MPWT19-14241

Steam Header Silencer Failure

Hassan Ali Al-Hammad

KEMYA (A SABIC & ExxonMobil Joint Venture)
Road 272
Jubail Industrial City, Eastern Province, 31961
Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Steam system in Utility Plant produces Super High Pressure (SHP), High Pressure (HP), Medium
Pressure (MP), and Low Pressure (LP) steam. The header of every steam type has a control
valve and a silencer downstream to open in case of high pressure. The MP steam header
suddenly spiked up following a malfunction of the high range letdown valve from the HP header
to the MP header. The MP header vent control valve opened up to control the header pressure.
However, the opening of the vent valve led to severe damage to the internals of the silencer.
Fortunately, there was no personnel injury or environmental impact, only equipment damage. The
direct and root cause of the failure was identified after silencer was offered for internal inspection.
Gross corrosion of silencer internals, and silencer design were the direct root causes of this
failure. However, an effective mitigation and resolution was implemented by preventing
condensate accumulation and providing a way to clean drain lines and prevent pluggage.

Key words: Corrosion, Steam, Silencer, Failure

INTRODUCTION

Sound in nature is perceived due to the movement of air layers produced by external pressure
waves. To reduce the noise level of steam relieved to the atmosphere a silencer is used that
distributes the steam flow.[1] An integral part of today’s industrial process and ventilation systems,
industrial fans, blowers, and compressors are leading causes of noise problems. If unaddressed,
these issues can lead to health and safety concerns, as well as environmental regulation
violations. With the tightening of noise regulations, industrial facilities are required to stay in
compliance with regulations. Industrial silencers are typically being used to attenuate noise
coming from intake and exhaust systems of industrial facilities. These silencers may be built in
limited space. Inside an industrial area, fan installation is one of the most predominant sources.
Industrial silencers are engineered to control noise in specific applications, and can alleviate
problems in work facilities.[2]
During the past, there had been some silencer incidents with catastrophic consequences from
using a less-than-optimal design in an industrial steam silencer. One example, the steam jet hit
the head of the diffuser with sonic speed and high temperature. This not only destroyed the
diffuser, but also the absorber core suspensions, blowing the massive absorber stage out of the
silencer shell as shown in Figure 1.[3]

Figure 1: Example of first damaged silencer [3]

A second example of a catastrophic failure caused by cost saving design is shown in Figure 2. A
poorly welded seam and corrosion led to material failure. As a direct consequence, the entire
massive absorber stage blew out of the silencer and hit the ground.[3]
 Figure 2: Example of second damaged silencer [3]

In this paper, the silencer damaged will be discussed by elaborating the system that steam flows
through, listing inspection findings after the incident, possible causes of failure, and generating
recommendations to update the design and prevent this failure in the future.

DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS

Pressure in the MP steam header suddenly spiked up following a malfunction of the high range
letdown valve from the HP header to the MP header. The time this event occurred is illustrated
by the sudden changes in HP steam letdown temperature in the following chart Figure 3. Figure
9 is extracted from the Distributed Control System (DCS) that is connected to HP temperature
transmitter instrument.
 Figure 3: Temperature change versus time

The MP header vent valve reacted as designed, opening up to control the header pressure.
However, the opening of the vent valve led to severe damage to the internals of the silencer. A
picture of the damage that was visible from outside is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Silencer damage

Process Description

Utility plant produces Super High Pressure (SHP), High Pressure (HP), Medium Pressure (MP),
and Low Pressure (LP) steam. Each has a control valve and a silencer downstream it, to open
in case of high pressure. The values of process design parameters for each steam type is
described in Table 1.4,5
 Table 1: Steam pressure temperature values

Steam Pressure (barg) Temperature (C)

Super High Pressure (SHP) 120 510

High Pressure (HP) 44 375
Medium Pressure (MP) 13 256
Low Pressure (LP) 5.2 190

Inspection Finding

A picture and a sketch of internals of a typical silencer of this type are shown below in Figure 5
and Figure 6, which shows a picture for the same type of silencer but not the one installed in our
plant.

Figure 5: Silencer Internals [4.6]

Figure 6: Silencer Sketch

Inspection of the damaged silencer confirmed that there was gross corrosion and failures of the
internals of the silencer as well as the hold down bars of the inlet noise diffusion panels, as can
be seen in Figures 7 and Figure 8. This corrosion is caused due to an aqueous environment
where water is present most of the time and stagnant inside silencer. This fact enhances
Microbiologically Induced Corrosion (MIC) especially that the silencer material of construction is
carbon steel, which is the most affected material by MIC. [5,7]

The bottom drains were found plugged and would have resulted in water and condensate
accumulation in the silencer vessel, refer to Figure 9. For this case, in addition to MIC, the boiler
water condensate corrosion is an area of concern as well. As the pH will change when water stays
stagnant for a long time, which is a critical factor for boiler water condensate corrosion in carbon
steel material. [5,7] Visual inspection of the other silencers on the steam system have shown similar
corrosion has taken place in these silencers as well.

