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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/ constituent causing steam generation plant shut-down is the
power co-generation plants. Depending on materials, fuel boiler and especially its tubes, such as water wall, econo-
used, and operation practices, different failures could mizers, superheater, and reheaters. Since these components
occur. Most of these failures induce shut-down for cor- are subject to severe conditions, high creep-resistant ferritic
rective maintenance. During the last 30 years, steam/power steels were chosen by designers from the beginning of 1980s.
co-generation plants that serve desalination were subject to However, damage failures of these components occured and
classical and particular boiler tubes failures. This paper is could be due to different reasons depending on material,
dedicated for the presentation of some particular failures of operation and maintenance practices, feed water and fuel
boiler tubes that have been studied previously. The par- chemistry, etc [1]. An extensive literature is available
ticularity originates from the mechanisms combination, the describing the different failures with their mechanisms, cau-
unsuitability of certain surface treatment, etc. Different ses, and remediation [2, 3]. Most of the time, a strict control of
cases are discussed and some lessons are outlined with the feed water chemistry and the use of fuel additives against
regard to operation and maintenance practices that should fire-side attacks are requested in terms of operation. Chemical
be respected for boiler tubes integrity. cleaning of tubes has been recommended to maintain boiler
tubes efficiency and avoid failures. This maintenance opera-
Keywords Creep failure
High temperature
tion has to be well planned respecting safety issues in order to
Thermal fatigue
LME Aluminum 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,
Introduction failure still exists with sometimes a combination of mecha-
nisms and unusual cases.
Steam generation plants are vital part of thermal desalination This paper describes some special failure cases from dif-
industry producing potable water for population. Failures in ferent boilers serving multiple stages flash (MSF) desalination
these plants cause forced shut-down resulting in the loss of plants that were studied in order to determine the root causes
potable water production and together with economical loss. and the appropriate remedial actions that need to be undertaken.
Generally, these plants are in continuous operation under full
load to supply water for population. The main concerned
Double Overheating with Fire-Side Attack
on Superheater Tube
A. Malik
A. Meroufel (&)
Saline Water Conversion Corporation - DTRI Corrosion, Jubail, Background
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: nabil_wahran@hotmail.fr; nabilwahran@gmail.com
Failed high-temperature superheater (HTSH) tube was detected
S. Al-Fozan during shut-down inspection. The 5 mm thickness tube was
SWCC - R&D Center, Jubail, Saudi Arabia made of low alloy steel SA.213 T12, and part of boiler operating

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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250 247

at 93 bar and steam temperature reaching 515 °C. Since internal scaling has led to the metal temperature to exceed
boiler commissioning and during 31 years of operation, no the threshold creep temperature limit for superheater tube
acid cleaning has been carried out for internal surface of (510 °C [4]). As the first failure occurred, the steam leaked
superheater tubes. The tube was located at high-temperature out from ruptured opening creating flow disturbance and
region of primary superheater. Following were the main affected heat transfer. In such scenario with high pressure
observations noted during visual inspection of the failed tube: difference, most of the steam will be ejected from the tube;
therefore, a rapid increase in metal temperature would
(i) Longitudinal open cracks with bulging and typical
occur and in consequence, a second rupture followed. The
fish-mouthed open crack (Fig. 1),
second violent rupture was due to rapid overheating. In
(ii) violent rupture located at 0.5 m from the first fish-
addition, the tube thinning could be explained by external
mouth opening (Fig. 2),
corrosion attack caused by combustion by-products.
(iii) thick fire-side scale was found (Fig. 3a),
(iv) tube thinning near the fish-mouth opening (Fig. 3b).
Recommendations

Study Conclusions Considering the long boiler service duration and to control
metal tube temperature below the creep threshold, the internal
The first failure (fish-mouthed open crack) occurred due to surface must be chemically cleaned by acid and solvents. This
long-term overheating caused by internal scale build-up chemical cleaning should be performed through a well-
(126.8 mg/m2 and 329 lm thickness). The high amount of 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.
Fig. 1 Longitudinal-opened crack as fish-mouth appearance
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-
Fig. 2 Second violent rupture of superheater tube of boiler sence of significant amount of copper within crack and the

Fig. 3 a Thick external scale

over the tube; b tube thinning at
the fish-mouth opening crack

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248 J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250

