Search Results for Boiler tube steel

Carbon steel tubes from a boiler feedwater heater feeding a deaerator were treated to control scale formation, but the treatment instead produced more iron oxide. The additional iron oxide reduced the tubing to a totally corroded condition. Investigation showed that the chelate injected to control the scaling was added ahead of the preheater, where the boiler water still contained oxygen. As the chelate removed iron oxide, the O2 in the water continued to form more. Recommendations included moving the chelate addition to a point after the deaerator to stop the corrosion.

Two identical “D” tube package boilers, installed at separate plants, experienced a number of tube ruptures after relatively short operating times. The tubes, which are joined by membranes, experienced localized bulging and circumferential cracking along the fireside crown as a result of overheating and thermal fatigue. It was recommended that recent alterations to the steam-drum baffling be remodified to improve circulation in the boiler and prevent further overheating. Several thermocouples were attached to tubes in problem areas of the boiler to monitor the effects of the steam-drum modifications on tube wall temperatures.

A pipe in the lateral wall of a boiler powering an aircraft carrier flat-top boat failed during a test at sea. The pipe was made from ASTM 192 steel, an adequate material for the application. Microstructural analysis along with equipment operating records provided valuable insight into what caused the pipe to rupture. Although the pipe had been replaced just 50 h before the accident, the analysis revealed incrustations and corrosion pits on the inner walls and oxidation on the outer walls. Microstructural changes were also observed, indicating that the steel was exposed to high temperatures. The combined effect of pitting, incrustations, and phase transformations caused the pipe to rupture.

The center portions of two adjacent low-carbon steel boiler tubes (made to ASME SA-192 specifications) ruptured during a start-up period after seven months in service. It was indicated by reports that there had been sufficient water in the boiler two hours before start-up. The microstructure near the rupture edge was revealed by metallographic examination to consist of ferrite and acicular martensite or bainite. The microstructure and the observed lack of cold work indicated a temperature above the transformation temperature of 727 deg C had been reached. Swelling of the tubes was disclosed by the wall thickness and OD of the tubing. The tubes were concluded to have failed due to rapid overheating.

Tubes in a marine boiler on a new ship failed after brief service lives. Circumferential brittle cracking was found to occur in the carbon-molybdenum steel tubes near the points where the tubes were attached to the steam drum. Fatigue striations were revealed by examination of fracture surfaces by electron microscopy at high magnification. Fatigue failures were concluded to be caused by vibrations resulting from normal steam flow at high steam demand. Too rigid support near the steam drum resulted in concentration of vibratory strain in the regions of failure. The method of supporting the tubes was changed to reduce the amount of restraint and the strain concentration.