kind with a planned chemical clean-
i n g a f t e r t h e f i r s t 8-10 y e a r s o f
s e r v i c e may m a k e m o r e s e n s e . Again,
thorough metallurgical evaluation can
h e l p make t h e p r o p e r d e c i s i o n .
4. F a i l u r e s of attachment l u g s
and c l i p s ? Corrosion of t h e s e welded
attachments poses a s e r i o u s problem.
These spacers a r e t h e h o t t e s t a s t h e y
a r e f a r t h e s t from t h e steam cooling
n e c e s s a r y t o h o l d t e m p e r a t u r e s down.
L u g s i n t h e " n e w " SH o r R H may b e
s h o r t e n e d by u s i n g o f f s e t s t o b r i n g
the tubes closer together at the
spacer location and t h u s reduce t h e i r
temperature with improved c o o l i n g .
T h e s e a t t a c h m e n t s a r e commonly i n v e s t -
ment c a s t i n g s . One a d v a n t a g e t o i n -
vestment c a s t i n g s is t h e f l e x i b i l i t y
of choice of a l l o y . Usually these
c a s t i n g s a r e made o f a c a s t e q u i v a l e n t
t o a 18Cr-8Ni (304) s t a i n l e s s s t e e l .
However, f o r improved h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e
oxidation and corrosion r e s i s t a n c e ,
h i g h e r a l l o y s t a i n l e s s s t e e l s 25Cr-
20Ni, o r c a s t i n g a l l o y s similar t o t h e
Inconel alloys of the International
N i c k e l C o . may b e u s e d .
I n t h e given examples, t h e metal-
lurgical evaluation w i l l help identify
t h e fundamental cause of t h e f a i l u r e s
and suggest t h e proper replacement f i x .
A t t h e same t i m e , m i c r o s t r u c t u r a l
a n a l y s i s can be done t o a s s e s s t h e
remaining l i f e of those portions of
t h e SH a n d R H n o t r e p l a c e d .
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