Understanding the Hazard
Boiler-Tube Erosion
Equipment
Undetected boiler-tube thinning will result
in tube failure. Most often, tube failures
cause only short-term disruptions, but
when multiple tubes rupture simultane-
ously, or when accumulated water
suddenly flashes to steam, substantial
damage can occur. FM Global can help
you determine if this hazard poses a risk
at your facility.
UTH topic categories:
n Construction
Equipment
n Fire Protection
n Human Element
n Natural Hazards
n Process Hazards
This series of publications is designed
to help you understand the everyday
hazards present at your company’s
facilities. For more information on how
you can better understand the risks your
business and operations face every day,
contact FM Global.
The Hazard
Boiler tubes are subject to multiple hazards, including catastrophic rupture
caused by erosion.When a boiler tube is thinned to the point that it can no longer
contain the pressure of the steam or water flowing through it, the result can be a
catastrophic rupture. The water and steam released from the ruptured boiler tube
will flash and rapidly expand from the loss of pressure containment. When
multiple thinned tubes rupture simultaneously—usually as a result of a pressure
surge caused by the tripping of process equipment or a steam turbine—large
quantities of water and steam are discharged, overpressurizing the boiler
enclosure and causing the casing to bulge and rupture. For indoor units, the
casing rupture allows steam to fill the boiler room, creating a hostile environment
for equipment and personnel in the area. FM Global loss experience shows that
repairs from such an event often require a month or more to complete.
An additional hazard exists for boilers with molten material or hot solids in the
bottom of the furnace area. Not all the water escaping from a rupture flashes to
steam. The water that remains will accumulate in low points. For such a boiler,
the water can accumulate on top of the hot material, and, given a little distur-
bance, can “react” violently in a steam explosion. This flashing steam can cause
an energy release comparable to a major fuel-air explosion. FM Global loss
experience shows these types of losses can take a boiler out of service for three
months or more.
When boilers critical to maintaining facility operations are out of service, and
spare boilers or alternate supplies of steam are not available, operations are
halted—or at least seriously curtailed—until repairs are completed and the boiler
is returned to service.
Science of the Hazard
As a function of normal operation, boiler-tube thickness is reduced. The rate of
thinning is dependent on tube material, boiler design and boiler operation. Some of
the more common causes of external boiler-tube erosion are burner-flame impinge-
ment, corrosive products of combustion in the flue gases, baffle leakage, uneven
flue-gas distribution, the abrasive nature of the fly ash or other solids entrained in
the flue gas, local reducing zones, sootblower steam or condensate impingement,
and vibration-bar fretting. All of these conditions can be aggravated by the boiler
geometry (bends and tube spacing, etc.) and slag or ash accumulation in the convec-
tion passages that cause the flue gas to accelerate through the remaining open space.
This brochure is made available for informational purposes only in support of the insurance relationship
between FM Global and its clients. This information does not change or supplement policy terms or
conditions. The liability of FM Global is limited to that contained in its insurance policies. page 1 of 4
What you can do at your facility
Now:
n Evaluate your boilers.
Do conditions exist that will
make tube erosion likely?
Check for ash or slag blockage
n
in the superheater, boiler bank
and economizer. Remove
accumulations that restrict flue-gas
flow or cause channeling.
Check burners for proper operation,
n
register positions and flame shape.
Verify sootblowers and wall blowers
n
are operating properly and blowing
pressure is correct.
Soon:
n Check sootblower and wall blower
alignment and verify that sootblowers
index correctly to minimize direct steam
impingement on tubes.
n Perform a nondestructive examination
(NDE) on areas subject to erosion to
verify and trend remaining thickness
and document results.
n Check that vibration bars and baffles
are securely attached.
n For boilers with molten material on
the furnace floor and fluidized-bed
boilers with hot bed material, estab-
lish a comprehensive NDE program
to detect tube thinning for any tube
that, if ruptured, could discharge
water into the furnace or bed.
n Consider adding tube shields or
baffles to control tube erosion.
