The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Chapter 44
The design of boiler systems involves the balanc-
ing of near-term and long-term capital costs to maxi-
mize the availability and useful life of the equipment.
Fossil fuel-fired boilers operate in a very aggressive
environment where: 1) materials and technology are
pushed to their economic limits to optimize efficiency
and availability, and 2) the erosive and corrosive na-
ture of the fuels and combustion products result in
continuous and expected degradation of the boiler and
fuel handling components over time. As a result, the
original boiler design is optimized to balance the ini-
tial customer capital requirement and the long-term
expected maintenance, component replacement, and
service costs for a possible operating life of many decades.
When a new power plant is started up, there is a
relatively short learning period when the operators
and maintenance crews learn to work with the new
system and resolve minor issues. This period may be
marked by a high forced outage rate, but this quickly
declines as the system is broken in and operating pro-
cedures are refined.
As the plant matures, the personnel adapt to the
new system, and any limitations in the plant design
are either overcome or better understood. During this
phase, the forced outage rate remains low, availabil-
ity is high, and the operating and maintenance costs
are minimal. The power plant is usually operated near
rated capacity with high availability.
As the plant continues to operate, a number of the
major boiler pressure part components reach the point
where they are expected to be replaced because of ero-
sion, corrosion, creep, and fatigue. Without this
planned replacement, increasingly frequent compo-
nent failures occur resulting in reduced availability.
In some instances such as waste-to-energy systems,
this period can be as short as one to three years for
superheaters because of the very corrosive flue gas com-
position. However, for most fossil fuel-fired utility boil-
ers operating on their design fuels, major pressure part
components are economically designed for more than two
decades of operation before economic replacement. Fail-
ures of major components such as steam lines, steam
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
Maintaining Availability
headers and drums can cause major, prolonged forced
outages. Significant capital expenditures are normally
required to replace such components.
A strategic availability improvement program that
includes capital expenditures to replace or repair this
equipment before major forced outages occur can
smooth out and raise the availability curve. Higher
availabilities usually require higher maintenance,
higher capital expenditures, and better strategic plan-
ning. The large expenditures needed for high avail-
ability in older plants require a strategic plan to yield
the best balance of expenditures and availability.
Strategic plan for high availability
Mature boilers represent important resources in
meeting energy production needs. A systematic stra-
tegic approach is required to assure that these units
remain a viable and productive resource. The more
efficient, but older boilers in the system can be the
backbone of the commercially available power for a
utility.
Emphasis on high availability
Today, the need for high commercial availability is
of prime importance to the financial livelihood of a
power supplier. This means that the low- cost units
in a system must be available for full capacity power
production during critical peak periods, such as hot
summer days. Competition in the electrical supply in-
dustry requires that low-cost units be available so that
the system can supply power to the grid at low over-
all costs. Usually, the large fossil powered units are
the lowest cost units in the system. Lost revenue as-
sociated with having a large, low-cost unit out of ser-
vice for repairs can be in excess of one million U.S.
dollars per day. Owners are attempting to maintain
availability levels of 90% or more on these large work-
horses in the system.
The emphasis on maintaining or even improving
availability means that a strategic plan must be put
in place. Times between planned outages have been
44-1
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
increased. Planned outage times have been decreased.
Units are being run continuously for more than a year.
In some instances, units are run up to four years with-
out being shut down. This requires complete system
and component reliability. Problems that were once tol-
erated can not be permitted to exist.
One example of a change in availability philosophy
is illustrated by the technique used to maintain low
water-side tube deposit levels in the furnace. It was
once common to chemically clean the boiler furnace
every four to seven years. Deposit buildup in the unit
dictated the cleaning cycle. Chemical cleaning nor-
mally required extending an outage time by several
days to a week. Today, many units have undergone
extensive changes to the boiler water treatment sys-
tem. Many high pressure boilers have been converted
to oxygen water treatment (see Chapter 42). Reports
have indicated that oxygen water treatment has dras-
tically reduced the rate at which furnace wall depos-
its form, and as a result, chemically cleaning the fur-
nace in these high pressure units has been dramati-
cally reduced. The reduced furnace deposits resulting
from oxygen water treatment and the associated re-
duced need for chemical cleaning are significant fac-
tors in improving unit availability. This is a good ex-
ample of how new technology and a systems approach
to availability can have dramatic effects on overall op-
erating costs.
Increased capacity and operability
During the early phases of a boiler’s life cycle, less
maintenance is required to maintain high availabil-
ity. However, as the unit matures and components
wear, more significant steps become necessary to main-
tain the desired availability. As the plant matures, the
need for component replacement becomes expected
and routine. Often at this point in the life of a power
plant, system demands, fuels and cost structures have
changed. Units must operate in ways unforeseen
when they were built. They must have greater oper-
ability, or the ability to effectively perform their role
in the manner required at the time. A plant that meets
environmental emissions limits by means of system
changes and fuel switching may have introduced capac-
ity problems and operability limits that can become in-
tolerable. Strategic equipment plans must address this
issue of operating under new circumstances.
Boiler changes should be considered that incorpo-
rate technology advances to increase unit capability,
operability and availability. This also provides the
opportunity to address current operating issues or
changing operating needs. Design changes might be
incorporated to accommodate new fuel sources or to
more successfully withstand cycling service. The poten-
tial for improvement is extensive. However, without a
strategic plan, the replacement and repair of boiler com-
ponents might be unsystematic, and the results may
not achieve the desired returns on investment.
Key issues to consider when optimizing a unit in-
clude understanding how boilers age, identifying the
critical components, and determining the general types
of changes and enhancements possible. These ele-
ments are then combined with operating experience
44-2
and equipment condition assessment (see Chapter 45)
to develop an integrated strategic plan for each boiler
and each component in the boiler.
Strategic plans yield high returns
on investment
While the driving force for the availability improve-
ment plan may be to stretch present capacity resources
to meet current demands as well as to improve oper-
ability and availability, a well conceived strategic plan
can also achieve an attractive return on investment.
The payback can be realized when the capital im-
provement results in higher availability, a lower heat
rate, higher capacity, reduced routine maintenance,
or lower forced outage rates. There have been numer-
ous programs that have significantly improved plant
capacity, operability and availability while achieving
a payback in as little as one year.
Impact of environmental regulations
In most developed nations today, regulations at
national and local levels control air emissions from
power plants and other industrial boiler applications
(see Chapter 32). Evolving emissions control limits
and changing plant operating requirements add an-
other dimension to the strategic plan. These interac-
tions typically take the form of:
1. increasing plant capacity resulting in absolute
emissions constraints,
2. increasing plant availability and operation (MWh)
resulting in absolute emissions constraints,
3. economic fuel switching, changing absolute emis-
sions and emissions rates,
4. increasingly stringent emissions requirements, re-
ducing plant availability, and
5. reduced plant output due to parasitic load.
To take full advantage of the plant capacity as well
as maintenance and upgrade capital expenditures, the
addition of appropriate emissions control technology
becomes an integral part of the strategic plan for all
plants. In fact, combining the addition of emissions con-
trol equipment with plant upgrades can result in en-
hanced power plant economic performance that offsets
part or all of the emissions equipment expenditures.
Thus, the full strategic plan incorporates appropriate
retrofits and upgrades of emissions control equipment.
Maintaining availability
The availability of a boiler is determined by the
combined availability of its various critical compo-
nents. If critical components become unreliable, boiler
availability declines. These critical components include
the pulverizers and burners, pressure retaining com-
ponents such as economizers and superheater head-
ers, and the various balance of plant components such
as fans, controls, valves, etc.
The following section discusses the factors that af-
fect the availability of key components of a typical
boiler. The mechanisms that affect component deg-
radation and reliability are revealed. Strategies are out-
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

lined in this section for improving availability through
selective replacement upgrades of components that have
become unreliable through normal degradation. Ex-
amples of these upgrades are detailed in this section.
Pulverizer availability improvement
strategies – E and EL mills
Reliable pulverizer performance is an important
element of the combustion system, and is essential for
responsive power plant operation with good availabil-
ity. Other subcomponents of the fuel preparation and
delivery system such as burners, coal feeders, motors,
dampers, coal pipes, combustion controls and combus-
tion air fans must also perform reliably if the combus-
tion system is to ensure good unit availability. See
Chapters 12, 13, 14, 25 and 41 for more information
about these components.
The first vertical air-swept coal pulverizer by The
Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) was the E pulver-
izer introduced in 1937, as shown in Fig. 1a. The EL
pulverizer (Fig. 1b) was developed in the 1950s as an
upgrade to the E pulverizer. However, there are still
a number of E pulverizers in operation today. Both the
E and EL pulverizers are of the ball-and-ring (some-
times referred to as a ball-and-race) design.
Pulverizer degradation mechanisms
As discussed in Chapter 13, the E pulverizer is a
machine that tends to wear from the inside due to the
abrasive action of a continuous stream of fine coal
particles. As the throat of the E pulverizer wears out,
coal begins to fall past seals and into the lower parts
of the pulverizer (dribble) causing severe wear to
these parts. To prevent higher coal dribble rates as the
throat wears, operators must increase air flow to main-
tain adequate velocity through the ever-widening throat
gap. However, as air flow increases, fineness deteriorates,
and erosion wear of other downstream pulverizer com-
ponents increases. Upgrading the E pulverizer can help
solve this problem and increase pulverizer availability.
Impact loading and thermal stresses may cause the
E pulverizer rings to fail. Under certain operating
conditions, there is considerable vibration generated
and transmitted to the pulverizer components. As a
result, shaft or spring fatigue failures can result which
cause the loss of pulverizer availability.
E and EL type pulverizers can experience operat-
ing problems such as cracking of the upper or lower
grinding rings. In addition, as grinding balls attempt
to leave the ball race under the centripetal force of
their rotation around the ring, they put asymmetri-
cal loads on the rings and main shaft. Main shaft
breakage can result.
E and EL upgrades
Since the introduction of the E and EL pulverizers,
a significant number of functional and mechanical
improvements have been made. Some of the major
improvements leading to increased pulverizer avail-
ability and reliability are summarized below.
E to EL conversion The preferred improvement to
an E pulverizer is to upgrade it to an EL mill. The EL
pulverizer is much less prone to coal dribble problems
due to improvements to the bottom grinding ring and

