acom

4-1992

AVESTA SHEFFIELD CORROSION MANAGMENT

Application of UNS S31254

(Avesta Sheffield 254 SMO )

Austenitic Stainless Steel
in Power Plants
by
Jan Olsson, Research & Development, Avesta Sheffield AB, S-774 80 Avesta, Sweden, and
James D. Redmond, Technical Marketing Resources, Inc., 3209 McKnight East Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, USA

Abstract
UNS S31254 six percent molybdenum austenitic stainless steel has been successfully used in seawater
cooled power plant condensers since September 1981.
Utility applications include condenser tubing, heat
exchanger tubing, tubesheets and service water piping
in nuclear power plants, and condenser tubing and heat
exchanger tubing in coal fired power plants. The operating environments and performance histories are
described.

Introduction
The copper-base alloys, like copper-nickel and different
types of brass, were extensively used in seawater
cooled condensers in power plants built in Finland,
Sweden, and the United States during the nineteen
sixties and seventies. For example, all sixteen units of
the six nuclear power stations in Finland and Sweden
initially used either copper-nickel or brass in their
condenser tubes.

The copper-base alloy condenser tubes had, however,

inadequate corrosion resistance. Several test programs
were performed in order to establish suitable replacement materials. Highly alloyed stainless steels and titanium were the strongest candidates. The overall best
result for the stainless steels was achieved by Avesta

Sheffield 254 SMO (UNS S31254) as it was completely

resistant in all field tests performed (1, 2, 3). Similar
results were obtained in a series of seawater exposure
tests that involved both ambient seawater exposure for
periods of 2, 9, and 24 months and exposure to filtered
seawater at 25C (77F) for two months (4, 5). Crevice
corrosion resistance in both seawater exposure tests
correlated well with the critical crevice corrosion temperature in 10% FeCl3 6H2O at pH 1. These results
are summarized in Table 1 (page 2).

254 SMO is a registered trademark of Avesta Sheffield AB.

Paper presented at the NACE annual conference and corrosion show, March 11-15, 1991, Cincinnati, Ohio. Copyright:
NACE, Houston, TX.

acom No. 4-92

Table 1: Results of crevice corrosion tests

Maximum penetration, mm

UNS No.
S31603
N08700
N08904
N08925
N08366
N08367
S31254

2 months )
0.23
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00

Ambient seawater
2
9 months )
3
-)
0.09
0.06
4
0.01, (0.02) )
0.00

24 months )
0.11
4
0.05, (0.08) )
0.02
0.00

Filtered
seawater
2 months
1.41
1.49
0.83
0.55
0.23
0.18
0.00

S31254 is a fully austenitic stainless steel with a chemical composition as shown below. ASTM and ASME
specifications and code coverage for S31254 are summarized in Table 2.

CCT*
(F)
(27.5)
(59.0)
(32.0)
(72.5)
(63.5)
(90.5)
(90.5)

* Critical Crevice Temperature

in 10 % FeCl3 6H2O; pH 1.

) The temperature range was 15.6 to 25C (60.1 to 77.0F).

) The temperature range was 5 to 31C (41.0 to 87.8F).
3
) Not tested.
4
) Attack at fouling sites.
2

Metallurgy

C
-2.5
15.0
0
22.5
17.5
32.5
32.5

Light walled tubing such as condenser tubing is welded

by the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. No
filler metal is added and the tubes receive a full solution
anneal. Heavy walled tubing and pipe are welded with
an overalloyed filler in order to compensate for the
segregation of molybdenum, which occurs when welding highly alloyed austenitic stainless steels (9, 26).

Chemical composition of UNS S31254 (weight p.c.):

Cmax.
0.020

Cr
20

Ni
18

Mo
6.2

Cu
0.7

N
0.20

Service Experience
Table 2: S31254 specifications and codes
ASTM
A167, A182, A240, A249, A269, A276, A312, A351,
A358, A403, A409, A473, A479, A743 and A744.
Pending in A 193, A 194.
ASME
Section III, Division 1, Class 2 and 3
Code Case N-439: SA-182, SA-240, SA-249, SA-312,
SA-358
Code Case N-440: Castings to SA-351
Code Case N-441: Fittings to SA-403
Section VIII, Division 1, up to 400C (750F)
SA-182, SA-240, SA-249, SA-312, SA-358, SA-409,
SA-479
Code Case 2036: Castings to SA-351
ANSI
Pending in B31.1