Figure 7: Inlet Diffuser Corrosion Figure 8: Internal Corrosion

Figure 9: Plugged Drain

Timeline (Sequence of Events)

The produced steam from boiler is used in different equipment inside the plants. One of the most
important and critical equipment is the compressor which is driven by steam turbines, converting
steam energy to rotational energy by means of rotor blades. This compressor encountered an
operational upset and had forced sudden shutdown. This unplanned shutdown led to back
pressure to HP steam header. Therefore, the pressure was distributed to MP steam header.
The MP steam header Pressure Relief Valves (PRVs) did not relieve as the vent valve prevented
the pressure from reaching the set point of the PRVs. The HP and MP header pressures and the
vent valve opening during the upset are shown below in Figure 10.

Figure 10: HP and MP header pressures and the vent valve opening

Pressure in the MP steam header suddenly spiked up following a malfunction of the high range
letdown valve from the HP header to the MP header. The time this event occurred is illustrated
by the sudden changes in HP steam letdown temperature in the following chart Figure 9. Figure
9 is extracted from the Distributed Control System (DCS) that is connected to HP temperature
transmitter instrument.

Figure 9: Temperature change versus time

The MP header vent valve (P-0108V) reacted as designed, opening up from 0 to 46% to control
the header pressure.
However, the opening of the vent valve led to severe damage to the internals of the silencer. A
picture of the damage that was visible from outside is attached shown below in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Silencer damage

Process Description

Utility plant produces Super High Pressure (SHP), High Pressure (HP), Medium Pressure (MP),
and Low Pressure (LP) steam. Each has a control valve and a silencer downstream it, to open
in case of high pressure. The values of process design parameters for each steam type is
described in Table 1. [6,7]

Table 1: Steam pressure temperature values

Steam Pressure (barg) Temperature (C)

Super High Pressure (SHP) 120 510

High Pressure (HP) 44 375
Medium Pressure (MP) 13 256
Low Pressure (LP) 5.2 190

RESULTS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Possible Causes (Working Hypotheses)

1. Explosive expansion
Explosive expansion of the water soaked acoustic insulation resulting in disintegration of the
silencer panels. This damage can occur when there is a quench front (for example when water
re-enters a hot dry boiler).[8]
This possible cause was rejected as no evidence was found of an explosive expansion of water
soaked acoustic insulation. The damage and ejection of the insulation appeared to be due to a
water/condensate slug that ripped out the corroded hold-down bars.
2. Water Accumulation
Water Accumulation in inlet pipe ejecting as slug causing physical damage. This possible cause
was accepted as no condensate trap was provided at the low point downstream of the steam vent
valve to the inlet of the silencer vessel. Any steam condensing downstream of the valve
accumulates in the line and builds up into the silencer vessel – especially with the drain lines
plugged as shown in figure 9 from gathered data.

2.1.
However, drains or steam traps were not considered during the design of these silencers.

3. Loss of mechanical strength

Loss of mechanical strength of silencer internals due to undetected corrosion and loss of strength.
This possible cause was accepted as there was very severe corrosion inside silencer as shown
in figure 7 and figure 8 from gathered data.

3.1. Gross corrosion of silencer internals

This sub-possible cause was accepted due to the following reasons:
● Over time, the carbon steel internals and hold down bars of the acoustic panels corroded
due to exposure to condensate and rainwater.
● Corrosion weakened the internal assembly.
● Corrosion products also plugged off the two drains of the silencer vessel as shown in
figure 9 from gathered data, resulting in condensate and water accumulation that further
accelerated corrosion.
● The accumulated water / condense sate was forcefully ejected when the vent valve
opened and hit the corroded hold down bars, ripping them off and ejecting the acoustic panels

3.2. Predictive Maintenance Less Than Adequate (LTA)

It needs periodical checks to ensure that the drain lines are open, it’s considered as a contributing
factor.

Recommendations

From the detailed possible causes above, Table 2 illustrates the failure causes (both the root and
contributing) and recommendation for each cause. In addition, a sketch drawing of proposed
recommendations and upgrades in silencer design are elaborated in Figure 11. [7,9,10]

Table 2: Investigation Recommendation

Cause Category Cause Details Recommendation

Root Water Accumulation in inlet To install 2” drain lines to all inlet

pipe due to design LTA
Root Gross corrosion of silencer
internals
Contributing Predictive Maintenance LTA
pipes
To provide air connection to clean
and flush silencer drains
Periodically check to ensure that
the drain lines are open
 Figure 11: Drawing of Proposed Recommendations

CONCLUSIONS

Steam header silencers were ignored for a long time and no inspection or maintenance
procedures were implemented. However, over the years the corrosion was growing inside and
causing a blockage in drains and internals. When the system was needed during the event of
high pressure in the system due to the malfunction of a control valve, the silencer failed to relieve
the pressure in the system as it was designed. So, the root cause was the water accumulation in
inlet pipe and the recommendation proposed is to install two-inch drains. Another root cause of
failure was the gross corrosion of silencer internals and the recommendation is to provide air
connection to clean and flush silencer drains. The preventive maintenance was less than
adequate and the contributing cause to the failure, and the recommendation is to periodically
check to ensure that the drain lines are open.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to my company KEMYA (A SABIC & ExxonMobil Joint Venture) who facilitated this
investigation and resolution.
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