Often, erosion and corrosion work together to cause a rapid reduction in tube-wall
thickness. The hot flue gases cause an oxide layer to form on the outer surface of
the tube, which subsequently is removed either by sootblower cleaning or scour-
ing of the surface by solids in the flue gas. The freshly exposed tube surface then
oxidizes again and the process repeats in a never-ending cycle.
When a tube ruptures, the steam and/or water contained in it are released.
Because boilers operate with above-atmospheric pressures, the escaping steam
expands and the water, having been heated above its atmospheric boiling point
of 212ºF (100ºC), flashes into steam. As an example, a furnace-screen tube in a
boiler contains a steam-water mixture. If the tube ruptures in a boiler operating at
900 psi (62 bar), the escaping steam will expand more than 50 times, and approx-
imately 35 percent of the water will flash to steam, expanding more than 1,200
times. At 100 psi (7 bar), the steam will expand approximately six times and
12 percent of the water will flash, expanding more than 1,500 times. For high-
pressure power-generation boilers operating at 2,400 psi (165 bar), the steam will
expand approximately 200 times and 55 percent of the water will flash, expanding
approximately 950 times.
For most boilers, a single tube rupture will not cause significant additional dam-
age. But, if a sudden increase in pressure causes multiple simultaneous tube
failures, the tremendous quantity of escaping steam and water overpressurizes the
boiler enclosure, causing significant damage to the enclosure, expansion joints,
and downstream ducts and equipment, such as electrostatic precipitators.
And, what about the water that doesn’t flash? If the boiler contains molten mate-
rial on the furnace floor or hot bed material like that present in a fluidized-bed
boiler, an additional explosive flashing of water to steam can occur. FM Global
loss experience has shown these types of energy releases can be as damaging as
a major fuel-air explosion and can take a boiler out of service for more than three
months, even when repairs are expedited.
Loss Experience
Gross Loss by Boiler Type
2%
8% Black Liquor Recovery
Coal-Fired
8% Wood-Fired
Multi-Fuel
40% Oil-Fired
12%
Waste Heat
Gas-Fired
12%
18%
Source: FM Global clients
Understanding the Hazard: Boiler-Tube Erosion page 2 of 4
Loss Examples
Refuse Boiler
A solid-waste refuse-fired watertube
steam boiler sustained a steam explosion
at a resource-recovery and electric-
generating facility. The steam turbine
tripped, causing a pressure surge within
the boiler that ruptured 10 thinned roof
tubes. The hot water released from the
tubes flashed to steam and caused a
violent rupture of the boiler casing.
Additional damage occurred to the
boiler building.
Coal-Fired Boiler
Fireside erosion caused the rupture of
a waterwall tube in a coal-fired boiler
located in the central heating plant at
a major university. Repair time for the
ruptured tube and adjacent thinned tubes
was approximately three days. Factors
contributing to the erosion included high
sulfur in the coal ash, closing down of
the under-fire air ports, lack of protective
covering on the tubes, and operation at a
higher than normal furnace draft.
Wood-Waste Boiler
A wood-fired watertube boiler sustained
a ruptured generating tube at a furniture
manufacturing plant. The cause of the
tube failure was thinning. Former
mechanical and chemical cleaning
due to scale, along with fly-ash erosion,
contributed to the failure.
Loss Experience (continued)
Number of Occurences by Boiler Type
1%
3% Black Liquor Recovery
7% Wood-Fired
Multi-Fuel
46% Coal-Firedl
9% Waste Heat
Oil-Fired
Gas-Fired
10%
24%
Source: FM Global clients
FM Global loss statistics reveal that, since 1984, nearly 10 percent of all boiler losses
involving pressure-part failures have been the result of external boiler-tube erosion.
Your own experience and that of your industry peers will validate that, when a boiler
burns solid fuels, waste fuels, or other fuels that produce corrosive products of com-
bustion, the probability of experiencing external tube erosion is high. The probability
can increase even more when these fuels are burned in a fluidized-bed boiler, where
the solid bed material is an additional source for tube erosion.
But What About…
…other causes of tube thinning? Is external erosion the only cause of thinning
with which I need to be concerned?
There are causes of internal tube thinning that also must be monitored.