Swing Valve Pulverized

Assembly Coal Outlet
(Typical) Swing Valve Pulverized Electric
Coal Classifier Drive
Assembly Outlet
(Typical)
Intermediate
Section
Table
Feeder Discharge
Raw Turret
Coal Assembly
Raw Coal Inlet
Inlet
Table
Feeder Spring Bolt
Assembly Bracket
Rotating Assembly
Classifier
Access Housing
Door Assembly DSVS
Rotating
Spring Classifier
Housing Coal
Rejects Cone Assembly Chute
Cera-VAM
Ceramic
Pulverizer Top Grinding Primary Air Lining
Balls Ring Inlet
Throat Relief Gate Rejects
Ring Top Cone
Bottom Grinding
Ring Grinding
Ring Pulverizer
Yoke Seal Ring Balls
Bottom
Top Grinding
Bearing Ring
Plate
Pyrites Gate

Pyrites
Door
Pyrites Pyrites Main Oil Pump Pinion Shaft Main Oil Pump Pinion Shaft
Door Gate Shaft Assembly Assembly Shaft Assembly Assembly
Fig. 1a Babcock & Wilcox E-type pulverizer. Fig. 1b Babcock & Wilcox EL-type pulverizer.

Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability 44-3

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
throat configuration. A complete E to EL conversion
as shown in Fig. 2 includes new top and bottom grind-
ing rings, springs, classifier, a more wear-resistant
throat, relief gate, and housing units to protect the
inside wall of the pulverizer just above the throat.
Larger pulverizer motors and primary air (PA) fans
may be needed to improve capacity. E to EL conver-
sions have significantly improved the availability,
capacity and reliability of E type pulverizers.
EL grinding zone improvements The B&W On-
Track grinding zone retrofit package incorporates a
number of design improvements that increase EL pul-
verizer availability and reliability by reducing grind-
ing zone overhauls. Five key design changes are in-
cluded:
1. Deep dish grinding rings The upper and lower grind-
ing rings include a deeper and improved grinding
track contour that limits radial movement of the
balls as they travel around the grinding track.
(See Fig. 3). This lowers the asymmetric loading
and displacement of the upper ring and lowers the
loading on the lower ring and main shaft, help-
ing to prevent failures of the ring and shaft.
2. Integrally cast metal snubbers Snubbers (or bumpers)
are cast into the upper ring. The snubbers help
reduce the excessive side-to-side movement of the
top grinding rings. Excessive side-to-side movement
causes bending stresses and premature failure of
the main shaft. With snubbers, spring and main
shaft loading is reduced and breakage is less likely.
3. Heavy duty upper ring flutes Heavy duty outer flutes
incorporated in the upper ring resist breaking of
the fluted areas of the rings, enabling the upper
rings to remain in service until they reach the end
of their normal wear cycle. Fig. 4 shows the in-
creased cross section of the heavy duty flutes com-
pared to the narrower standard flutes. These
larger flutes result in smaller gaps between the
flutes and therefore, provide more control over the
grinding balls as they orbit around the pulverizer
track. This helps reduce stresses on the main pul-
verizer shaft.
4. Larger diameter grinding balls Larger diameter (13.63
in./34.61 cm) grinding balls increase the time be-
E EL
Top Top
Ring Ring
EL
Housing
Unit
Ball Ball
E
Throat EL
Throat
E EL
Seal Bottom Ring Seal Bottom Ring
Ring Ring
Fig. 2 E to El pulverizer upgrade.
44-4
tween grinding zone overhauls because there is
more wear metal on each ball compared to the
smaller 12.5 in. (31.75 cm) diameter standard
grinding balls. Longer wear cycles associated with
these larger balls improve pulverizer availability
and reduce pulverizer operating costs.
5. Internally reinforced lower ring The lower grinding
ring of the EL pulverizer may experience thermal
stress cracking over time. These cracks may re-
quire replacement of the lower ring, affecting mill
availability. Efforts have been made to allow
cracked rings to remain functional in the pulver-
izer without the need for replacement. One solu-
tion to bottom ring cracking is the internally rein-
forced ring. The grinding ring looks like the stan-
dard ring externally, but it is internally reinforced
with steel. The harder, less ductile wear material
of the ring propagates cracks much easier than
tough mild steel. The mild steel reinforcement does
not crack easily and holds the cracked segments
of the ring together so the ring can remain in ser-
vice.
Erosion protection for EL pulverizers Pulverizers
experience internal wear from the erosive properties of
coal circulating within the mill. High quantities of silica
and alumina in the coal can reduce the life of most in-
ternal components. Fig. 5 shows the areas of an EL pul-
verizer that typically experience high wear from the
erosive effects of coal. These areas can be protected by
cladding with Cera-VAM high density alumina ceramic.
This ceramic cladding significantly reduces erosion rates
and reduces maintenance work during overhauls. The
application of ceramic lining materials to existing pul-
verizers must be done with care to minimize the impact
on other operational areas.
Roll wheel pulverizer upgrades
Roll wheel pulverizers are described in detail in
Chapter 13. These pulverizers are installed on many
modern coal-fired boilers. As with the ball and race
mill, wear affects the pulverizer availability. Upgrades
can increase wear resistance.
Improved roll wheel design The typical pulverizer
roll wheel wears in a pattern shown in Fig. 6. When
localized wear reaches a point where the wheel must
be replaced, there is considerable metal left in the re-
mainder of the wheel.
To improve wear life, the standard tires may be
Fig. 3 Improved upper grinding ring for an EL pulverizer.
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

reducing the maintenance costs associated with sta-

tionary throat wear. The wear resistance of the throat
segment is increased by applying chromium carbide
weld overlay to the upper area of the vanes. The B&W
Smaller Gap rotating throat incorporates a patented air foil vane
to Resist design that promotes more uniform air flow within the
Ball Motion
port, and has resulted in significant reductions in
pulverizer pressure drop. In addition, the uniform air
flow combined with the carbide weld overlay signifi-
cantly reduces throat segment wear.

Low temperature pressure components

Flute
The low temperature pressure components are de-
fined here as those below 900F (482C) metal tempera-
Increased Length ture. These components normally are the economizer,
Fig. 4 Heavy duty flutes for upper grinding ring. furnace and convection pass walls, drums and flash
tanks (steam separators), along with their downcom-
ers and connecting piping and headers. These com-
upgraded to an asymmetric design that places more
ponents suffer from corrosion, erosion, fatigue and
material in the high wear area. As a further enhance-
overheating. Creep failure of these components only
ment, the tires may incorporate a low profile. This
occurs when local overheating occurs.
lower profile enhances wear life and improves mill
performance in certain circumstances. The upgraded
tires reduce the frequency of mill overhauls and im-
prove mill availability.
Rotating throat The throat area of a roll wheel pul-
verizer (see Chapter 13, Fig. 3) is critical to the dis-
tribution of air through the pulverizer. This area can
experience high erosion rates from the fluidized air/coal
particle mixture, which could lead to premature compo-
nent failure or increased maintenance. High erosion rates
can also lower component availability. High velocities and
turbulent air flow lead to relatively high pressure drop
through most standard stationary throat designs.
The B&W rotating throat (shown in Fig. 7) is de-
signed to improve mill performance while dramatically
Initial Configuration

Turret

Swing Valve
Seat and Plate

Housing
Units
Classifier
Cylinder Initial Wear

Classifier
Blades
Classifier
Cone

Progressive Wear

Fig. 5 EL pulverizer with Cera-VAM ceramic cladding. Fig. 6 Typical roll wheel wear pattern.

Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability 44-5

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Solid Cast VAM® 20
Ledge Cover
Chrome Carbide Cast Steel
Weld Overlay Throat Segment
Vane
Fabricated
Outer Wall
Assembly
Support
Clip
Fabricated
Inlet Transition
Cone Assembly
Fig. 7 B&W rotating throat for a roll wheel pulverizer.
Degradation mechanisms
Corrosion Corrosion occurs inside and outside the
tubes, pipes, drums and headers of these lower tem-
perature components. Internal corrosion is usually
associated with the boiler water, contaminants in the
water, and improper chemical cleaning or poor stor-
age procedures (see Chapter 42). External corrosion
can be caused by corrosive combustion products, a re-
ducing atmosphere in the furnace, moisture between
insulation and a component, and acid formed on com-
ponents in the colder flue gas zones when the tem-
perature reaches the acid dew point. Corrosion results
in wall metal loss. This wall thinning raises the local
stresses of the component and can lead to leaks or
component failure.
Corrosion may also be accelerated by the thermal
fatigue stresses associated with startup and shutdown
cycles. Furnace wall tubes, in areas of high structural
restraint or high heat flux, often contain internal lon-
gitudinal or external circumferential or longitudinal
corrosion fatigue cracks in cycled units.
Corrosion fatigue can occur in the steam drum
around rolled tube joints. The residual stresses from
the tube rolling process are additive to the welding and
operating pressure stresses. Corrosion from chemical
cleaning and water chemistry upsets acts on this highly
stressed area to produce cracking around the seal weld
or the tube hole. Extensive cracking can require drum
replacement. Corrosion problems are further discussed
in Chapter 42.
44-6
Erosion Erosion of boiler components is a function
of the percent ash in the fuel, ash composition, and
local gas velocity or sootblower activity. Changing
fuels to a high-ash western United States (U.S.) fuel
may lead to more erosion, slagging and fouling prob-
lems. Changing fuels might also require a change in
the lower temperature convection pass elements to ac-
commodate higher fouling and erosion. The tube wall
loss associated with erosion weakens the component and
makes it more likely to fail under normal thermal and
pressure stresses. Erosion is common near sootblowers;
on the leading edges of economizers, superheaters and
reheaters; and where there are vortices or around ed-
dies in the flue gas at changes in gas velocity or direc-
tion. Such changes are caused by closely spaced tube
surfaces, slag deposits, or other obstructions including
extended surfaces and staggered tube arrangements.
Fatigue The thermal stresses from temperature dif-
ferentials that develop between components during
boiler startup and shutdown can lead to fatigue
cracks. These cracks can develop at tube or pipe bends;
at tube-to-header, pipe-to-drum, fitting-to-tube, and
support attachment welds; and at other areas of stress
concentration. Smaller, lower temperature boilers are
less prone to fatigue failures because the thermal dif-
ferentials are lower and operate over small distances
in these units. As unit size and steam temperature
increase, the potential for thermal stresses and the
resulting fatigue cracking also rises.
Overheating Overheating is generally a problem
that occurs early in the life of the plant and can often
result in tube ruptures. The nature of failures attrib-
utable to overheating is discussed in Chapters 7, 42
and 45. These problems may go undetected until a
tube failure occurs. Overheating attributable to opera-
tion is generally resolved during the early stages of boiler
life. Other problems regarding overheating may be dif-
ficult to ascertain, and specialized boiler performance
testing (see Chapter 40) is generally required to iden-
tify the source and determine corrective actions.
In spite of these aging mechanisms, low tempera-
ture components are normally expected to be replaced
after more than two decades without major overhauls
unless the unit burns a corrosive fuel, burns fuel in a
reducing atmosphere, or is improperly operated. When
erosion, corrosion, fatigue, or overheating lead to fre-
quent leaking, failures, or the threat of a major safety
related failure, then component repair, redesign, or re-
placement is appropriate.
Hydrogen damage Boilers operating at pressures
above 1200 psi (8274 kPa) and 900F (482C) final
steam temperature suffer from more complicated ag-
ing mechanisms than lower temperature units. These
boilers are generally larger than the low pressure, low
temperature units and this increases the likelihood of
thermal fatigue from boiler cycling. The higher pres-
sures and associated higher furnace wall tempera-
tures make these units more susceptible to water-side
corrosion. The high temperatures in combination with
any furnace wall internal deposits may promote hy-
drogen damage of the furnace tubing in areas of high
corrosion or heavy internal deposits. Chapter 42 dis-
cusses hydrogen damage in more detail. Severe cases
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
of furnace wall hydrogen damage have forced the re-
tirement of older units.
Furnace wall wastage mechanisms associated with
staged low NOx burners The advent of low NOx (nitro-
gen oxides) burners with staged combustion for coal-
fired units has increased the wastage rates of some
boiler furnace walls near the burner zone. Corrosion
rates as high as 0.040 in. (1.02 mm) per year have
been reported for small local regions in furnaces of
units with staged combustion. The pattern of high cor-
rosion rates is not uniform throughout the furnace or
from boiler to boiler. The pattern seems to be unit-spe-
cific and rather unpredictable as to its extent and rate.
Normal combustion gases with unstaged combustion
lead to an oxidizing flue gas that is not particularly
corrosive. However, in staged combustion there is incom-
plete mixing of the air and fuel, and pockets of a reduc-
ing gas are formed in the furnace in the burner zone.
The reducing gas is high in H2S, CO and unburned fuel
(carbon and iron pyrites), and is low in O2. This gas mix-
ture together with the sulfur and chlorides in the fuel
does not allow the tubing to form a protective oxide outer
covering. High corrosion rates can occur in areas in con-
tact with the reducing gas and unburned fuel.
The corrosion rate in the high wastage areas of the
boiler furnace is temperature dependant. As a result,
the corrosion rate is higher for high pressure units
with staged combustion than for lower pressure units
with the same burner arrangement. Inside diameter
(ID) deposits in the furnace wall tubing also raise the
metal temperature and increase the outside diameter
(OD) wastage rate. The highest corrosion rates typi-
cally occur in localized areas adjacent to and above
the burner elevation up to just below the overfire air
ports, where the reducing gas concentrations are the
highest adjacent to the walls.
Fig. 8 Original staggered, finned tube economizer that experienced severe flyash plugging.
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
Availability improvement strategy examples
Economizer upgrades One example of an availabil-
ity improvement strategy involves an upgraded bare
tube economizer. A 600 MW coal-fired boiler was de-
signed with a staggered, finned tube economizer. The
economizer, shown in Fig. 8, was equipped with longi-
tudinal fins. In clean condition, these fins increase heat
transfer and reduce the amount of tubing required.
The economizer experienced severe flyash plugging.
As the plugging spread through both banks, system
gas flow resistance more than doubled. The increased
flue gas resistance pushed the boiler fan to its limit
and restricted boiler load. High velocity gas lanes were
created around the plugged areas. Extremely high ash
velocities caused tube erosion and resulted in numer-
ous tube failures. Unit availability and reliability were
greatly reduced.
An engineering evaluation determined that the
existing finned economizer was not appropriate for the
high ash coal used as the main fuel. The staggered
tube pattern only increased the severe flyash plug-
ging. An analysis showed that an in-line bare tube
economizer with equivalent performance could be fit-
ted into the existing space. Fig. 9 illustrates the up-
graded in-line economizer design.
The upgraded economizer included the following
features:
1. Vertical spacing between tubes was decreased to
allow installation of more tube rows and to mini-
mize gas-side resistance.
2. An in-line arrangement was used to reduce gas-
side pressure drop and potential for ash erosion.
3. The economizer tube diameter was increased from
1.75 to 2 in. (44.5 to 50.8 mm) to achieve a higher
flue gas velocity and better convection heat trans-
44-7
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
fer without exceeding the allowable velocity limit for
the percent ash and percentage of abrasive silica and
alumina constituents in the fuel. Bare tubes ar-
ranged in-line are most conservative in such hostile
environments, are least likely to plug, and have the
lowest gas-side resistance per unit of heat transfer.
The weight of the new economizer did not exceed the
original weight. Also, the new economizer required
no more space than the original design.
4. The tube bends were protected by new erosion bar-
riers on top and bottom of both banks. Properly
designed perforated barriers do not noticeably
reduce the effective heating surface, but they are
very effective in throttling the flue gas flow across
the tube bends along the enclosure walls. With-
out barriers, the open space between the return
bends and the enclosure walls would be the path
of least resistance, and flue gas would stream
through these gaps at very high velocities. The
effect would be excessive erosion of the bends, re-
duced overall heat transfer across the banks, and
possible damage to uncooled casing. The existing
inlet and intermediate headers were reused. Ac-
cess doors and platforms did not have to be relo-
cated or modified.
The upgraded economizer has experienced no
flyash plugging. The recurring tube erosion problem
has also been eliminated. As a result, unit reliability
and availability have been significantly restored. The
boiler operates at full load and has not been limited
by economizer problems.
Furnace wall corrosion reduction Another example
of an availability improvement strategy involved the
reduction in furnace wall corrosion associated with
staged combustion low NOx burners burning higher
sulfur coals. As discussed earlier, staged combustion
Fig. 9 Upgraded bare tube in-line economizer for high ash coal.
44-8
can lead to localized corrosion of the furnace wall tubes
in areas where reducing conditions are produced near
the walls. In this example, the corrosion rates in some
regions of the furnace approached 0.040 in. (1.02 mm)
per year. The areas of high corrosion on the furnace
side walls are shown in Fig. 10. The corrosion was
highest on the side walls near the corners of the fur-
nace at the burner elevation.
The high corrosion pattern shown in Fig. 10 was
caused by pockets of high CO, unburned fuel and H2S
formed in areas adjacent to the furnace walls (see Fig.
11). These areas resulted in high corrosion rates that
led to repeated tube leaks and boiler outages. Consid-
erable outage time was required to repair leaks and
replace tube wall panels on a recurring basis. The unit
suffered from low availability due to furnace corrosion.
The current method of combating this high corro-
sion is to protect the tubing with a cladding that is
more resistant to the corrosive atmosphere. High chro-
mium nickel alloys similar to Inconel alloy 622 (21%
Cr, 13% Mo, 4% Fe, 3% W, and balance Ni) are being
clad over the boiler tube material. Cladding can be ap-
plied onto the tubing or furnace panels, or can be
formed as part of the tube during the production pro-
cess (coextrusion). Other coatings have been tried over
the years, such as high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray
coatings. These spray coatings are satisfactory where
low corrosion rates [less than 0.010 in. (0.25 mm) per
year] are involved. However, where more severe cor-
rosion is encountered, the use of weld clad tubing or
coextruded tubing for corrosion protection is most often
chosen. Fig. 12 shows the laser cladding of a furnace wall
panel with Inconel alloy 622. In this example, the panel
was fabricated, laser clad, and then installed in the side
walls to protect the walls from corrosion.
Fig. 13 shows a laser clad sootblower opening. This
opening had experienced rapid corrosion rates due to
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