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
Fig. 6 EDAX analysis of water wall tube a iron element; b copper
overheating suggest liquid metal embrittlement (LME) element
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 surface clean without any contamination which can induce
when metal temperatures exceed 871 °C. The source of this future failures. The up-grade of the tube material could be
copper in our case might be the brass brush which was used suggested but this up-grade does not guarantee that LME
for slag removal during cleaning. Brass material is known will not occur.
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- Soda Wash Effluent at the Origin of Generation Bank
tlement of boiler equipment is usually associated with a Tubes Failure
rapid, high-temperature overheating incident. Grain-
boundary penetration of liquid copper via LME can result Background
in severe intergranular cracking and brittle fracture of
normally ductile steel tubing. 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
Recommendation clock position), another tube #2 made of SA.210 A-1 was
found ruptured near the water drum (Fig. 7). The boiler
To avoid recurrence of this type of LME attack, tube was in service for approximately 23 years, and hydrojetting
cleaning should be performed in such way to keep the was carried out during shut-down using alkali (10% NaOH

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J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2015) 15:246–250 249

solution) to remove heavy salt deposition on the external the contribution of dew point corrosion and vanadium
surface of the tube. attack to the mechanisms. Therefore, under high pressure
(70 bar) inside the boiler, the rupture of the tube ultimately
Study Conclusions occurred.

Metallographic study combined to SEM-EDS study Recommendations

revealed the absence of any possibility of overheating, and
the rupture was mainly due to acidic corrosion attack of the It is recommended to control the draining after soda wash
external tube surface. Indeed, improper draining after the to avoid any stagnant effluent that could induce future
soda wash (hydrojetting with NaOH solution) favored the complications. The pH of the washing effluent on boiler
presence of acidic effluent (pH B 2) which attacked locally tubes at different locations should be monitored and must
the tube near the refractory material. This acidic attack not go below 7.5. Also, proper temperature control has to
induced a thinning of the tube (Fig. 8). In addition, the be maintained to minimize the acid condensation.
presence of sulfur and vanadium (originating from heavy
fuel used for firing) on the external tube surface outlines
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
Fig. 7 Ruptured generation bank tube #2 in as-received condition. a
Front view, b back view 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
Fig. 8 Picture of the portion of ruptured generation tube showing because of his partial responsibility for accelerated corro-
localized attack and metal loss sion attack.

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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.
Fig. 9 a and b represent SEM pictures of two fire side surface of Crack propagation was perpendicular to the metal surface
boiler tube showing hole in failed area 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
Fig. 10 a Tube #1 picture as-received; b tube #2 close view after have to be considered carefully in maintenance program.
surface cleaning (fire side); c tube #2 close view after surface cleaning
Recently, steam/power generation industry is more oriented
(steam side)
to enhance creep-resistant tubing material such as P91.
Some benefits are recorded, but research efforts are still
Corrosion Associated to Thermal Fatigue focused on the different microstructures and its impact on
of Superheater Tube either creep or thermal fatigue resistance.

Background
References
Failure was reported of HTSH from two boilers (noted 1
and 2) that belong to steam/power generation plant. The 1. R.B. Dooley and W.P. McNaughton, Boiler Tube Failures: Theory
and Practice, vol. 1–3, TR-105261-V1 to V3, EPRI, 1996
HTSH tubes were from roof panel located in between coil 2. D.N. French, Metallurgical Failures in Fossil Fired Boilers, 2nd
and supporting tube and having dimension of 59 OD and edn. (Wiley, NY, 1993)
50 ID. The base material was carbon steel sa-178 grade A. 3. R.D. Port, H.M. Herro, The NALCO Guide to Boiler Failure
Tube 1 showed circumferential cracks surrounded by Analysis (McGraw-Hill, NY, 1991)
4. J. Parker, The Grades 11 and 12 Low Alloy Steel Handbook,
1.5-mm pits depth. Similarly, tube 2 showed crack opening
1Cr‘Mo, 1Cr‘Mo, CrMo44, 620/621, STPA 22/23. TR-
surrounded by 3-mm pits depth (Fig. 10). It was found that 1013358EPRI, 2007
pitting started on the fire side and its depth increased far 5. R.E. Hargrave, Unusual failures involving copper deposition in
from the crack. boiler tubing. Corrosion 47(7), 555–567 (1991)

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