Flow-accelerated corrosion can occur at bends and other transitions, such as
T-connections and where water or steam either enters tubes or discharges into
headers. Also, if the feedwater treatment program has an upset, the protective
oxide or magnetite layer on the inside (ID) surface of the tubes can be removed.
This will be followed by formation and removal of new oxide in a repeating cycle
that can reduce tube thickness to an unsafe level.
The best way to prevent loss of the protective oxide or magnetite layer is to maintain
proper levels of water pH, conductivity, and residual oxygen. Nondestructive
examination (NDE) of locations where flow-accelerated corrosion is likely is the
best method of detecting this type of thinning.
…the screen tubes in my fluidized-bed boiler? They are clean and show
no significant accumulation of scale. Do I have to worry about erosion?
Actually, clean tubes can be an indicator of erosion. A clean tube can be the result of
solids in the flue-gas stream rubbing off the oxide layer that naturally forms when a
tube is exposed to high temperature and products of combustion in the flue gas. This
oxidation-scouring cycle has been known to cause rapid thinning of tubes and can
lead to tube failures in as little as six months of operation.
Understanding the Hazard: Boiler-Tube Erosion page 3 of 4
Need more information?
Ask your FM Global engineer or client
service team about the following:
n A PowerPoint presentation
detailing the hazards of external
boiler-tube erosion
n FM Global and other resources
documenting the hazards of external
boiler-tube erosion
n Assistance with determining the
likelihood of external tube erosion
in your boilers
Ordering Information
For additional copies of this publication or
other FM Global property loss prevention
resources, shop online 24 hours a day, seven
days a week at www.fmglobalcatalog.com.
Or, for personal assistance worldwide, ask to
speak with our U.S.-based customer services
team, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET:
n Toll-free: (1)877 364 6726
(Canada and United States)
n By phone: +1 (1)401 477 7744
n By fax: +1 (1)401 477 7010
n Email: customerservices@fmglobal.com
P0312 © 2003 FM Global
(05/2014) All rights reserved.
www.fmglobal.com
In the United Kingdom:
FM Insurance Company Limited
1 Windsor Dials, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1RS
Regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
…tubes we find that are thinning? How thin can they get before they
have to be replaced?
Tubes in all boilers are expected to thin during normal operation, and tubes in
boilers built in accordance with Section 1 of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code are expected to gradually
thin below the minimum thickness used for new construction. Depending on the
operating environment, tubes may require replacement during the operating life
of the boiler. Tubes need to be replaced in accordance with specific jurisdictional
requirements, or in accordance with an owner-defined program that is acceptable
to the authority having jurisdiction.
…my boiler that fires only natural gas? Do I need to worry about and
check for tube thinning?
Remember, all tubes in all boilers are subject to thinning. For boilers that fire
natural gas, tube thinning from solid-particle erosion or corrosive products of
combustion is not expected to be a problem, except possibly in the cold end of the
economizer, where tube-metal temperatures may be lower than the acid dew point
of the flue gas. All natural gas contains sulfur, as well as hydrogen and carbon.
When burned, carbon becomes carbon dioxide (CO2) with small quantities of
carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen becomes water (H2O), and sulfur is oxidized
to sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide (SO2 and SO3). When flue gases are cooled
sufficiently, the water vapor begins to condense and SO2 and SO3 combine with it
to become sulfurous or sulfuric acid (H2SO3 and H2SO4).
Also, if the burners are not properly adjusted and maintained, flame impingement
on boiler tubes may occur. Baffle leakage is another potential source of erosion.
Don’t Let This Happen to You...
A 400,000-lb./hr. (180,000-kg/hr.) circulating fluidized-bed boiler firing coal, sludge and wood
waste (bark and sawdust) sustained a ruptured screen tube at a kraft pulp and paper mill.
Approximately 10 minutes after the rupture, water accumulating in the primary cyclone flushed
into the slumped bed material in the combustor. The water flashed to steam and overpressur-
ized the boiler and electrostatic precipitator (see picture above). The boiler was out of service
for two months while repairs were expedited.
Understanding the Hazard: Boiler-Tube Erosion page 4 of 4