S31254 was the first high performance austenitic stainless steel designed specifically to use nitrogen for
added corrosion resistance. Therefore, it has superior
resistance to chloride pitting and crevice corrosion
compared to earlier non-nitrogen alloyed austenitic
stainless steel tubing such as N08366.
The resistance of S31254 to pitting, crevice corrosion,
and stress corrosion cracking in chloride-containing
water has been described extensively (6 to 25) and in
summary the results can be described as excellent.

acom No. 4-92

Condenser Tubing
The first full scale installation of S31254 condenser
tubing took place in January 1982 when Imatran Voima
Oy in Finland retubed one of the condensers at the
Naantali Power Station on the Finnish west coast. The
condenser was originally tubed with aluminum brass
(OD 23x1 mm) in a Muntz metal tube sheet, but the
tubes had, after 9 years of service, leaked severely and
replacement was necessary. Dezincification was the
primary form of corrosion.
Eighty-two hundred (66,000 m, 23x0.7 mm) S31254
tubes were successfully rolled into the Muntz metal
tubesheets despite the rather thin ligaments between
the holes and significantly higher hardness of the stainless steel (27).
No cathodic protection of the tubesheets was applied
because it was believed that the cast iron water boxes
would supply sufficient protection. However, continued
dezincification was observed after one year of service
and a cathodic protection system was designed and
installed. No further corrosion of the tubesheet has
occurred.
The cooling water, which is Baltic Sea brackish water,
has a chloride level of approximately 3500 ppm and
reaches a maximum temperature of 35C (95F).
The plant operator reported no problems in the tube
replacement process, no leaks, and high plant availability (27). These favorable experiences lead to a
series of additional installations in Finnish plants.
During the years 1985-89, 285,000 m, (935,000 ft.), of
S31254 condenser tubing (OD 28 x 0.8 mm) were installed on three different occasions in Unit # 1 and in Unit
# 2 of Loviisa nuclear power station on the Finnish south

3
Table 3: S31254 utility steam condenser installations
Utility:

Helsinki City
Energy Works

Imatran Voima Oy
(Finnish Power Co.)

Imatran Voima Oy
(Finnish Power Co.)

Imatran Voima Oy
(Finnish Power Co.)

Generating station:
Location:
Type of fuel:
Output:
Year installed:
Previous alloy:
Reason for replacement:

Hanasaari
Finland
Coal
160 MW
1985, retube
Al-brass
Pitting and
erosion-corrosion
Muntz
Rolled

Naantali #1
Finland
Coal
270 MW
1982, retube
Al-brass, 9 years
Dezincification

Loviisa #1
Finland
Nuclear
445 MW
1984, partial retube
70-30 copper-nickel
Erosion-corrosion

Muntz
Rolled

65,827 m
(215,969ft.)
Baltic Sea

66,000 m
(216,535ft.)
Baltic Sea

Type 321
Rolled and
seal welded
94,500 m
(310,039ft.)
Seawater

Naantali #2
Finland
Coal
270 MW
1986, retube
Al-brass
Pitting and
erosion-corrosion
Muntz
Rolled

Tubesheet material:
Tube-to-tubesheet joint:
Total length:
Cooling water source:

66,000 m
(216,535ft.)
Baltic Sea

Utility:

Imatran Voima Oy
(Finnish Power Co.)

Imatran Voima Oy
Tennessee Valley
(Finnish Power Co.) Authority (TVA)

Thailand Power
Authority

Imatran Voima Oy
(Finnish Power Co.)

Generating station:

Loviisa #2

Loviisa #2

Johnsonville #7

Krabi #3

Location:

Finland

Finland

Type of fuel:
Output:
Year installed:

Nuclear
445 MW
1986, retube

Nuclear
445 MW
1989, retube

Krabi Province,
Thailand
Lignite
20 MW
1990

Previous alloy:

70-30 coppernickel
Erosion-corrosion
Type 321
Rolled and
seal welded
95,000 m
(311,680ft.)
Seawater

70-30 coppernickel
Erosion-corrosion
Type 321
Rolled and
seal welded
94,572 m
(310,277ft.)
Seawater

New Johnsonville, TN
Coal
150 MW
1989, air removal
section
90-10 coppernickel
Erosion-corrosion
Brass
Rolled