CO (ppm)
Wastage, Mils Per Year
85000
15 or Greater
65000
10-14
45000
25000
5000

Fig. 10 High corrosion pattern on furnace side walls. Fig. 11 Computer model showing areas of high CO near the side walls.

adjacent reducing conditions and the action of the tube of the hopper panel and the support truss mem-
sootblowers. Inconel alloy 622 has been shown to dra- bers. In addition, the hopper panel tube is typically
matically decrease corrosion (as well as erosion) in made thicker to improve its ability to withstand falling
areas that have experienced high wastage. slag. The hopper tubes can also be weld clad to resist
Boilers that are experiencing corrosion from staged erosion and improve longevity in this harsh environ-
combustion conditions should be carefully monitored. ment as the ash and slag slide down the hopper.
Wall thickness measurements at suspected high cor- The combination of a reinforced hopper tube with
rosion areas should be taken at frequent intervals the impact absorption capability of the replaceable
(e.g., yearly or every two years). Maps of the wall crush tube improves the likelihood that the hopper can
thickness changes (such as shown in Fig. 10) can help withstand a typical slag fall. The crush tubes that
determine which areas to protect with cladded tubing. have been deformed are replaced during regular
With the lower corrosion rates associated with cladded
tubing, the frequency of weld repairs and wall panel
replacements is dramatically reduced. The beneficial
effects on unit availability can be dramatic.
Hopper panel impact protection Many units burn-
ing western U.S. coals and to a lesser degree eastern
U.S. coals experience slagging problems. Large accu-
mulated masses of slag can fall onto the hopper slopes
of the lower hopper area of the boiler furnace (see Fig.
14 for a hopper design). Falling slag results in very
high impact loads on the hopper panel tubes and the
supporting structure. Tubes erode, deform, crack, and
eventually leak. Hopper supports deform and lose their
functionality. This situation may lead to unexpected
major outages for lower hopper repairs or replacement.
An innovative hopper design has been patented
(U.S. patent no. 5,692,457) that improves the ability
of the hopper to withstand these massive slag falls.
(See Fig. 14.) The heart of the system is the crush tube
that is designed to absorb the impact load. The crush
tube is replaceable and located under the hopper panel
and is designed to deform preferentially (or crush on Fig. 12 Laser cladding process on a furnace wall panel (courtesy of
impact loading) compared to the pressure-containing Praxair Surface Technologies).

Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability 44-9

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

the associated velocities. Table 1 offers guidelines for

applying ceramic linings to coal piping.
Ash composition affects the erosiveness of the coal.
Large percentages of clay, alumina, silica, pyrite and
quartz also increase coal’s abrasiveness. The guide-
lines given in Table 1 assume a silica composition of
40%. High alumina and silica content increases the
abrasiveness of the coal. Following these guidelines
can help improve unit availability by reducing repair
frequency and the associated replacement time.
Additional availability improvement strategies are
contained in the following chapters:
Chapter 7 discusses various materials that might be
used in upgrades for new components.
Chapter 20 discusses economizer design.
Chapter 42 contains information about proper water
chemistry and layup procedures.
Chapter 45 discusses methods for evaluating the con-
dition of low temperature components.

Hopper
Tubes

Crush
Tube

Support
Beam

Fig. 13 Laser clad sootblower opening.

maintenance outages. Hoppers utilizing this unique VIEW B-B

design concept have performed well in service for

many years and have improved unit availability.
Wear resistant materials Most older boiler compo-
nents do not contain highly wear resistant materials
in high erosion areas. These areas, such as within coal Hopper
Tube
pulverizers, require frequent and sometimes costly
maintenance. Down time to repair and replace these
eroded components reduces availability. Crush
Tube
Advanced materials have been developed specifi-
cally for boiler fuel handling applications. Materials
have evolved from basic low carbon steels to ceramic B
linings. These linings include high density, high alu-
mina ceramics and silicon carbide ceramics. The alu- DETAIL A
mina ceramics with 96% alpha alumina and a den-
sity of about 232 lb/ft3 (3716 kg/m3) are ideal for com-
ponents exposed to high velocity coal particles. These
B
alumina linings provide up to ten times the wear re-
sistance of carbon steel. The nitride-bonded silicon
carbide ceramics have good erosion and corrosion prop-
erties, and they provide high thermal conductivity
and superior thermal shock resistance. These ceram- DETAIL A
ics are used in the most severe environments.
Typically, ceramic linings are used in coal transport Hopper
equipment, pulverizers, piping, exhaust fans and Tube
burner nozzles. The extent of application depends
upon the relative erosive nature of the specific coal and Fig. 14 Impact resistant hopper design.

