3/22/22, 10:54 AM Deaerator degradation: Managing remaining life and component replacement

 News & Technology for the Global Energy Industry 

Sep 15, 2008

by POWER

O&M

Deaerator degradation: Managing

remaining life and component
replacement
Oxygen levels in just parts per billion dissolved in the feedwater stream for boilers and heat-
recovery steam generators (HRSGs) can cause pitting and reduce the operating life of
steam cycle components. That’s why reliable steam plant operation relies on low dissolved
oxygen levels in boiler and HRSG feedwater systems to limit pitting and related corrosion
damage to carbon steel components, including deaerator vessels and storage tanks, piping,
and boiler tubes.

Traditionally, many power plants have relied on a deaerator vessel and storage tank to
liberate dissolved oxygen in feedwater by raising its temperature by direct injection of
saturated steam. Usually, the steam is provided by an extraction line or by dedicated
supplies from a low-pressure source such as the low-pressure (LP) drum in a combined-
cycle plant.

The deaerator removes oxygen just prior to feedwater entering the boiler economizer section
of the HRSG, making conditions near the optimum (approximately 300F) for flow accelerated
corrosion (FAC) damage to carbon steel components. Components with a change in flow
direction–such as upper tube bends, piping elbows, and high-fluid-velocity regions in
deaerator vessels–are especially vulnerable. Also, because operating pressures in
deaerators are typically slightly above atmospheric, the vessel shell and head thicknesses
required by ASME Code are relatively thin compared with those of higher-pressure vessels
such as steam drums. If protective magnetite layers are damaged, a rapid wall thinning can
occur in areas that are exposed to high local velocities under adverse water chemistry.

These corrosion mechanisms are well known to the industry, so it is incumbent on plant
management to assess the rates of degradation and take actions to correct water chemistry
deficiencies that will accelerate FAC, among other failure mechanisms, and to project
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conservative estimates of remaining equipment life.

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The following case study details a recent incident in which FAC damage rapidly degraded
the high-pressure (HP) deaerator vessel shell and how management responded to
effectively maintain reliability and protect personnel safety.

Isolated plant
The Beluga Power Plant (Figure 1) operates in perhaps the most difficult conditions
encountered by a combined-cycle power plant in North America: It is located about 40 miles
due west of Anchorage and is accessible only by barge or airplane. POWER profiled the
plant’s technical details (March 2006) in a report describing Beluga’s first 25 years of
operation and specific measures taken to ensure reliable operation. The plant is owned and
operated by Chugach Electric Association (CEA), which is headquartered in Anchorage and
is the largest electric utility in Alaska.

1. Wilderness outpost. The 210-MW, 2 x 1 combined-cycle Beluga Power Plant, located 40

miles west of Anchorage, supplies power to the surrounding area. Courtesy: Chugach
Electric Association Inc.

More than half of CEA’s thermal generation is produced by its gas turbine fleet operating in
simple-cycle operation; the remainder is generated by Beluga Power Plant’s two ABB-11DM
gas turbines, which operate in a 2 x 1 combined-cycle configuration with vintage Babcock &
Wilcox HRSGs supplying the single-pressure BBC steam turbine. HRSG bypass stacks
allow simple-cycle operation with either HRSG out of service. Total power produced by the
plant is approximately 210 MW.

Determining deaerator integrity

The original Burns & Roe plant design provided two dedicated deaerator systems: one for
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The original Burns & Roe plant design provided two dedicated deaerator systems: one for
the HP steam system (providing
Newsdeaeration for both
& Technology forHRSG HP economizers)
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second for both LP steam systems. Each deaerator system provides boiler feed pump
suction for three 50% boiler feed pumps.

The steam turbine is single-pressure; LP steam is used today only for the deaerator steam
supply. Vessels and tanks were provided by L.A. Water, a fabricator owned at the time by

Chromalloy Corp.

Originally, the plant was designed with a “soft water” system, which was not unusual for the
relatively low HP steam system operating pressure (about 650 psig). In the mid-1990s, this
system was replaced with a demineralized water system to address recurrent problems with
high silica levels in the steam drums.

The upgraded water treatment system reduced the water’s silica content but yielded water
conditions that at times can be highly aggressive, particularly in high-turbulence and high-
flow components such as the feedwater pumps and deaerators. Periodic water chemistry
transients have also increased the frequency of aggressive water conditions that can further
accelerate corrosion damage to these components.

