Coal-based thermal power plants play a major role in the welfare of many nations and the overall global economy. This chapter describes the basic equipment requirements and operating principles of thermal power plants, particularly subcritical, supercritical, and ultra-supercritical types.

The machinery and equipment required for rod and tube extrusion is determined by the specific extrusion process. This chapter provides a detailed description of the design requirements and principles of machinery and equipment for direct and indirect hot extrusion. It then covers the presses and auxiliary equipment for tube extrusion, induction furnaces for billet processing, handling systems for copper and aluminum alloy products, extrusion cooling systems, and age-hardening ovens. Next, the chapter describes the principles and applications of equipment for the production of aluminum and copper billets. Then, it focuses on process control in both direct and indirect hot extrusion of aluminum alloys without lubrication. The chapter describes the technology of electrical and electronic controls in the extrusion process. It ends with a discussion on the factors that influence the productivity and quality of the products in the extrusion process and methods for process optimization.

This chapter describes two types of auxiliary equipment required in most induction heating installations: cooling systems and device timers. Water- and vapor-based systems used for cooling the power supply and the induction coil are described. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of timers, with emphasis on open-loop timing systems.

The ability to accurately assess the remaining life of components is essential to the operation of plants and equipment, particularly those in service beyond their design life. This, in turn, requires a knowledge of material failure modes and a proficiency for predicting the near and long term effects of mechanical, chemical, and thermal stressors. This chapter presents a broad overview of the types of damage to which materials are exposed at high temperatures and the approaches used to estimate remaining service life. It explains how operating conditions in power plants and oil refineries can cause material-related problems such as embrittlement, creep, thermal fatigue, hot corrosion, and oxidation. It also discusses the factors and considerations involved in determining design life, defining failure criteria, and implementing remaining-life-assessment procedures.

This chapter describes some of events and developments that helped drive the commercialization of beryllium and its acceptance as an engineering material. It traces the growth of the domestic beryllium industry from its origins in the 1920s to the present time, and provides a status update on the primary beryllium producers throughout the world.

Corrosion can be defined as a chemical or electrochemical reaction between a material, usually a metal, and its environment that produces a deterioration of the material and its properties. This chapter describes the effects and economic impact of corrosion in major industrial plants. The emphasis in this chapter, as well as in other chapters in this book, is on aqueous corrosion, or corrosion in environments where water is present. The chapter describes the classification of various forms of corrosion based on the nature of the corrodent, mechanism of corrosion, and appearance of the corroded metal. It discusses five primary methods of corrosion control, namely, material selection, coatings, inhibitors, cathodic protection, and design. Examples of the opportunities in corrosion control and the means to implement a program to capitalize on those opportunities are presented in a table. The chapter concludes with varied sources of information pertaining to corrosion and corrosion prevention.

This chapter presents the primary considerations and mechanisms for corrosion and how they are involved in the selection of materials for process equipment in petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants. In addition, specific information on mechanical properties, corrosion, sulfide stress cracking, hydrogen-induced cracking, stress-oriented hydrogen-induced cracking, hydrogen embrittlement cracking, stress-corrosion cracking, velocity-accelerated corrosion, erosion-corrosion, and corrosion control is provided.

This chapter reviews the major marine applications of stainless steels, including the desalination equipment, shipping containers, and heat exchangers that handle seawater.

Steel castings are produced in thousands of designs for different applications. They fill needs in many industries, including transportation, construction machinery, earthmoving equipment, rolling mills, mining, oil and gas exploration, and power generation. This chapter touches upon the variety of applications for which steel castings can be supplied and the ranges of casting size and complexity. Photographs in this chapter provide an understanding of these applications, their size and complexity, and the types of cast steels produced.

Increasing the efficiency of power plants by operating at higher temperatures and pressures and adding a double-reheat feature comes at the expense of shortened lifetimes for critical components. This chapter provides an overview of the material-related problems associated with advanced steam plants and their respective solutions. The discussion covers the selection of materials on a component-specific basis for boilers as well as steam turbines.

Ion nitriding equipment can be categorized into two groups: cold-wall continuous direct current (dc) equipment and hot-wall pulsed dc equipment. This chapter focuses on these two categories along with other important considerations for ion (plasma) nitriding equipment and processing. Other important considerations discussed include the hollow cathode effect, sputter cleaning, furnace loading, pressure/voltage relationships, workpiece masking, and furnace configuration options. The chapter describes five methods of cooling parts from the process temperature to an acceptable exposure temperature after plasma nitriding. The chapter also presents some of the advantages of the pulsed plasma process.

This chapter addresses in-service monitoring and corrosion testing of weldments. Three categories of corrosion monitoring are discussed: direct testing of coupons, electrochemical techniques, and nondestructive testing techniques. The majority of the test methods for evaluating corrosion of weldments are used to assess intergranular corrosion of stainless steels and high-nickel alloys. Other applicable tests evaluate pitting and crevice corrosion, stress-corrosion cracking, and microbiologically influenced corrosion. Each of these test methods is reviewed in this chapter.

This chapter covers the different types of extrusion presses in use, discussing their relative advantages, operating parameters, and selection factors. It describes the function of major components, including containers, stems, dummy pads, and die carriers, the maintenance they require, and their impact on productivity and the quality of extrusions. It also discusses the integration of auxiliary equipment such as log heaters and shears, quench systems, die ovens, pullers, stretchers, and stackers.

This chapter provides a detailed account of corrosion inhibitors for oil and gas production. It begins by discussing some of the demands of competitive industry on inhibitor formulations. It then describes the varying characteristics of oil wells, gas wells, water injection systems, and pipelines. The following sections provide information on the factors influencing corrosivity of produced fluids and the methods of inhibitor application. The chapter discusses the primary causes of corrosion problems and inhibition in waterfloods and provides an overview of bacteria-induced corrosion. Various laboratory testing methods of corrosion inhibitors and the methods used to monitor corrosion rates and inhibitor effectiveness are also presented. The chapter ends by providing information on quality control of inhibitors and computerization of inhibitor treating programs.

This chapter presents the criteria, methods, and benefits of cast-weld construction.

This chapter examines boiler tube failures attributed to operation-related causes. It discusses failures due to rapid start-ups, excessive load swing, excessive heat inputs, poor water chemistry control, and water-treatment methods.

This chapter explains how mechanical processes, including erosion, cavitation, impingement, and fretting, contribute to the effects of corrosion in aluminum alloys. It describes the two main types of erosion-corrosion and the factors involved in cavitation and liquid impingement erosion along with testing and prevention methods. It also provides information on fretting corrosion and fretting fatigue.

This chapter concentrates almost exclusively on inspection techniques related to pressure vessels and pipework. The discussion covers the general aspects associated with inspection and the key factors relevant to it. In addition, the chapter addresses processes involved in data collection and management, namely data acquisition, reporting, trending, reviewing, and auditing. Capabilities and limitations of in-service inspection techniques are discussed in the Appendix to this chapter.