44-10 Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Table 1
Recommendations for the Application of High Density
Alumina Ceramic Linings in Coal Piping
Ash Content of Coal Recommendations
Less than 6% No ceramic lining required.
6% to 9% Use ceramic lining from the
pulverizers to the first major
bend plus two pipe diameters
beyond the bend. Line all short
radius bends and two pipe
diameters beyond these bends.
More than 9% Same as above except, also line
all bends and the pipe two
diameters beyond these bends.
High temperature pressure components
The high temperature pressure components are
defined here as those that operate at or above 900F
(482C) metal temperature. The components normally
at this higher temperature are the superheaters,
reheaters and attemperators with their connecting
tubing and piping. These components operate in a
temperature range high enough where they can ex-
perience degradation from oxidation, fuel ash corro-
sion, carburization, graphitization and creep. These
are the high temperature failure modes. Corrosion,
erosion, fatigue, and overheating are also possible in
a manner similar to that discussed in this chapter on
the lower temperature components. (See Chapter 45
for information on evaluating the condition of these
components and some of their common failure modes.)
High temperature creep rupture and creep fatigue
failure (see Chapters 7 and 45) are the two primary
aging mechanisms for the high temperature compo-
nents. All components that operate at temperatures
above 900F (482C) are subject to some degree of
creep. Most of the tubes, piping and headers from the
primary superheater to the turbine, including the su-
perheater and reheater, are designed to operate in the
creep regime. As a result, most of these high tempera-
ture components have a finite useful life and can fail
by creep or creep fatigue after 20 to 40 years of op-
eration. Replacement and redesign must be considered
in any strategy for operating high temperature, high
pressure boilers.
Chapter 45 discusses methods for predicting creep
Number of Reheater Projects
ruptures in high temperature superheaters and
reheaters, and for assessing the condition of high tem-
perature piping and headers. Availability of these high
temperature units in the later years of operation gen-
erally falls, mainly because of creep ruptures and creep
fatigue failures. It is common to replace a superheater
after 25 years of service due to creep rupture incidents.
Superheater outlet headers have also been replaced
after 25 years due to creep fatigue cracking. Fig. 15
illustrates the typical replacement age for reheaters
in power boilers.
The aging process and rate of component degrada-
tion vary from unit to unit. Table 2 presents the com-
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
ponent replacement sequence for a typical high pres-
sure, high temperature unit.
High temperature component degradation
mechanisms
Oxidation The most common degradation mecha-
nism for superheaters and reheaters is tube OD oxi-
dation. At higher temperatures the oxidation rates
from metals increase. Chapter 7 discusses the oxida-
tion limits placed on tube metals to prevent rapid oxi-
dation. Superheater and reheater tubes are designed
with OD metal temperatures below the oxidation lim-
its. However, some oxidation does take place. The rate
of oxidation is typically 0.001 to 0.002 in. (0.025 to
0.051 mm) per year. Failures from oxidation do not
usually occur to tubes unless the oxidation process is
accelerated by overheating or sootblower activity.
When oxidation does occur it appears as wastage
on the upstream side of the tube OD. Flat spots on the
OD or thin spots in the tubing may be obvious where
the wastage has occurred. The wastage is usually
highest on the upstream side of the leading edge tub-
ing near the sootblowers. Wastage from oxidation may
also occur on the tubing OD near the outlets, or near
changes to higher material grades (higher metal tem-
peratures). When oxidation occurs, the ID oxide scale
thickness will also usually be thicker than expected
for the hours of operation. Fuel ash corrosion can ac-
celerate oxidation wastage and is discussed below.
Changes in operating conditions that are associated
with changes in fuel type or changes in burner de-
signs may alter the operating temperature of a tube.
A temperature increase above the oxidation limit can
cause rapid wall loss from oxidation. When this occurs,
tube failures can follow. The tube that is thinned by
oxidation will ultimately fail by a creep mechanism due
to the higher stresses in the thinner wall (see Creep
section below).
Tubes that operate near sootblowers are periodically
cleaned by the sootblower action. This action removes
some of the protective oxide from the tube OD. The
tube regenerates this protective layer, but in doing so,
some wall is lost to form the protective oxide. Over
time this repeated oxidation/cleaning/oxidation cycling
can lead to wall loss that is sufficient for creep fail-
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51
Age of Reheater at Replacement
Fig. 15 Reheater replacement projects by age.
44-11
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Table 2
Component Replacement Schedule for a Typical
High Temperature, High Pressure Boiler
Typical
Replacement
Period Component Cause for
(Years) Replaced Replacement
20 Miscellaneous tubing Corrosion, erosion, over-
heating
Attemperator Fatigue
25 Secondary
superheater (SSH) Creep
SH outlet header Creep fatigue
Burners and throats Overheating, corrosion
30 Reheater Creep
35 Primary superheater
and economizer Corrosion
40 Lower furnace Overheating, corrosion
Note: The actual component replacement period is highly
variable depending on the specific design, operation,
maintenance and fuel.
ures to occur. Often, oxidation around the sootblower
area is mistakenly labeled as coal ash corrosion. Coal
ash can cause corrosion failures that appear to be simi-
lar to oxidation failures (see section below). Oxidation,
however, does not rely on a corrosive ash.
Fuel ash corrosion Fuel ash corrosion is sometimes
very aggressive, but usually does not occur or becomes
only a minor problem. It is sometimes confused with
oxidation because both occur in the same components
and have similar appearance. Fuel ash corrosion is the
wastage of tubing caused by a chemical reaction with
the fuel ash. Elements in the fuel can react with the
normally protective oxides. Chloride and sulfur are ex-
amples of elements that degrade the oxidation resis-
tance of the metal tubing and markedly increase oxi-
dation rates.
Usually, in fuel ash corrosion, the ash forms a liquid
layer on the tubing during unit operation. Complex
alkali metal salts form the liquid corrosive layer in some
coal-fired boilers. Na3Fe(SO4)3 is one member of the
complex sodium or potassium metal (Fe or Al) sulfate
family that forms a corrosive liquid film on superheat-
ers and reheaters in some coal-fired boilers. The liquid
layer is a low melting point mixture of compounds formed
by the ash and it dissolves away the normally protective
oxide scale. In other cases, corrosive liquid deposits can
be formed by vanadium compounds or chlorides in com-
bination with sulfates.
It is difficult to distinguish between oxidation and
fuel ash corrosion. They may be similar in appearance.
One way to distinguish if a superheater or reheater
is suffering from oxidation or fuel ash corrosion is to
analyze the OD scale on the tubing with x-ray diffrac-
tion and chemical analysis. Metallographic examina-
tion of the tube metal near the OD surface may also
help show the advance of corrosive compounds along
tube grain boundaries. If the tube scale is shown to
have high percentages of elements or compounds
[such as Na3Fe(SO4)3] associated with fuel ash corro-
44-12
sion, then fuel ash corrosion is present, not just oxi-
dation. Oxidation by itself does not show evidence of
high percentages of these elements or compounds, al-
though low concentrations may be present.
Carburization Although some carburization is often
associated with fuel ash corrosion, carburization of su-
perheaters and reheaters is rare. It has become more
common with the advent of staged combustion for low
NOx burners. Carburization occurs when incomplete
combustion of the coal occurs before the flue gas passes
through the superheater or reheater. Incomplete com-
bustion leads to increased amounts of CO and un-
burned fuel contacting the superheater tubes.
Metal tubes require an oxidizing atmosphere to
form a protective oxide film on the surface of the tube.
When localized reducing conditions exist around the
tube at an elevated temperature, the tube can not
protect itself from wastage from the sulfur and other
corrosive species. In addition, both the unburned car-
bon in the fuel, and flue gas CO, react with the dis-
solved chromium in the tube to form chrome carbides.
Carbon diffuses into the surface of the tube, raises
the carbon level, and forms chrome carbides. If this
occurs, there is so much carbon in the metal that all
of the available chromium reacts to form chromium
carbides. When the chromium is tied up as chromium
carbide it can not strengthen the metal and can not
help form protective chromium-rich oxides. Essen-
tially, the affected portion of the tube near the OD
becomes a weak low-chromium steel material that is
less corrosion-resistant at the elevated temperatures
encountered in superheaters and reheaters.
Graphitization Carbon in both carbon steel and car-
bon-moly tubes (example: SA209-T1a) is free to dif-
fuse through the metal. Carbon is most stable as
graphite in the metal, so with time, the carbon may
coalesce into graphite flakes. These flakes may line up
in a linear and continuous spiral pattern along the
tube. When they form this pattern, the graphite forms
spiraling planes of weakness in the tube. Under the
influence of operational stresses, cracks can develop
along the spiraling paths of graphite. Sudden tube
failures occur with no warning. Reliability suffers
when this process nears its final phase, as tube fail-
ure rates increase.
Graphitization can occur when carbon steel or car-
bon-moly steel tubes are heated to operational tem-
peratures above about 900F (482C) for long periods
of time. Not all units experience graphitization of the
carbon or carbon-moly tubing. It is currently not clear
why some tubes undergo graphitization and others do
not. When severe graphitization occurs, the tubes fail
with little ductility and the fracture occurs in a spiral
around the tube. Tubes with chromium do not suffer
this problem because the carbon becomes associated
with the chromium as chromium carbides. (See Chap-
ter 7 for more information.)
Creep Chapter 7 discusses creep and creep rupture
of tubing. Superheaters and reheaters will eventually
fail by creep if other failure mechanisms are not
present. Most of the reheaters replaced in Fig. 15 were
replaced due to creep rupture failures. Overheating
due to some form of internal obstruction can lead to creep
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

failures in short periods of time. Normally, creep rupture Superheater upgrade to restore full load capability
failures take many years to occur. As the frequency of and improve availability This example of a superheater
these failures increases, then component replacement is and reheater upgrade also involved the upgrade of the
required in order to maintain unit availability. outlet headers to P91 (SA335P91) material. The boiler
was a B&W coal-fired unit with single reheat. The ra-
Availability improvement strategy examples diant boiler provided 1,600,000 lb/h (201.6 kg/s) main
Superheater upgrade to improve fuel ash corrosion steam at 1050F (566C) and 2203 psig (15.2 MPa), and
resistance One example of an availability improve- 1,263,800 lb/h (159.2 kg/s) reheat steam at 1050F
ment strategy involves an upgraded superheater. This (566C) and 525 psig (3.6 MPa). The goals of the project
eastern U.S. utility had recurring tube failures in the were to restore unit capacity and improve availability.
secondary superheater of an oil-fired boiler, and the Steam generator reliability had been high until the
boiler suffered from low availability as a result of these late 1980s, when superheater components began to
failures. Fuel ash corrosion from the fuel oil caused suffer from the latter stages of normal aging pro-
failures in the tubes exposed to the higher operating cesses, including outlet header maintenance. The unit
temperatures. Fig. 16 illustrates the arrangement of had also lost 10 MW of capacity. Subsequent study sug-
the boiler and shows the problem superheater. gested that an increase in throttle pressure of 70 psig
The furnace gas temperature at the leading edge (483 kPa) would restore the lost 10 MW. This meant
of the superheater was nearly 2800F (1538C). High that the boiler steam-side pressure drop needed to be
superheater tube temperatures resulted from this reduced by approximately 70 psig (483 kPa).
unusually high furnace exit gas temperature (FEGT). The project involved an upgraded superheater,
External tube corrosion was accelerated by this high reheater and primary superheater together with the
temperature and by the high vanadium and sodium superheater and reheater outlet headers as shown in
contents in the oil. Tube failures occurred so frequently Fig. 17.
that the bottom three rows of the horizontal super- Selected features of the redesigned high tempera-
heater had to be replaced every 18 months. ture components include:
An upgrade in superheater design usually requires
field testing to define the operating conditions, fol-
lowed by a detailed engineering study. To correctly
design the upgraded superheater, boiler operating
temperatures were obtained. A computerized boiler
model was used for the performance testing. This sys-
tem revealed that the actual FEGT was 125F (69C)
higher than the design value. The high FEGT was a
result of furnace design and burner arrangement. Be-
cause it was impractical to redesign the furnace or
change to a less corrosive fuel, and the owner did not
wish to lower the unit rating in order to lower the cor-
rosion rate, a design study concentrated on a super-
heater upgrade.
A new superheater was designed using the actual
FEGT that was obtained from the computer model of
the unit. The new design accommodated the higher
operating metal temperatures and allowed the tubes
to continuously function at the higher temperatures
without producing overheat or corrosion related fail-
ures. In the final upgrade arrangement, the three low-
est tube rows that had been attacked by corrosion were
replaced with Incoclad 671/800HT, a corrosion re-
sistant coextruded high chromium nickel alloy mate-
rial. The tubing was made by co-extruding an Inconel
alloy 671 layer 0.070 in. (1.78 mm) thick on the out-
side of the inner core of Incoloy alloy 800HT. The
outer layer of Inconel alloy 671 provided the high cor-
rosion resistance while the inner core of Incoloy alloy
800HT provided the high strength at the elevated tube
temperatures. The remaining tubes in this bank were
replaced with a stainless steel material to accommo-
date the higher metal temperatures. A new support
method that allowed greater material expansion at the
elevated operating temperatures was included.
The modified superheater allowed the unit to run
with high availability and at full rated capacity. The Fig. 16 Boiler arrangement showing secondary superheater (SSH)
fuel ash corrosion problem was greatly reduced. directly above furnace where gas temperatures reach 2800F (1538C).

Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability 44-13

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

Superheater header upgrades Chapter 45 describes

the mechanisms for reheater and superheater outlet
header failures. The main failure modes are tube-to-
header weld failures, ligament cracking and nozzle
cracking. These failures are caused by the combined
Primary Superheater
Inlet effects of thermal cycling and creep, often called creep
fatigue. Advanced design standards for headers have
been developed to help reduce these failures. When an
outlet header must be replaced, a design upgrade should
be considered. An upgraded header can provide long-
term, reliable service even under cycling conditions.
Nozzle cracking is associated with the weld in a tee
nozzle or in the internal sharp corners of a forged de-
Reheater Inlet sign. Any header upgrade could include a forged tee to
eliminate the welded connection. The forging would in-
clude generous radii to reduce stress concentrations.
Under cycling service, the tube-to-header weld area
may develop cracks due to inadequate tube leg flex-
ibility or due to thermal stresses in the header. Crack-
ing due to inadequate tube leg flexibility can be over-
Reheater Outlet
come by providing longer or more flexible tube legs
between the furnace penetration and the header.
Primary Superheater However, this modification may require header relo-
Outlet cation and/or relocation of the tube penetrations.
Secondary Superheater Relocating the tube penetrations around the header
Outlet may also be necessary to avoid header ligament crack-
ing. Many headers were designed with closely spaced
or non-symmetrical tube penetrations, as shown in
Fig. 18, that are more prone to creep fatigue ligament
Secondary Superheater
Inlet

Fig. 17 Upgraded superheater and reheater sections and headers.

1. Tube material of T91 (SA213T91) was used in the

secondary and reheat outlet banks to provide longer
component life and reduce steam-side pressure drop.
2. Reduced diameter reheat outlet tube legs and
header stubs [2 in. (5.08 cm) OD versus original
2.5 in. (6.35 cm) OD] were used to improve flex-
ibility and reduce stress in an area where tube
failures had been occurring.
3. Secondary superheater outlet header material of
P91 (SA335P91) was used to reduce size and in-
crease component life.
4. The number of parallel steam flow paths in the
primary superheater (PSH) inlet bank, PSH in-
termediate bank and secondary superheater
(SSH) outlet bank were increased to reduce
steam-side pressure drop. A reduction in steam
drum to SSH steam outlet pressure drop by 70 psig
(483 kPa) was accomplished by increasing the
number of parallel steam flow paths and employ-
ing upgraded tube alloys permitting thinner tube
walls. The superheater pressure drop reduction
permitted a corresponding increase in turbine
throttle pressure to regain the original 10 MW
higher generator output. Fig. 18 Increased ligament size for longer design life.

44-14 Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

cracking. Studies have shown that creep fatigue

cracking can be decreased by using larger ligaments.
Upgraded headers with widely spaced tube penetra-
tions provide larger ligaments and lower ligament tem-
peratures and stresses. As a result, header life is sig-
nificantly increased.
Redesign of the tube-to-header weld configuration,
as shown in Fig. 19, can also increase the life of a high
temperature header. Chamfering the tube end and
redesigning the weld preparation allows the weld to
be made with a near full penetration tube-to-header
weld. Reduction of the large partial penetration area
at the end of the tube stub reduces the stresses around
the weld joint and reduces the rate of crack propaga-
tion from this area of the weld joint.
The tube hole in the header creates a sharp discon-
tinuity at the intersection of the hole and header in-
ternal surface. Very high stresses associated with this
sharp corner cause creep fatigue cracks to initiate from
the hole. A redesigned header may also be fabricated
with a chamfer at the tube hole penetration as shown
in Fig. 19. The chamfer lowers the stress around the
hole and reduces creep fatigue cracking.
The most common upgrade for a high temperature
header is an upgrade in material. American Society Fig. 19 Header upgrade with redesigned tube penetration.
of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) SA335P11 headers
may be upgraded to SA335P22 or P91 materials, and
SA335P22 headers may be upgraded to SA335P91. cases is to modify the boiler and/or feedwater system
The material upgrade generally results in a dramatic to prevent the sudden entry of cold water into hot
increase in header life, and in many cases, it is antici- boiler components.
pated that these upgrades may nearly double the life When a boiler is experiencing cracking due to
of certain header components. subcooling and cold feedwater flow upon startup, an
Additional availability improvement strategies are off-line pump-assisted circulation system may be in-
contained in the following chapters: stalled to reduce the thermal transients. The system,
as shown in Fig. 20, consists of an off-line circulation
Chapter 7 discusses various materials that might be pump, a thermal sleeved tee connection between the
used in upgrades for new components. off-line pump and the feedwater line, a connection line
Chapter 19 explains boiler, attemperator, superheater from the boiler downcomer to the pump, a warming
and reheater design. bypass system, various valves, and a control system.
The off-line pump is only operated when the boiler
Chapter 45 discusses methods for evaluating the con- is shut down. Its purpose is to provide a small amount
dition of high temperature components.

Circulation upgrades
Cycling boiler upgrades
Many older and larger fossil utility boilers were not
designed to accommodate frequent on/off cycles. De-
sign criteria for cycling service boilers are limited due
to the lack of long-term experience with large units.
Cycling service can cause fatigue failures in the econo-
mizer tubing and inlet header, lower furnace wall
tubes and headers, structural components such as
buckstays, and some steam drum internals. This fa-
tigue cracking can be caused by the sudden flow of
cold water into hot boiler components. Thermal differ-
entials of 200 to 400F (111 to 222C) can be created.
Furnace subcooling, boiler-forced cooling during a
shutdown, and intermittent cold feedwater flow into
the boiler during startup are three sources of thermal
differentials and cyclic cracking. The thermal stresses
produced within the components may be sufficient to
produce low cycle fatigue cracks. The solution in most Fig. 20 Off-line recirculation system to reduce thermal shock.

Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability 44-15

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
of circulation within the furnace circuit and through
the economizer to prevent temperature stratification
in the water circuits. The tee connection permits the
introduction of a small amount of hot water from the
furnace into the feedwater stream when feedwater is
intermittently supplied to the boiler and before a
steady feedwater flow is established. The warm fur-
nace water introduced at the tee connection raises the
feedwater temperature enough to prevent thermal
shock to the economizer. The connection contains an
internal thermal sleeve that protects the tee from a
thermal shock when cold feedwater is first fed to the
economizer. A control system monitors the feedwater
temperature and flow and controls the recirculation
pump. When the boiler startup sequence is initiated,
the off-line system is shut down and isolated. Warm-
ing lines permit natural circulation through the pump
when it is shut down and the boiler is off-line.
Experience with off-line recirculation systems has
shown that thermal shock differentials can be reduced
to less than 100F (56C) from previous levels of 200 to
400F (111 to 222C). Such a reduction may eliminate
the fatigue cracking that is associated with frequent
unit cycling.
Drum boiler bypass system upgrade
Steam turbine transient stresses associated with on/
off operation or load cycling shorten turbine life. Long
startup times required to minimize these stresses lead
to costly fuel consumption. Drum boilers can be up-
graded with a superheater bypass system for improved
cycling capability. The bypass system upgrade can be
installed on a drum boiler to minimize startup time,
provide control of steam temperature to match turbine
metal temperature, and allow dual pressure operation
of the boiler and turbine for better load response.
These features reduce turbine stresses for improved
availability and reduced maintenance costs.
The common means of steam temperature control
in a drum boiler (water attemperation in conjunction
with parallel convection surface, gas recirculation,
excess air, or burner input adjustments) do not per-
mit easy control of turbine temperatures during start-
up and low loads. This is because there is a large mis-
match between flue gas flow and steam flow. The
drum boiler bypass system, shown in Fig. 21, provides
direct control of the steam temperature by saturated
attemperation of the superheat and reheat outlet
steam. This arrangement provides the desired steam
temperature for the turbine without undue restric-
tions on the startup firing rate.
The drum boiler bypass system substantially re-
duces cold startup time because it controls the tempera-
ture differences of the saturated boiler surface, super-
heater surface, and turbine. The bypass system con-
sists of a control system with steam piping and valves
and is described in detail in Chapter 19.
The system has a set of superheater stop and by-
pass control valves downstream of the primary super-
heater to allow dual pressure operation; the turbine
throttle pressure is controlled separately from drum
pressure. This control system is designed to maintain
constant pressure operation of the drum and boiler
44-16
Fig. 21 Typical superheater bypass system for a drum boiler to
minimize turbine stress.
furnace circuits and variable pressure operation of the
turbine because the turbine throttle valve is open over
most of the load range.
Dual pressure operation minimizes thermal stresses
to the boiler and the turbine. A dual pressure shut-
down keeps the boiler near full pressure and the tur-
bine metal near full load temperature in preparation
for a quick restart. In addition, it allows more rapid load
changes than variable boiler pressure operation.
A superheater bypass diverts excess steam from the
boiler to the condenser, thereby separating firing rate
from drum pressure during shutdown and startup. Gas
temperature probes, located near the superheater and
reheater outlet tubes, monitor flue gas temperatures.
The superheater bypass system permits cycling the
unit rapidly and often without accumulating major
fatigue turbine damage.
Circulation improvements
Water circulation upgrades are often required to
overcome operational and maintenance problems.
Symptoms of a circulation problem include localized
tube failures in particular boiler circuits, increases in
water-side and steam-side deposits and pressure drops,
fluctuations in feedwater control, and drum water
level excursions and fluctuations. Occasionally, circu-
lation problems may appear when supply tubes or
headers for the furnace waterwall circuits crack and
distort. Circulation problems can directly affect boiler
performance and, if severe, can reduce capacity and
availability.
Determining causes and solutions for circulation
problems requires boiler performance testing, heat
transfer and circulation computer modeling, and a
thorough knowledge of boiler dynamics. Thorough
discussions of heat transfer and circulation are cov-
ered in Chapters 4 and 5.
Consider an example boiler with circulation problems.
This unit was experiencing an abnormally high forced
outage rate due to tube failures in the platen wing walls
as well as extensive failures of the furnace rear wall
arch tubes. Fig. 22a illustrates the upper furnace con-
figuration and arrangement of the wing walls.
The majority of tube failures in this unit were
found in the lower 17 deg (0.3 rad) inclined portion of
the wing walls. Some time later, the rear wall arch
tubes began failing, especially in the lower inclined
area. Poor water chemistry and resultant heavy in-
ternal tube deposits were originally blamed for the
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
tube failures. However, water chemistry was monitored
and found to be acceptable in this case.
A complete engineering study was required to re-
view the plant operating procedures and the original
boiler design. The study goals included:
1. analyzing the overall boiler circulation system,
2. reviewing the platen wing wall design,
3. examining the design and performance of steam
drum internals,
4. investigating the rear wall arch and supply cir-
cuit design, and
5. providing operational and hardware modifications
to eliminate the tube failures in the platen wing
walls and rear wall arch tubes.
Field tests were conducted to verify the operating
parameters. A computer simulation focused on the cir-
culation of the steam drum, wing wall and rear wall
arch tube circuits. Mass flow velocities in these tubes
were found to be low. These low velocities contributed
to flow imbalances between circuits as well as film boil-
ing conditions inside the tubes. The steam film acted
as an insulator, producing numerous overheat failures.
The existing drum internals were also found to be
significant contributors to the circulation problem. The
separators in the steam drum generated a high pres-
sure drop, by reducing the pumping head and causing
flow imbalances. The drum water level, 10 in. (254 mm)
Fig. 22a Original upper furnace arrangement.
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
below the drum centerline, permitted steam to be drawn
into the downcomers. This further reduced the effec-
tive water density (pumping head) and mass flow
velocities in the furnace circuits.
The key modifications implemented in the circula-
tion upgrade were as follows (See Fig. 22b):
1. New drum internals. Three rows of highly efficient,
low pressure drop cyclone separators replaced the
existing two rows of high pressure drop turbo-
separators. (See Fig. 23.) The drum water level
was increased from −10 in. (−254 mm) to the
centerline. These modifications increased the
available head for all circuits.
2. Redesigned wing walls. The overall length of the
wing walls was increased to raise the heat absorp-
tion in these vulnerable circuits, based on the
natural circulation principle of more heat, more
flow. This also lowered the furnace exit gas tem-
perature by about 35F (19C) which reduced the
tendency of slagging beyond the furnace. A third
benefit was a slight reduction in superheat and,
especially, reheat spray, both being excessive on
the existing unit.
The bottom slope was increased from 17 to 40
deg (0.3 to 0.7 rad) and the tube diameter was de-
creased. Multi-lead ribbed tubes were used instead
of internally smooth tubes in the sloped portion.
Fig. 22b Upper furnace arrangement for a circulation upgrade.
44-17
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

These measures were aimed at eliminating film

boiling and flow instabilities, identified as the root
cause of tube failures in these circuits. Film boil-
ing in these circuits promoted formation of inter-
nal deposits and corrosion due to stagnant flow
conditions. The increased flow resistance was more
than offset by the greater pumping head gener-
ated by the new design.
3. Redesigned water supply system. The existing
downcomers were lengthened and closed off by
new downcomer bottles. Each bottle was equipped
with eight supply pipes, four feeding each verti-
cal wing wall inlet header.
4. Redesigned rear wall arch. Multi-lead ribbed tubes
were installed in the rear wall arch in the form of
shop-membraned tube panels. This eliminated the
failures in the lower bend area. The original tran-
sition from the 2.5 in. (63.5 mm) OD rear wall
tubes to the 3 in. (76.2 mm) arch tubes created a
steam-water jet along the unheated side (inside
of the extrados) of these bends and a correspond-
ing void on the inside of the tube bends. This had
caused the crucial bend sections facing the furnace
heat to fail due to insufficient cooling. For addi-
tional margin, the arch tubes were also redesigned
as multi-lead ribbed tubes.
The overall boiler circulation was significantly im-
proved, and a high design margin prevented the re-
currence of failures in the wing walls or rear wall tubes.
The circulation upgrade restored 100% load capability
and improved unit reliability and availability.
Strategies for fuel switching while
maintaining high commercial availability
To help reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, many
power plants are now burning a Powder River Basin
(PRB) coal blend. The ash of some PRB blends forms
a white deposit in the furnace and elsewhere in the
boiler. The deposit tends to be reflective. This charac-
teristic suppresses heat transfer, especially in the fur-
nace, and leads to flyash plugging of the tightly-
spaced convection heating surfaces. The inhibition of
heat transfer raises flue gas temperatures, and often
results in some loss of thermal efficiency.
The elevated gas temperatures can lead to long-term
overheating of the non-cooled mechanical economizer
support hangers, causing premature failure. Under
some conditions, the temperature of the flue gas leav-
ing the economizer can exceed the design temperature
of the casing enclosure and flues between the econo-
mizer and the air heater downstream. The high gas
temperature can also elevate economizer water out-
let enthalpy, which causes cavitation problems in boiler
circulation pumps in forced circulation boilers.
A boiler’s economizer is, by definition, intended to
reduce operating costs by recovering energy from the
flue gas. This heat energy is transferred to water en-
tering the boiler. Since overall boiler efficiency is in-
creased 1% for every 40F (22C) reduction in flue gas
stack temperature, the design of the economizer and
its interaction with the boiler’s fuel and flue gas are
important concerns to power plant operators.
Fig. 23 Cyclone steam separator installation.
Many utility boilers were installed with continuous
fin surface (CFS) economizers using a staggered tube
arrangement. This surface used 2.0 in. (5.08 cm) high
and 0.25 in. (0.635 cm) thick fins welded to the top
and bottom of each tube [usually 2 in. (5.08 cm) out-
side diameter] parallel to the tube axis. CFS econo-
mizers originally appealed to many plant designers
because the torturous path created for the flue gas
enhanced heat absorption, and the fins could capture
heat and transfer it to the tubing. This made the CFS
economizer less costly and permitted installation in a
relatively small area.
With the increasing use of western U.S. and lower
quality fuels over the past few decades, however, the
very factor that had been an advantage of the CFS
economizer design became a disadvantage. The spac-
ing proved more susceptible to plugging and flyash
erosion and required more frequent cleaning.
Fuel switching can, therefore, lead to many related
boiler problems that affect efficiency, availability and
capacity. Power plant operators are faced with many
interrelated problems when operating a plant that has
changed from the design fuel to a low cost compliance
fuel such as a PRB coal. Margins for acceptable op-
eration are reduced and the power plant can suffer
from high heat rates (i.e., lower efficiency), high op-
erating costs, and frequent outages to remove ash
buildup. A strategy is needed to deal with these prob-
lems so that the new low-cost compliance fuel can be
used without the plant suffering from degradations
in capacity, heat rate, operating cost and availability.
Fuel switching example
In one example of fuel switching, the economizer
experienced ash plugging problems with PRB coal,
making the unit unable to achieve the design main
steam temperature at higher loads. The ash plugging
resulted in periodic shutdowns for cleaning and main-

44-18 Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability

 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
tenance. Because of the economizer’s staggered, finned
tube design, plant operators could not use sootblowers
to restore heat transfer capabilities. At higher loads, the
superheater temperature could not reach design lev-
els, leading to a reduction in boiler efficiency. The re-
sulting low main steam temperature to the turbine is
equivalent to a reduction in cycle efficiency.
The example unit is a 750 MW (gross), pulverized
coal-fired, balanced draft boiler. At maximum continu-
ous rating (MCR), original design conditions were
4,985,000 lb/h (628 kg/s) main steam flow at 2400 psig
(16.5 MPa) throttle pressure and 1007F (542C). The
ash plugging resulted in periodic shutdowns for clean-
ing and maintenance.
The primary goal of the upgrade project was to re-
place the worn and increasingly unreliable economizer
with a design that corrected these existing problems,
and while doing so, return the main steam tempera-
ture to its original design level. Additional project tasks
included complete boiler modeling, pressure part de-
sign and fabrication (including the complete redesign
of the economizer support system), supply of
sootblower equipment and hangers, and the fabrica-
tion and supply of steam-cooled wall openings for the
sootblowers and access doors.
The existing economizer was replaced with a bare
tube, in-line design. (See the example of a finned tube
economizer replacement earlier in this chapter.) The
bare tube, in-line economizer design minimized the
erosion and ash trapping problems that are common
to staggered arrangements. The in-line design also
improved the effectiveness of sootblowers and resulted
in the maintenance of adequate heat transfer. Fig. 24
illustrates the upgraded design and its redesigned
economizer, primary superheater and sootblowers.
To maintain the necessary amount of heat trans-
fer surface, the upgrade increased the number of
economizer elements by about 25%. The installation
of a new inlet header and a number of intermediate
headers accommodated the increased number of wa-
ter flow circuits. Tube shields to protect the tubes in
the sootblower lane were added, in addition to erosion
barriers along the walls of the unit.
To raise the superheat steam temperature, relatively
small horizontal primary superheater loops above the
economizer were added. The existing economizer sup-
port tubes were modified to provide water-cooled support
for the small bank of new primary superheater surface.
New sootblowers were also incorporated into the
retrofit design. Limited outboard space prohibited the
installation of full travel, long retract sootblowers.
Extended lance, half-track sootblowers were installed
as part of the upgrade. Gas temperatures entering the
economizer exceeded the traditional maximum tempera-
ture for these extended lances, so the lances were manu-
factured from a high temperature alloy material.
The eight sootblowers were supplied with the Pro-
gressive Helix Mechanism feature to reduce the po-
tential for boiler tube erosion (see Chapter 24). This
patented sootblower enhancement reduces tube ero-
sion by shifting the nozzle cleaning path on every
blowing cycle. More than 400 cycles occur before any
nozzle path is repeated.
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
The previous economizer design had suffered from
failures of the supports that were of a welded design.
To simplify installation and to provide a support sys-
tem that did not rely on tension welds, the economizer
support system was designed to accommodate small
banks of elements and to support the banks with pins
and collector plates. Stainless steel and Incoloy alloy
800HT pins and plates were used to ensure high-tem-
perature strength and oxidation resistance without
relying on welds. Fig. 25 shows the collector plates
and pin connections used in this upgrade.
The use of factory-installed pins and plates reduced
on-site installation times. Construction crews removed
the pins as the sections were brought up to elevation,
and then reinstalled the pins after the collector plates
had been mated to the support brackets. Because the
process required no field welding of supports, the en-
tire installation proceeded smoothly. After the sections
had been hung in place, project personnel performed
tube-to-tube welds between banks as time and space
permitted.
The finned tube economizer replacement resulted
in the following unit enhancements:
1. provided a solution to the problem of burning the
PRB fuel blend,
2. eliminated plugging of the finned tube economizer,
3. reduced draft loss,
Stringer
Tubes
Pinned
Collectors
Primary
Outlet
Typical Sootblower Location
Economizer
Outlet
Tube Shields
Economizer
Inlet
Economizer Ladder Bar
Inlet Header Supports
Fig. 24 Upgraded economizer and superheater arrangement to
accommodate PRB fuel.
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 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Fig. 25 The use of pins and collectors simplified construction and
improved reliability by eliminating original welded supports.
4. reduced economizer exit gas temperatures to im-
prove unit efficiency,
5. returned main steam temperatures to original de-
sign conditions to improve unit efficiency, and
6. improved unit availability through elimination of
fouling problems and restoration of unit capacity
and efficiency.
Capacity upgrades and environmental
regulations
A capacity increase with higher efficiency and
availability (sometimes called uprates), together with
lower emissions, can lead to attractive returns on in-
vestment. Increases up to 10% in capacity and improve-
ments in heat rate of 1 to 2% have been demonstrated.
With the current interpretation of the rules for en-
vironmental standards relative to capacity increases,
the boiler operator must consider meeting, for example,
U.S. New Source Performance Standards when a ca-
pacity upgrade is implemented. The addition of scrub-
bers and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems
for the boiler flue gas must be considered when ap-
propriate. This environmental equipment, combined
with the capacity upgrade, may result in lower total
regulated emissions when the project is properly con-
figured. However, future changes in rules and poli-
cies may change the feasibility of this scenario.
Example strategy for capacity upgrade
while maintaining high commercial availability
The typical capacity upgrade starts with an engi-
neering study. To optimize the return on investment
for the capacity increase, the project requires coopera-
tion between the boiler manufacturer and the turbine
vendor. During the engineering study, there is an in-
teraction between the boiler and the turbine equip-
ment suppliers such that the boiler and turbine uprate
designs may be considered simultaneously. A series of
design discussions must be held between the boiler and
turbine designer to develop an upgrade strategy that
can provide the optimum combination of performance
and capital expenditure while considering the limits
44-20
of the existing equipment and the potential design im-
provements. Often, new technology has been devel-
oped for the boiler and turbine generator set since the
commissioning of the power station, and therefore,
there is an opportunity to apply this new technology to
enhance the efficiency and capacity of the unit.
The boiler manufacturer looks at key components
that will be affected by the increased steam and wa-
ter flow requirements. Operating pressures and heat
transfer are affected by the increased flows. The de-
signer must look at each of the key components versus
the original design and possible design improvements
to develop a plan for the capacity increase. As an ex-
ample, a furnace circulation analysis must be run to de-
termine if the furnace has the capacity to operate safely
with the higher flows and heat input. Components that
are commonly evaluated are shown in Table 3.
To properly evaluate the unit in the engineering
study, a performance test of the unit under various
conditions is required. This test will calibrate and vali-
date the boiler computer model that is used to evaluate
the boiler upgrade. The boiler model takes into account
changes in boiler surface and fuels that have occurred
since the boiler was first commissioned. The model will
also consider changes to the unit, or operating proce-
dures that were made for any pollution control equip-
ment that may have been added or modified.
The increased firing rate will increase gas velocities
in the convection pass and will increase the possibility
for fouling and slag accumulation. The need for increased
sootblowing and erosion protection is evaluated.
After the engineering study is completed and the
equipment modifications are determined, costs are
evaluated. A typical upgrade might include advanced
turbine components to accommodate the higher steam
flows and to achieve higher efficiency.
Table 3
Key Boiler Components Evaluated in a
Capacity Upgrade Engineering Study
Pressure components
Economizer
Furnace and convection pass
water circuits, including drums
and steam separators
Superheaters and reheaters
Attemperators
Connection piping and headers
Nonpressure boiler components
Fuel preparation equipment
Burners
Air heaters
Ductwork and supports
Balance of plant equipment
Fans
Feed pumps
Pollution control equipment
Controls
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
 The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Because turbine efficiency is determined by the de-
sign of the steam path components such as the nozzles,
bucket profiles, as well as the leakage flows, these com-
ponents may be upgraded with significant impact on
overall plant performance. Much work has been done to
improve the aerodynamics and reduce losses associated with
buckets and nozzles. Most turbine upgrades involve a re-
duction in secondary flow losses. Designs have evolved
that improve the resistance to solid particle erosion for
longer efficient design life. There are numerous examples
of the advantages of turbine upgrades. However, the
best strategy is to coordinate the boiler and turbine up-
grade to achieve the best return on investment.
Inconel, Incoclad, Incoloy and 671/800HT are trademarks of the
Special Metals Corporation group of companies.
Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability
Normally, a capacity uprate capital project improves
heat rate and extends times between major turbine
overhaul outages. These benefits are the result of re-
placing nozzles and final stage buckets with improved
designs and improvements in steam losses together
with higher steam flows.
Typical improvements to the boiler might include
the replacement of the superheater or reheater outlet
bank(s), a new attemperator, new burners, new higher
efficiency separators in the steam drum, and the ad-
dition of air quality control equipment. The actual
modifications are very specific to the original unit de-
sign, the fuel, and the environmental constraints.
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 The Babcock & Wilcox Company

Upgrade work on lower hopper of once-through Universal Pressure boiler.

44-22 Steam 41 / Maintaining Availability