Total Boiler Management™ - Proprietary Documentation

SHRH Short-Term Overheating

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Failure Mechanism:
Short-term overheating of superheater / reheater tubes occurs when the normal flow of cooling steam is interrupted
Damage Cause:
Loss of normal cooling steam flow leads to excessive tube metal temperatures (above material design) and, coupled to normal primary operating stresses, swelling
occurs, wall thickness decreases and finally the tube ruptures.
Damage Mode:
Longitudinal thin-lipped "fish mouth" ductile failure with swelling but without the tube becoming oval. Localized material hardening will occur near the rupture. Full-
thickness failure may occur with rapid overheating >1350⁰F Mean Wall Temperature).
Possible Root Cause(s):
C1 - Tube-pluggage induced - growth and exfoliation of oxide in the SH/RH circuits.
C2 - Maintenance induced - improper repairs or poor practices e.g. excessive ID weld metal, spatter, leaving debris, tools or loose pieces of hardware inside
tubes/headers
C3 - Maintenance induced - improper chemical cleaning (inadequate rinse or improper flow verification)
C4 - Over firing with top feedwater heaters out of service
C5 - Operation induced - Improper shut-down or start-up
Damage Precursors:
P1 - Another failure occurring downstream of failure
P2 - Following chemical cleaning
P3 - A boiler upset condition or radical load swing
P4 - Low steam flow and aggressive firing during start-up
P5 - Change in firing pattern
P6 - Evidence that condensate is forming in SH/RH bends during shut-down
P7 - Unusual boiler blow down rate
P8 - Excessive steam-side oxide. Evidence of solid-particle erosion on turbine operating surfaces.
How damage can be identified, verified and its extent determined:
100% unless maintenance related. On austenitic tubing, VT: use of magnets, sample removal, measuring OD of tubing or RT. On ferritic materials, VT: sample removal,
measuring OD of tubing or RT, UT for detecting excess steam-side oxide.
Where damage normally occurs:
Most commonly near the bottom bends in vertical loops of the SH/RH. Outlet legs and near material transitions.
Damage Features:
Thin-lipped fish mouth fracture . Swelling of tubes without the tube becoming oval shaped and with stretch marks
Inspection Features:
Upstream from tight bends. Material microstructure shows evidence of severe overheating e.g. presence of ferritic transformation products, sigma-phase in austenitic.
Some localized hardening may exist near failure
Materials normally subject to damage:
ASME Section 1 Carbon Molybdenum (SA-209 T1, SA-209 T1a), Chrome Molybdenum (SA-213 T11, SA-213 T22) and Stainless Steel (SA-213 321H, SA-213 347H, SA-313
304H) tubes
The unit status when damage begins:
In-Service
Definitions:
Failure: Any change in a component that causes it to be unable to perform it's intended function
Damage: Any change imposed upon a component that substantially reduces its useful life prior to failure
Damage Mode: The appearance, manner or form which advanced component damage ultimately manifests itself.
Damage Mechanism: How and or why damage occurs in a chemical of metallurgical terms
Damage Cause: The cause of a damage event or damage mode
References: Boiler Tube Failures: Theory and Practice, Naughton, Dooley 1996, The Nalco Guide to Boiler Failure Analysis, Port, Herro 1991, Metallurgical Failures in Fossil
Fired Boilers, French 1993, Mineral Impurities in Coal Combustion, Raask 1985

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