Heat recovery steam generator [HRSG] | Tube Fin Burn Out 23/6/20, 5)01 PM

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CASE STUDY

HRSG | Tube Fin Burn Out

PLANT LOCATION Asia

FACILITY DESCRIPTION Waste Paper Recycling Plant

BOILER TYPE Forced Circulation

BOILER CAPACITY 45 [Tonnes/hour]

STEAM CONDITIONS HP: 20 [Bar] @ Sat [°C]

Conditions:

A 20 bar saturated steam Heat Recovery Steam Generator [HRSG] had recently been commissioned at a
paper recycling plant. The HRSG was installed behind a 6 MW gas turbine and Dtted with a duct burner to
boost the boiler’s output. The HRSG was a forced circulation unit fabricated from horizontally oriented spiral
wound Dnned tubes. It had been Dtted with two circulation pumps that operated alternatively on a duty /
standby basis in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements.

A little over 12 months after the boiler was commissioned the Dns and tube surfaces on the Drst two inlet
tube rows on the gas side sustained signiDcant damage as a result of overheating. In fact the damage was
so severe that some of the Dn tips had begun to burn off.

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Heat recovery steam generator [HRSG] | Tube Fin Burn Out 23/6/20, 5)01 PM

Design Boiler was engaged to investigate the problem

further and dispatched an engineer to site. The gas
turbine was shut down brieNy to allow a thorough
inspection of the HRSG. This also allowed a small
sample of burnt Dnned tubing to be removed for
analysis and in addition, temporary thermocouples were
installed on some of the effected tubes. As shown in
the photograph, the thermocouples were Dtted to the
top and bottom of the un-Dnned surfaces of selected
tubes in an attempt to detect possible Now stratiDcation
within the tubes.

Steam in boiling water Nowing through heated Thermocouple wires attached for the purpose of
horizontal tubes can stratify into distinct vapor and detecting a temperature difference across the
liquid layers if the water Now velocity falls below a tube diameter.
critical limit. If stratiDcation is occurring, the top of the
tube is not cooled as effectively as the bottom of the
tube and this discrepancy generates a temperature difference across the tube which can be measured.

Subsequent testing of the HRSG identiDed a notable temperature difference between the top and bottom of
the tubes which indicated the presence of stratiDcation. A subsequent circulation analysis of the HRSG
veriDed that this was the likely cause of the tubes and Dns becoming overheated.

Further analysis of the boiler’s circulation established that the boiler could be operated on 1 circulation
pump as per its intended design provided the Drst 3 tube rows of the unit were replaced with un-Dnned plain
tubes.

However, the production demands of the recycling plant meant that it was not possible to undertake this
modiDcation outside the annual shutdown period without incurring substantial production losses. The client
was interested in a temporary solution that would enable the plant to continue operating until the boiler tube
design/conDguration could be modiDed during the next scheduled plant wide annual shut down.

The metallurgical analysis of the small tube sample indicated that the tube damage was limited to the outer
surface of the tube body and that although the Dns overheated substantially, most of the tube body had not
yet been detrimentally affected by the heat damage.

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Heat recovery steam generator [HRSG] | Tube Fin Burn Out 23/6/20, 5)01 PM

In addition, further circulation analysis indicated that suUcient Now velocity to prevent further Dnned tube
burn out could be achieved if both circulating pumps operated concurrently. This enabled the boiler to
operate until the next scheduled annual shut down.

During the annual shutdown, the Drst three rows of tubes were replaced with plain tubes which enabled the
boiler to return to service with only one circulation pump operating.

With this design modiDcation, the boiler was able to operate reliably at its fully rated output with the duct
burner in service without any tubes or Dns overheating.

[Characteristic relationship between 2 Phase Flow Velocity and measured

temperature across the top and bottom of a horizontal HRSG evaporator tube.]

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Heat recovery steam generator [HRSG] | Tube Fin Burn Out 23/6/20, 5)01 PM

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