Periodic inspections of the deaerators were performed by the plant maintenance

department, a local nondestructive examination firm, and the plant’s ASME Code mechanical
contractor. Both deaerator systems had a history of recurring damage that required
numerous repairs (Tables 1 and 2). As the steam plant approached its end of design life (25
years), the frequency and severity of damage increased, and related damage was occurring
in both boiler feed pump systems.

Table 1. Excerpts of the ASME Code repairs made to the HP deaerator vessel. Source:
Chugach Electric Association Inc.

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Table 2. Excerpts of the ASME Code repairs to the LP deaerator vessel. Source: Chugach
Electric Association Inc.

Tube leaks in the air-cooled condenser have also occurred periodically, but routine cleaning
and temporary repairs have maintained the reliability of this critical component.

Oxygen levels as high as 100 ppb were occasionally recorded in the mid-1990s.
Management responded by instituting annual helium leak testing and routine vacuum decay
testing on the steam turbine as well as periodic isolation of pumps to identify sources of air
in-leakage. As the plant ages, these activities become critical to maintaining sufficiently low
air in-leakage to allow the deaerator systems to perform as designed.

The LP deaerator was abandoned in 2004 after extensive pitting and stress cracking had
damaged the vessel shell to the point where efforts to make repairs were unsuccessful. At
that time, a modification was made to the plant feedwater piping to modify the remaining HP
deaerator to supply suction feedwater to both the LP and HP feedwater pumps. This
modification was reasonably simple: Two tees were installed to provide a connecting branch
between the HP and LP pump suction lines. Calculations by plant engineering staff
confirmed that adequate head existed to prevent pump cavitation and that the original
(overcapacity) storage tank was large enough to provide a sufficient source of suction flow.

Rigorous inspections
Starting in 2005, detailed inspections of the HP deaerator vessel and storage tank were
performed, compliant with the standard practice specified by NACE in RP0590-96 (the latest
version is now NACE SP0590-2007) “Standard Practice for Prevention, Detection, and
Correction of Deaerator Cracking.” These included visual inspections, pit depth surveys,
ultrasonic testing of remaining shell wall thickness, and wet fluorescent magnetic particle
testing of pressure vessel welds. An inspection opening was cut in the tray shroud (baffle) to
provide access to the LP steam piping nozzle and weld connection. Additional cracks and
preexisting damage were repaired in both 2005 and 2006.

During a scheduled outage in April 2007, a relatively large area on one end of the HP
deaerator vessel closest to the LP steam nozzle was identified as having noticeable wall loss
since prior inspections (Figure 2). The damage mechanism was identified as flow
accelerated corrosion, which is common in deaerator systems and is caused by high local
velocities and temperatures that maximize the corrosion rate.

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2. Engraved invitation. This photo of FAC wear damage to the HP deaerator vessel shell
was taken in April 2007. Courtesy: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

FAC damage has also been confirmed as the primary mechanism responsible for recurring
damage to HP boiler feed pump impellers (Figure 3) and for wall thinning of HP economizer
tubes in the HRSG, whose progression has been trended for several years.

3. Total loss. FAC wear damaged each of the plant’s three HP boiler feed pump impellers.
Courtesy: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

Plant management decided to schedule several interim inspections of the HP deaerator to

better characterize the FAC damage and its rate of progression The first special inspection
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better characterize the FAC damage and its rate of progression. The first special inspection
was in August 2007; a second
Newswas
& inTechnology
December 2007. These
for the special
Global inspections
Energy Industryconfirmed

a relatively rapid rate of progression and a need to plan for component replacement (Figure
4).

4. Death sentence. This was the HP deaerator vessel remaining life projection made in
December 2007. Source: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

As an interim measure, a deflector plate was installed to attempt to reduce the flow rate near
the most degraded part of the vessel shell. Subsequent inspections indicated that this
measure was in part responsible for reducing the rate of local shell wall thinning.

Fitness for continued service and estimates of remaining lifetime were demonstrated by the
procedures prescribed in Parts 5 and 6 of ASME FFS-1 (formerly referred to as API
Standard 579 “Fitness-for-Service”) for pitting damage and local wall thinning. The
procedure for local wall thinning was validated by the Welding Research Council, as
documented in its Bulletin No. 505 released in 2005. These standards and procedures
provide a “more sophisticated assessment of metallurgical conditions and analyses of local
stresses and strains can more precisely indicate whether operating equipment is fit for its
intended service or whether particular fabrication defects or in-service deterioration threaten
its integrity. Such analyses offer a sound basis for decisions to continue to run as is or to
alter, repair, monitor, retire, or replace the equipment.”

Calculations performed using these fitness-for-service standards indicated that the HP

deaerator vessel was fit for continued service until August 2008, provided that the rate of
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continued thinning did not exceed an amount assumed in the assessment. Three successive
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inspections confirmed that this was indeed the case. By late March 2008, FAC damage had
consumed about one-third of the initial wall thickness, clearly representing a significant
degradation since the initial detection in April 2007 (Figure 5).

5. Surface of the moon. This March 2008 photo shows FAC wear damage to the HP
deaerator vessel shell in the same location as Figure 2. Courtesy: Chugach Electric
Association Inc.

Short-term plan needed

The Beluga steam plant is needed until at least 2014, and possibly beyond, to meet regional
load requirements. The HP deaerator system is critical to proper operation of the steam plant
and to preventing pitting and related damage from affecting all carbon steel components–
including piping, certain valves, and most of the HRSG boiler. Based on the apparent rate of
degradation identified by late 2007, it was clear that the remaining HP deaerator vessel was
degrading at a rate that precluded a high probability of long-term reliable operation.

As a result, corporate management decided in late 2007 to proceed with procurement and
replacement of the existing HP deaerator and the previously abandoned LP deaerator to
restore the plant to its original configuration. The project schedule for procurement,
fabrication, and delivery of the new vessels was very aggressive. Fabrication shop backlog
and delivery uncertainties added to the project’s challenges.

A purchase specification was prepared by Chugach with the joint support of Black & Veatch
and Tetra Engineering. Then an order was placed by Chugach in early 2008 with Kansas
City Deaerator for fabrication and delivery of the new vessels and storage tanks to the Port
of Anchorage. Corporate purchasing and engineering worked closely with the supplier to
ensure an on-schedule delivery.
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3/22/22, 10:54 AM Deaerator degradation: Managing remaining life and component replacement
y

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Delivery scheduling is critical & Technology
for the Beluga plant,for
as the
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deliveries are 
possible only via barge due to the plant’s remote location. By land, the plant is accessible
only by a local gravel road that has no access to the south central Alaska road system
around Anchorage. The barge landing, rebuilt every spring to repair winter damage, can only
be accessed during periodic high-high tides that provide sufficient draft for a barge to land.

The new vessels and tanks were delivered slightly ahead of schedule in late June (Figure 6).
Removal of the old vessel and storage tank commenced in early July, as planned, using the
plant’s crane and a specially constructed temporary steel structure (Figure 7). Installation is
expected to be complete later in the summer. Hydrotesting, performance verification, and
insulation work should be complete before cold weather arrives in October (Figure 8).

6. New tank upgrade. New deaerator vessels and storage tanks in the construction staging
area, ready for installation. Courtesy: Kansas City Deaerator

7. Tanks for the lift. In July 2008 the HP deaerator storage tank was ready for installation.
Courtesy: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

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8. Tight squeeze. A temporary structure was erected for removal and installation of the
replacement vessels. Courtesy: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

Future preventive measures

A comprehensive review of the plant water chemistry program and monitoring system
capabilities and related operating procedures was conducted in late 2007 to address
deficiencies and to implement operational improvements. Many recommendations were
provided to align plant operations and instrumentation with industry practice, with emerging
recommendations from the ASME committee with oversight on HRSG water chemistry
guidelines, and with the recently issued (2006) ASME Consensus Operating Practices for
Sampling & Monitoring of Feedwater/Boiler Water Chemistry for Modern Industrial Boilers
(ISBN 0791802485).

Since then, plant management has obtained additional outside support for its water
chemistry program and procured needed instrumentation. Corporate management has
committed to a series of improvements and plant upgrades to water chemistry to reduce
future risks of corrosion and degradation.

In addition, inspections of such elements as piping wall thickness (Figure 9) were recently
performed to assess the extent of FAC damage on other components in the feedwater,
condensate, and LP steam system–all of which connect to the deaerator system. Areas with
significant wall thinning will be trended by future inspections, evaluated for fitness for service
by the ASME FFS-1 procedure, or replaced, as necessary, to maintain a highly reliable
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by t e S S p ocedu e, o ep aced, as ecessa y, to a ta a g y e ab e
steam plant. News & Technology for the Global Energy Industry 

9. Detailed examination. Inspection of the HP economizer inlet piping elbow found FAC
damage. Courtesy: Chugach Electric Association Inc.

—Peter S. Jackson, PE (pjackson@tetra-eng.com) is director of field services for Tetra

Engineering Group Inc. Trey Acteson (trey_acteson@chugachelectric.com) is the plant
manager of the Beluga River Power Plant, Chugach Electric Association.

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