High Temperature Effects on Vessel

Integrity

Marc Levin, Ayman Cheta

Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety
Center
2009 International Symposium
 Outline

• Motivation
• Basics / Basis for Pressure Vessel Design
Conditions
• Mechanical & Metallurgical Failure Mechanisms
• Corrosion Failure Mechanisms
• Examples
• References
• Summary

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 Motivation

• Where pressure rise is modest, but temperature

rise is significant, the impact of temperature on
vessel integrity becomes more important.
• To determine the temperature when a
instrumented barrier should activate,
understanding of the damage potential to the
vessel vs. temperature is needed.

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 Motivation
• Some uncontrolled reactions can cause a
temperature excursion without an increase in
pressure
 Methanation
 Hydrogenation/Saturation
 Hydrocracking
 Some Decomposition Reactions
• In such systems, vessel safeguarding is not
accomplished thru pressure relief devices
 Cannot expect pressure relief devices to open
 Rely on other barriers, e.g., instrumented systems with
temperature sensing combined with emergency
depressuring (manual or automatic) 8
 Motivation
• Potential vessel failure is still a concern because
vessel integrity deteriorates at high temperature
• Exceeding the vessel ultimate tensile strength is
only 1 of many potential failure mechanisms
Message: Determining the temperature where vessel
damage could occur is complex; evaluating
mechanical failure, such as excessive hoop stress
alone, is not sufficient

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Basics
• The ability of a vessel to maintain integrity at a
given pressure also depends on the
temperature
- Design pressure has a coincident design
temperature
- Maximum Allowable Working Pressure (MAWP)
has a coincident temperature rating (note: there is
no MAWT)

• Sometimes, “design temperature” is based on

target operating conditions, not what the
vessel can take
• Documentation might not be readily available. 10

Thus, it might require some digging to find the

b i f th t t d “d i t t ”
Basis for Vessel Design Conditions
 Mechanical
 Damage to vessel condition/properties
• Metallurgical – Changes in metal properties as a
result of conditions
• Corrosion - Chemical or electrochemical attack as a
result of its reaction with the environment
-----------------------------------------------------
 Target operating conditions

If design is based primarily on target operating

temperature, then look for the appropriate
design temperature for safeguarding vessel 11

integrity
Additional Considerations

Vessel Constituents
• Shell
• Heads
• Nozzles
• Welds

If one is determining the temperature and

pressure a vessel can withstand, each of
these needs to be examined.

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 A Sampling of Failure Mechanisms

• Mechanical
Plastic deformation (non-reversible)
• Damage (some common mechanisms)
Chemical/Electrochemical attack - corrosion
Creep - stress induced time-dependent deformation under load
 Erosion
Fatigue – repeated / fluctuating stresses, max < mat’l tensile
strength
Fracture
Embrittlement – microstructural changes at high temp, H2
Thermal stresses – non-uniform temperature
distribution/differing thermal expansion coefficients
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API 571 – Damage
Mechanisms
Affecting Fixed
Equipment in the
Refining Industry -
Section 4.0

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Mechanical Failure

• Hoop (circumferential) stress

• Longitudinal stress
• Stresses on nozzles & welds

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Mechanical Failure (cont’d)

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 Metallurgical Failure Mechanisms:
Selected High Temperature Cases
Failure Mat’l Temp Description
Mechanism Affected Range [F]
Graphitization Carbon steel, 800-1100°F Microstructure change after long-term,
1/2Mo steel high temp. operation; carbide phases
can decompose into graphite nodules
Spheroidization Carbon steel, 850-1400°F Microstructure change where carbide
low allow phases change from normal, plate-like
steels form to a spheroidal form; or
agglomerate
885 F 400 series 600-1000°F Metallurgical change in alloys with ferrite
Embrittlement SS, Duplex phase leading to loss of toughness
SS
Sigma phase 300 series 1000-1750°F Formation of “sigma” metallurgical phase
Embrittlement SS, leading to loss of toughness
400 series
SS,
Duplex SS
Creep Rupture All metals & 700+°F Metal components slowly and
alloys continuously deform under load (< yield
stress) that can lead to rupture 17
 Metallurgical Failure Mechanisms (cont’d):
Selected High Temperature Cases
Failure Mat’l Temp Description
Mechanism Affected Range [F]
Thermal All mat’ls of T200°F Cyclic stresses caused by variations in
Fatigue construction temperature that can lead to cracking
where movement/expansion is
constrained
Short Term All common Permanent deformation at relatively low
Overheating – mat’ls of stress levels from localized overheating,
construction leading to bulging and rupture
Stress Rupture
Dissimilar Ferritic 510+°F Coefficients of thermal expansion
Metal Weld (CS/low alloy) between ferritic steels and 300 Series
+ Austenitic SS
Cracking
(300 series differ by 30% or more, leading to high
SS) stress at the heat affected zone on the
ferritic side.

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 Corrosion Failure Mechanisms:
Selected Moderate-High Temperature Cases
Failure Mat’l Temp Description
Mechanism Affected Range
[F]
Chloride Stress 300 Series SS, 140+°F Surface-initiated cracks on exposure to
Corrosion Ni alloys tensile stress, elevated temperature, and
Cracking aqueous chloride
Caustic SCC Carbon steel, 120+°F Surface-initiated cracks on exposure to
Low alloy tensile stress, elevated temperature, and
steels, 300 caustic
Series SS
High Temp. Carbon steel, 450+°F H2 reacts with carbides in steel to form
Hydrogen Various alloys methane (which remains trapped)
Attack leading to cracks causing loss of
strength
Carburization Carbon steel, 1100+°F Contact with carbonaceous mat’l leads
Fe or Ni alloys to absorption of carbon into metal
Decarburization Carbon steel, Removal of carbon/carbides from steel
low allow at high temperature, leaving an iron
steels matrix and causing loss of strength
Oxidation Carbon steel, 1000+°F Metal converted to metal oxide 19
Fe or Ni alloys
Sulfidation Fe, Ni, or Cu 500+°F Reaction of metal with sulfur
Example 1: Elastic and Ultimate Tensile
Stresses
(API Std 530)

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Example 2: Hoop Stress vs. Creep Life

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Example 3: High Temperature Hydrogen
Attack
Nelson Curves (API RP 941)

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Example 4: Chloride Stress Corrosion
Cracking
Leaks in APTAC Pinhole Leaks
Magnedrive
housing (Fall
2007 DIERS UG
Presentation)

Bushings

Spacer
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Examination – Pits Found on the ID of APTAC
Magnedrive Housing – Chloride SCC

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Example 5: Caustic Stress Corrosion
Cracking
Refinery Example
• Post-weld Heat
– Caustic Wash Tower
Treatment not done
(temperature <150°F)
• Process upset 
200°F
• Every weld in the
tower cracked

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Failure Mechanism Temperature Regimes

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Considerations
• Will the vessel become permanently deformed
or fail catastrophically? Some key mechanical
properties, such as modulus of elasticity, yield
strength, and tensile strength, reduce at
higher temperatures.
• Will the vessel material be subjected to creep
damage? See API 530
• Will the vessel see any other damage
(accelerated corrosion, environmental
cracking, ...etc.)? A materials/corrosion
specialist should be consulted on a case-by-
case basis. API 571 is very helpful and
informative. 28
 References
• API RP 571 (Dec. 2003) – Damage Mechanisms
Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry

• API Std 579 (June 2007) – Fitness-for-Service

• API Std 530 (Sep. 2008) – Calculation of Heater Tube
Thickness in Petroleum Refineries

• API RP 941 (Aug. 2008) – Steels for Hydrogen

Service at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures in
Petroleum Refineries and Petrochemical Plants

• ASME Section II (July 2007) – Boiler and Pressure

Vessel Code – Materials

• ASME Section VIII ( ) – Boiler and Pressure Vessel 29

Code – Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels

Summary: High Temperature Effects on
Vessel Integrity

• When evaluating the impact of high

temperature, note that there are many failure
mechanisms that could be relevant
• Mechanical strength (plastic deformation) is only
one aspect of vessel integrity
• Consult a pressure equipment integrity expert
(mechanical/metallurgical/corrosion) to evaluate
the effect of high temperature on a vessel

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