Loviisa #2
(Cond. #4)
Finland

Reason for replacement:

Tubesheet material:
Tube-to-tubesheet joint:
Total length:
Cooling water source:

6,584 m
(21,600ft.)
Kentucky
Reservoir,
Tennessee River

Al-brass
Pitting
Naval brass
Rolled
30,000 m
(98,425 ft.)
Brackish

Nuclear
445 MW
1990, retube
70-30 coppernickel
Erosion-corrosion
Type 321
Rolled and
seal welded
95,477 m
(312,245ft.)
Seawater

Total installed length: 611,960 m (2,007,743 ft.)

coast. The original tubes were 70-30 copper-nickel, but

they suffered erosion-corrosion. The tubesheets are
Type 321 (S32100) stainless steel, which enabled seal
welding following the rolling-in process. Some welding
technique development work was required for the first
retrofit. Once this was accomplished, service experience has been excellent with no leaks.
The cooling water is taken from the Gulf of Finland,
which is part of the Baltic Sea, and consequently, the
water composition does not deviate much from that of
the Naantali water. The chloride level is, however,
slightly lower, approximately 3000 ppm. Periodic
inspections have shown excellent performance by the
S31254 condensers.
In 1985, approximately 66,000 m (216,535 ft.) of aluminum-brass tubes were replaced by S31254 tubes
in the Hanasaari power station in Helsinki. The tubes
were rolled into Muntz metal tubesheets, see Figure 1
(page 4). The chloride level of the water is approximately 3000 ppm and it can sometimes contain hydrogen sulphide (3).

Then in 1986, a second installation took place at Naantali power station. The quantity, dimensions, and water
chemistry were identical, and so far, so has the service
experience.
In 1989, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) retubed
the air removal section of Johnsonville Unit # 7 in New
Johnsonville, Tennessee, with S31254. The unit had
originally been tubed in 90-10 copper-nickel which
failed due to erosion-corrosion. The S31254 condenser
tubes were rolled into a brass tubesheet. The Kentucky
Reservoir and the Tennessee River provide the cooling
water for Johnsonville # 7.
In September 1990, 30,000 m (98,360 ft.) of S31254
condenser tubing was installed in the Krabi Power plant
in Thailand.
There are now nine utility steam condenser installations
of S31254 with approximately 611,960 m (2,007,743 ft.)
of installed tubing. Details on these installations are
summarized in Table 3. All of these installations are considered highly successful at this time.

acom No. 4-92

Tubesheets
The first large scale application of S31254 tubesheets in
a power plant took place in September 1981 at the
Swedish nuclear power station Ringhals Unit # 1. Cooling at this station is made with North Sea water with a
chloride content between 15,000 and 17,000 ppm. It is
chlorinated during the summer season, May to September, with a residual chlorine level of approximately 1
ppm. The maximum water outlet temperature is 35C
(95F). Both aluminum-brass and Naval brass tubesheets had previously suffered corrosion at this location
and had to be replaced.
Twenty-four S31254 tubesheets were installed in the
two
main
condensers.
Their
dimensions
were
3700x2400x37 mm (12x8 ft. x 1.5 inch), see Figure 2.
Titanium tubes were rolled into the tubesheets without
difficulty and seal welding was not employed. Because
of the joint design and the use of dissimilar metals, the
unit has been monitored carefully for signs of galvanic
corrosion. Tubes have been pulled periodically to
enable examination of the crevice area, but neither
leaks nor indication of corrosion have been detected
(28). This experience indicates that S31254 can be used
successfully using rolled joints with titanium tubes.
S31254 tubesheets will also perform well with either
rolled or seal welded joints with similar tubes.

Service Water Piping

At the oldest Swedish nuclear power station, Oskarshamn Kraft Grupp AB, the initial service water piping
was made of stainless steel, SS 2333 (Type 304,
S30400), SS 2347 (Type 316, S31600) and SS 2343
(Type 316,2.75 min. Mo) and rubber-lined SS 2333. The
service water, which is taken from the Baltic Sea, has a
chloride content of approximately 4000 ppm and the
design temperature is 50C (122F). After several years
of service, leaks occurred due to pitting and crevice corrosion so partial replacement with S31254 was decided.

Figure 1
S31254 austenitic stainless steel condenser tubes in a Muntz
metal tubesheet at the Hanasaari power station in Helsinki,
Finland.

In 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1989, pipe and fittings with OD

ranging from 60.3 to 408 mm (2.4 and 16 in. respectively), totalling 270 m (885ft.) were installed, see Figure
3. The system was opened in 1990 to make a guarantee
inspection after 5 years of service and all inspected
surfaces including the flanges were without corrosion
attack.

Auxiliary Heat Exchangers

S31254 has seen extensive successful application in
shell and tube type heat exchangers cooled with
brackish and seawater at chemical plants and refineries. However, at the Naantali power station on the
Finnish east coast, (see Condenser Tubing above), a
plate heat exchanger oil cooler, made of S31254,
suffered penetrating crevice corrosion after only 6
months of service. The failure was unexpected since a
similar heat exchanger had been in service for 2 years
in a neighboring plant, an oil refinery, without any corrosion.
The only difference in service conditions was the temperature, the oil cooler at the power plant had a temperature of 50C (122F) while the cooler at the refinery
had a temperature of 40C (104F) (27). No chlorination
of the cooling water was performed. It had also been
reported elsewhere that plate type heat exchangers
are prone to crevice corrosion when exposed to sea
water (29, 30). This usually occurs at the gaskets between the plates which is a very severe crevice site.

acom No. 4-92

Figure 2
S31254 austenitic stainless steel tubesheet, 37 mm (1.5 inch)
thick, at the Ringhals nuclear power station in Sweden. Titanium tubes were rolled into the S31254 tubesheet.

References
1. S. Henrikson, Proc. International Colloquium on
Choice of Material for Condenser Tubes, Avignon,
p. 31, 1982.
2. S. Henrikson, Proc. 9th Scandinavian Corrosion
Congress, Copenhagen, p. 349, 1983, Korrosionscentralen.
3. M. Aninali and S. Ylsaari, Proc. 8th International
Congress on Metallic Corrosion, Mainz, Vol. 2 p.
1284, 1984.
4. A. P. Bond, H.J. Dundas, Materials Performance,
Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39, 1984.
Figure 3
S31254 austenitic stainless steel service water piping at the
Oskarshamn Kraft Grupp AB nuclear power station in Sweden.

Other Utility Applications

In 1987 Long Island Lighting Co. installed S31254
bolting material for under sea fiberglass piping manway
covers. High strength and a design requirement for a 40
year life were factors in the selection of the bolting
material.
Carolina Power & Light Co. experienced crevice corrosion failure of Type 316 (S31600) in 30 days in the
components of a tube cleaning and debris filter system
at its Brunswick Unit 2 station. These components were
replaced with S31254 in 1978. Similar 316 components
of the Unit 1 station were replaced in 1979. Both have
given excellent service since then.

5. H.J. Dundas, A. P. Bond, Materials Performance,

Vol. 24, No. 10, p. 54, 1985.
6. J. Olsson, Proc. International Conference on
Evaluation of Materials Performance in Severe Environments, Kobe, November 1989, The Iron & Steel
Institute of Japan.
7. J. Olsson and M. L Erbing, Proc. 4th World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Kuwait, November 1989, IDA/KSIR.
8. B. Walln, Proc. 2nd BSE-NACE Corrosion Conference, Bahrain, p. 140, 1981.
9. A. Garner, CORROSION/82, Paper No. 195, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1982).
10. P.E. Manning, CORROSION/82, Paper No. 176,
(Houston, TX: NACE, 1982).
11. J. Olsson and B. Walln, Proc. International Conference on Underwater Technology, Bergen, Norway,
p. 469, 1982, Veritas.
12. J. Olsson and B. Walln, Proc. 1st World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Florence, Italy,
Vol. 1 p. 241, 1983, IDA.
13. C.W. Kovach and L.S. Redmenski, CORROSION/
84, Paper No. 130, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1984).

Conclusions
S31254 is an excellent material for tubes and tubesheets in power plant condensers where brackish
water or seawater is used as a coolant.
S31254 is an excellent material for service water
piping handling brackish water or seawater.
S31254 should be used with caution for plate type
heat exchangers handling brackish water.
S31254 should not be used for plate type heat
exchangers handling seawater.
Based on chemical process industry experience,
S31254 can be considered for a variety of auxiliary
power plant heat exchangers of the shell and tube
design.

