Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Failure Analysis of Utility Boiler Superheater Tubes of A213 T12

  • Case History---peer-reviewed
  • Published:
Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Different parts of two adjacent superheater tubes of boiler were overheated. The outside surface of failed tubes was exfoliated and tarnished. Visual examination of superheater was done. Deposits caused blockage of steam through tubes far away from failure locations. Tube temperature raised and caused oxidation and long-term overheat. The tubes are sectioned longitudinally, and internal surface was inspected. The tubes were plugged by a hard and sticky scale and deposit. Precipitation mechanisms were investigated by considering the boiler feed water treatment, boiler operation history, chemical analysis of boiler water. x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted to specify the deposit. Analysis shows that deposit mostly consists of sodium compounds, silica, and iron oxide. These compounds were entrained by water droplet and carried over by steam because of foaming due to solid content and alkalinity of boiler water. The cause of failure was illustrated by presenting a fault tree analysis (FTA), determining main root cause, and contributing factors. Possible solutions to reduce boiler tube failure rate was discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Nalco Chemical Company, The NALCO water handbook, 4th edn. (McGraw-Hill, Michigan, 2017), p. 1376

    Google Scholar 

  2. B. Haghighat-Shishavan, H. Firouzi-Nerbin, M. Nazarian-Samani, Failure analysis of a superheater tube ruptured in a power plant. Eng. Fail. Anal. 98, 131–140 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. A. Saha, H. Roy, Failure investigation of a secondary super heater tube in a 140MW thermal power plant. Case Stud. Eng. Fail. Anal. 8, 57–60 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. V.Ganapathy, Steam Generators and Waste Heat Boilers: For Process and Plant Engineers, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 (CRC Press, 2015), p. 494

  5. A. Pramanick, G. Das, S. Das, M. Ghosh, Failure investigation of super heater tubes of coal fired power plant. Case Stud. Eng. Fail. Anal. 9, 17–26 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. H. Ardy, A. Bangun, Failure analysis of superheater boiler tube SA213 T12, in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2019

  7. P. Trinuruk, S. Meekaew, Effect of sodium hydroxide solution concentration on liquid entrainment in a steam boiler, in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 1137 (2021)

  8. General Electric, handbook of industrial water treatment, Fairfield,connecticut: General Electric Company, 1997–2009

  9. R.D. Port, H M. Herro, The nalco guide to boiler failure analysis, New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, (1991)

  10. S. Teir, Steam Boiler Technology, Helsinki: Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, (2002) p. 139

  11. X. Yunkui, L. Shixun, X. Guandao and C. Junliang, Evaluation of a dryer in a steam generator. in Proceeding for the Third International Steam Generator and Heat Exchanger Conference, (Toronto, Canada, 1998)

Download references

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Senior Corrosion Engineer of Jam Refining Company, Jam, Iran

    Ali Karimi

Authors
  1. Ali Karimi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali Karimi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares that he has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Karimi, A. Failure Analysis of Utility Boiler Superheater Tubes of A213 T12. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 23, 30–36 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01550-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-022-01550-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation