INVESTIGATION ON THE FAILURE OF BOILER No 1

ECONOMIZER TUBES, SHUQAIQ PLANT1

Anees U. Malik, Mohammed Mobin and Mohammad Al-Hajri

Research and Development Center

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)
P.O.Box 8328, Al-Jubail 31951, Saudi Arabia.
E-mail: rdc@swcc.gov.sa

INTRODUCTION

In a letter (Ref No. 2500/0852 dated 23.3.1426) addressed to the Manager, R&D
Center, the Manager, SWCC Shuqaiq Plant informed about the failure of Boiler # 1
Economizer tubes. The Manager, Shuqaiq Plant requested RDC to carry out failure
analysis and sought advice on any further operation and maintenance strategy. Two
damaged tubes (tube #2 from row #13 and tube #2 from row # 14) were sent for
investigations by the plant. The RDC decided to take up the task.

BACKGROUND

The T & I Department, Shuqaiq Plant provided the following first-hand information
about the failure incidence took place related to economizer tube:

During the normal boiler operation, on 24 January 2005, a heavy water leakage was
observed at the flue gas outlet duct (upstream of economizer). Subsequently, the boiler
was brought to shut down and the manhole was opened for economizer inspection.
Heavy water leakage was observed from the bottom of the economizer coils at the 13th
and 14th rows – 2nd tubes from the top rows of the tube bank, approximately 300 mm
away from the water wall tube.

The washing of the external boiler tubes was carried out by the contractor followed by a
detailed visual testing by the T & I department. The important observations made were
as follows:

(i) One tube ruptured (fish mouth opening) by 40 mm length and a 3 mm

diameter hole and another having a pin hole (leak).
(ii) There were defects at the original welding in 17 other tubes.
1
Issued as Troubleshooting Technical Report No. TSR 3804/05007 in July 2005.
 (iii) Dimensional checking at random locations reveals tube thinning at the
external surface.
(iv) Tube thickness reduced by 1.2 – 2.5 mm as against standard thickness of
3.2 mm.
(v) Thickness reduction was extended upto the water wall tubes.

The schematic of boiler # 1 showing 3 dimensional views of steam / water circulation

system is illustrated in Fig. 1 and the schematic of boiler # 1 showing economizer –
tube leak location is represented in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 (supplied by the Shuqaiq Plant
engineers) shows the location of rupture of inlet tube #2, row 13. Subsequent actions
taken by plant authorities included replacement of 4 tubes starting from feed water inlet
header and repairing of welding defects on the other 15 tubes. It is worth mentioning
that uptill 2 years back, the fuel for the boilers had been crude oil which was replaced
by Bunker C.

Table 1 provides details of Boiler # 1 which include information about operating

parameter, tube configuration and material.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

The two samples of economizer tubes provided by the Shuqaiq Plant were visually
examined in as received condition. The external surface of the tubes appeared to be
cleaned without any deposits. Figure 4 shows two feed water inlet economizer tube # 2
samples from rows # 13 and 14, respectively. The magnified views of tube # 2, row 13
shows a large fish mouth rupture near the feed water inlet, a pin hole is also present
slightly away from the rupture (Fig. 5). The cross section of tube # 2, row 13 shows
wall thinning at the side of the rupture (Fig. 6). The shape of fish mouth rupture
indicates that rupture occurred from inside of the tube. Fig. 7 shows a closer view of
tube # 2, row 14. The tube appears to be without any pin hole, pit or rupture.

METALLOGRAPHIC STUDIES

The microstructures of the cross sections of economizer tube provide information about
the matrix structure and scaling. The fire side of the tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace)
shows matrix structure which is pearlitic – ferritic without scaling but the side appears
to be fissured (Fig. 8). The outer side of the tube # 2, row 14 (outside furnace) shows a
coarsened peartlitic–ferritic with no scaling but some decarburization (Fig. 9).

ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY (EDX) STUDIES

The EDX studies have been carried out to determine the elemental compositions of the
matrix and the deposits/scales on the boiler tubes.

The EDX profile (Fig. 10) of the fire side of inlet tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace)
shows iron in very high concentrations (81.3%) with low vanadium (4.7%). The EDX
(Fig. 11) of the inner most layer has some vanadium (2.9%) with very low sulfur
(0.22%). The results of EDX studies indicate that there is substantial incorporation of
vanadium compounds in the economizer tube during boiler operation. The source of the
vanadium compounds is flue gas.

ANALYSIS OF FLY ASH SAMPLES

Due to cleaning of economizer tubes after failure, the boiler samples received by the
RDC had no deposits on the external surface. This information is very important in
point of view of failure investigation. However, Shuqaiq Plant authorities sent fly ash
sample from boiler # 1, economizer area, which was collected during third economizer
tubes failure on 26/6/2005. This ash sample reflects the nature of ash deposited on
economizer tube during first failure on 24/1/2005. The composition of the ash sample is
given in table 2. EDX profile (Fig. 12) indicates significant concentration of sulfur
(12.8%), low concentration of vanadium (1.5%) and high concentration of iron
(34.0%). The high iron contents indicate that the ash is rich in iron sulfide / sulfate
containing corrosion products.

MEASUREMENTS OF ECONOMIZER TUBES OUTER AND INNER DIA

The average reduction in the outer and inner diameter of economizer tubes measured on
the same tube at two different locations, namely, inside the furnace and outside the
furnace is listed in Table 3. A reduction in the outer dia of the tube indicates the
thinning (loss in wall thickness) from outside (fireside) whereas a reduction in inner dia
is indicative of the inside (steam side) scaling. The portion of both the tubes located
inside the furnace show appreciable reduction (4 -5%) in outer dia indicating the
initiation of wall thinning from fire side. The inner dia of the tube are almost unaffected
at both the locations; this indicates negligible attack from steam side.

DISCUSSION

When a firing fuel containing sulfur or sulfur compounds is subjected to combustion,

the sulfur present in the fuel oxidizes to form SO2 and to a small extent of SO3. CO2
and water vapors are invariably present in the combustion gases. The SO3 combines
with water vapor to form H2SO4. At certain temperature H2SO4 condense on the
metallic surfaces and initiate corrosion. The temperature at which H2SO4 first
condenses is known as H2SO4 dew point. The H2SO4 dew point depends upon the
concentration of SO3 and water vapor in the flue gas. In general, the dew point
increases with an increase in the concentration of SO3 and moisture content in the flue
gas. The concentration of SO3 in the flue gas increases with increase in the level of
excess air, gas residence time, gas temperature and sulfur level in the fuel. The moisture
content in the flue gas depends upon many factors. The source of moisture is attributed
mainly to the fuel, leaks in boiler tubes and steam from soot blowing.

When the temperature of a metallic component drops below the H2SO4 dew point of the
flue gas, the H2SO4 is condensed on the metal surface and corrodes the metal. This type
of corrosion, known as cold end corrosion, is mainly encountered in relatively low
temperature boiler components such as economizer, air preheater, stack, etc. The
critical factors governing the cold end corrosion include the presence of sufficient
concentration of SO3 and moisture in the flue gas and a metal surface whose
temperature is below the H2SO4 dew point. It should be noted that in this type of
corrosion it is the temperature of metal which is critical and not the temperature of flue
gas. Even if the temperature of flue gas is above the dew point, the corrosion is very
likely to occur wherever the metal temperature is less than dew point.

Considering the present failure the economizer feed inlet temperature appears to be on
lower side keeping in view the high sulfur content in the flue gas. As the H2SO4 dew
point is directly dependent upon the sulfur content of the flue gas, a higher dew point
than the feed inlet temperature is most probable. This in turn, favored the condensation
of H2SO4 on the economizer tubes outer surfaces causing severe corrosion. This, in
consequence, resulted in the thinning of metal to a stage when it could not bear the
inside pressure of the feed water and ultimately got ruptured. Further, the external
deposits on the tubes helped in lowering down the tube metal temperature and thus
favoring acid condensation over the deposit. A reduction in the wall thickness of the
tubes, located inside the furnace support the initiation of corrosion from fire side as a
result of acid condensation.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The thinning and perforation in the economizer tubes are due to H2SO4 dew point
corrosion.
2. The relatively low temperature of feed water caused the lowering of the tube metal
temperature and promoted the condensation of H2SO4.
3. The external deposits on the tubes, as a result of bunker oil firing, further helped in
lowering down the tube metal temperature, thus promoting H2SO4 condensation
over the deposit.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. An increase in the economizer feed inlet temperature will help in reducing the
severity of cold end corrosion.
2. An exact feed inlet temperature can be determined by knowing the acid dew point
temperature of the flue gas.
3. The possibility of carrying out condition/remnant life assessment of economizer
tube banks and header should be explored.
4. Sulfur content should be reduced to minimum which can help in preventing the
acid dew point corrosion.
5. An efficient fuel chemical additive program will help in reducing the possibility of
acid dew point corrosion.
6. The efficiency of soot blowing process should be improved.
Table 1. Details of Boiler # 1, Shuqaiq Plant

Boiler Type: Hitachi Zosen/Steinmuller Type HS5-400, Natural Circulation, Single

Drum,
Radiant, Semi-Outdoor Type.

Firing System (at present) : Bunker C

Max. Working Pressure –
Drum & Superheater / Economizer : 70 / 74 barg.
Evaporation at MCR (FSH outlet) : 105.4 Kg/s.
Steam Condition at MCR (FSH outlet) : 56 barg., 496 deg. C
Total Operating Hours (approx.) from
its inception – up to Dec. 2004 (G) : 116123 Hrs.

Economizer Type :

Design Pressure : 74 barg.

Outside Diameter of Tubes : 38.1 mm
Spacing of Tubes – Vertical : 100 mm
- Horizontal : 75 mm
Tube Wall Thickness - Minimum : 3.2 mm
- Nominal : 3.2 mm
Number of Elements : 200
Number of Tubes in Parallel : 2
Material : SA 210 Gr. A1
Heating Surface : 1529 m2

Table 2. Chemical Composition of the Ash Deposited on Economizer tubes as

determined by EDX analyses.

Element Element Atomic

% %

C 11.72 21.84
O 38.04 53.22
Mg 1.61 1.48
Si 0.26 0.20
S 12.84 8.96
V 1.52 0.67
Fe 34.00 13.62
Total 100.00 100.00
Table 3. % reduction in Economizer tubes # 2, Outer and Inner diameter .

Tube Location Average

Tube Average Tube % Reduction
reduction in
row # dia (mm) Out side the Inside the in dia
dia (mm)
Furnace Furnace

Outer 38.18 36.22 1.96 5.13

13

Inner 30.46 30.36 0.10 0.32

Outer 38.09 36.46 1.63 4.28

14

Inner 30.11 30.01 0.10 0.33

Figure 1. Schematic drawing of Boiler # 1 showing steam/water circulation system
Figure 2. Economizer tube leak location in Boiler # 1 Shuqaiq Plant
Figure 3. Photograph showing failure of Economizer inlet tube # 2, Row 13
Figure 4. Photograph of the samples from economizer inlet tube # 2, row 13 and 14

Figure 5. Closer view of economizer inlet tube # 2, row 13 showing fish mouth open
rupture and a hole
Figure 6. Thinning of the economizer inlet tube # 2 row 13

Figure 7. Economizer inlet tube # 2, row 14

Figure 8. Photomicrograph of the fire side scales on economizer
tube # 2, row 14 (inside furnace) X 200

Figure 9. Photomicrograph of the outer side scales on economizer

tube # 2, row 14 (outside furnace) X 200
cps

Fe

60

40

20
O

V Fe

Ca

0
0 5 10 15 20
Energy (keV)

Figure 10. EDX profile of a cross section of economizer tube # 2, row 14

(fire side) located inside furnace
cps

60 Fe

40

20
O

Fe
C V
S Ca Mn Ni
0
0 5 10 15 20
Energy (keV)

Figure 11. EDX profile of a cross section of economizer tube # 2, row 14 (fire side)
located inside furnace
cps

50
S

40 O

Fe
30

20

10
C Fe
Mg
V
Si
0
0 5 10 15 20
Energy (keV)

Figure 12. EDX profile of the ash deposits collected from economizer outer
surface