14. T. Hodgkiess, P. Habilmatis and R. Ramsey, CORROSION/84, Paper No. 24, (Houston, TX: NACE,
1984).
15. B. Walln and T. Abrahamsen, Proc. Stainless
Steels, Gothenburg, p. 463, 1984, Chalmers.
16. B. Todd and J. Oldfield, Trans. Institute of Marine
Engineers, Vol. 97, p. 139, 1984, IME/BSE.
17. N. Nilsen and B. Espelid, CORROSION/85, Paper
No. 320, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1985).
18. B. Walln and T. Abrahamsen, Proc. 4th AsianPacific Corrosion Control Conference, Tokyo,
Japan, Vol. I p. 523, 1985.
19. S. Nordin, B. Ericsson and B. Walln, Proc. 2nd
World Congress on Desalination and Water Re-use,
Bermuda, Vol. ll, p. 247, 1985, IDA.
20. B. Todd and J.W. Oldfield, Proc. 2nd World Congress on Desalination and Water Re-use, Bermuda,
Vol. ll, p.261, 1985, IDA.
21. H. Diekmann, Werkstoffe und Korrosion, Vol. 37, p.
130, 1986.
22. S. Nordin and J. Olsson, Proc. 3rd World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Cannes, Vol. Ill,
p. 235, 1987, IDA.
(cont.)

acom No. 4-92

References (cont.)
23. B. Walln and S. Henrikson, CORROSION/88, Paper
No. 403, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1988).
24. T. Drugli, T. G. Rogne, J. Johnsen and S. Olsen, CORROSION/89, Paper No. 410, (Houston, TX: NACE,
1989).
25. B. Walln, A. Bergquist and J. Olsson, Proc. 11th
Scandinavian
Corrosion
Congress,
Stavanger,
Paper No. F-3,1989, Hgskolesenteret i Rogaland.
26. M. Liljas, B. Holmberg and A. Ulander, Proc. Stainless Steels, Gothenburg, p. 323, 1984, Chalmers.
27. E. Lecklin, Imatran Voima Oy, personal communication.
28. S. Henriksson, Offshore Materials and Corrosion,
Paper No. 4, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.
29. R. Steen Hansen, Offshore Materials and Corrosion,
Paper No. 3, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.
30. O. Hagerup, Offshore Materials
Paper No. 2, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.

and

Corrosion,

Addendum
All nuclear power plants in Sweden, in total twelve units,
with a capacity of 9,700 MW, were originally equipped
with condenser tubes of copper alloymainly aluminum
brass. However, these proved to be insufficiently resistant to corrosion and a total refurbishing programme
into titanium tubes was initiated during the 1980s.
After some years, the titanium tubes also showed signs
of attacknot as a result of seawater, but from erosion
corrosion caused by high velocity droplets on the steam
side of the condenser tubes. According to a report from
the Swedish Power Board (Vattenfall), eleven out of the
twelve plants have experienced this type of attack. The
outer sets of tubes therefore need to be replaced. The
condenser of the twelfth unit, Ringhals I, is expected to
last for the remainder of its service life, due to a lower
steam velocity. The same type of problem has been
reported by other plants, mainly in France, but also in
Finland and Germany.
Material tests initiated by the Swedish Power Board
simulating the same conditions showed that Avesta
Sheffield 254 SMO had a much better resistance to erosion corrosion than titanium. Consequently, 254 SMO
was selected for the first refurbishing carried out at the
Oskarshamn II plant in 1991. In total, some 50,000
metres of tubes were replaced in the four sections of
the condenser.
Further tests have shown that an even better degree of
resistance could be achieved by using Avesta Sheffield
654 SMO (UNS S32654), and therefore this 24% Cr,
22% Ni, 7.3% Mo type stainless steel can also be considered a candidate for future retubing of power plant
condensers.

acom No. 4-92

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to Sten von Matrn, Avesta Sheffield AB, S-77480 Avesta, Sweden

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All rights reserved.

Comments and correspondence can be directed to
Sten von Matrn, Technical Editor, Avesta Sheffield AB,
S-77480 Avesta, Sweden. Tel. +46(0)226-81800.
Telex 40976 AVESTA S, telefax +46(0)226- 81299.

AVESTA SHEFFIELD AB, S-77480 AVESTA, SWEDEN

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