Eu R il 3¿ o

Commission of the European Communities

technical coal research

MINIMISING EROSION
IN COAL-FIRED BOILERS

Report
EUR 12360 EN

Blow-tip from microfiche original

 Commission of the European Communities

technical coal research

MINIMISING EROSION
IN COAL-FIRED BOILERS

British Coal Corporation

Coal research establishment
Stoke Orchard
Cheltenham
UK-Glos. GL52 4RZ

Contract No. 7220-ED/808

FINAL REPORT

PA m Λ
Directorate-General Energy
Ν.G ..
1989 TTEUR
CL
12360 EN
 Published by the
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Directorate-General
Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation
L-2920 LUXEMBOURG

LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the Commission ot the European Communities nor any person acting on behalf
of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following
information

Catalogue number: CD-NA-12360-EN-C

© ECSC—EEC—EAEC Brussels - Luxembourg, 1989

 III

MINIMISING EROSION IN COAL-FIRED BOILERS

ABSTRACT

Metal loss has occurred in varying degrees on the walls and in-bed tubes of
the UK shallow fluidised bed boilers. This metal loss has been caused by
the wearing action of the sand and ash particles and occurs mainly in the
region between the static bed surface (before fluidisation) and that of the
fully fluidised bed. Wastage rates of up to 3 mm/1000 hours have been
found on the containment walls and in excess of 1 mm/1000 hours from the
heat transfer tubes. Localised wear at the entry to certain smoke tubes in
conventional boilers has also been identified.

The research programme, initiated to tackle these problems, was carried out
in collaboration with the UK boiler manufacturer Foster Wheeler Power
Products Limited. The following tests areas were addressed:

1. Cold modelling and mechanistic studies.

2. Materials studies.
3. Assessment of field data.
4. Hot testing.
5. Smoke tube studies.

A range of measuring and flow visualisation techniques have been developed

to study wear in laboratory units and commercial boilers. With these
techniques;

(a) The major factors influencing tube wear have been Identified and
design solutions developed.

(b) Wall wear has been successfully eliminated by the installation of

metal shelving or refractory coating.

(c) Stainless steels have been shown to provide no improvement in

wear resistance, compared with mild steel, at the conditions
employed in UK industrial boilers. However, a number of surface
treatments gave encouraging performance and are worthy of further
investigation.

It is concluded that, provided boiler makers and their customers implement

the guidelines outlined, wear within the bed of FBC boilers and boiler
smoke passes can be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level.

Project No. 7220-ED/808 British Coal Corporation

Coal Research Establishment
Stoke Orchard
CHELTENHAM
Gloucestershire
GL52 4RZ
UK
 CONTENTS

Page No.

INTRODUCTION

OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE 3

2.1 Monitoring Procedures 3

2.2 Fluidised Bed Experience 4

2.2.1 Wall wear 4

2.2.2 Tube wear 5
2.2.3 Other wear 5

2.3 Smoke Tube Monitoring 6

MODELLING AND MECHANISMS 6

3.1 Test Facilities 7

3.1.1 0.7 m cold model 7

3.1.2 0.6 m cold model 7
3.1.3 Smoke tube model 7
3.1.4 Wear measurement and visualisation 8
3.1.5 Flow visualisation 8

3.2 Mechanisms

3.2.1 Wall wear 9

3.2.2 Tube wear 9

3.3 Fluidised Bed Modelling 11

3.3.1 Wall wear 11

3.3.2 Tube wear 11

3.4 Smoke Tube Studies 14

3.4.1 Reversal cell flows 14

3.4.2 Floor effects 15
3.4.3 Flow patterns at the heat 15
exchange tube inlet

MATERIALS AND HOT TESTING 15

4.1 Materials Selection 15

4.2 Laboratory Studies 17

4.2.1 Test facilities 17

4.2.2 Tube material 18
4.2.3 Bed material 18
 VI

Page No

4.3 Pilot Plant Trials 19

4.3.1 The 0.6 m square pilot plant 20

4.3.2 Test programme 21

4.3.3 Plant operation 22

4.3.4 Test results 23

4.4 Boiler Trials 25

DISCUSSION 26
5.1 Operational Influences 26
5.1.1 Fluidised beds 26
5.1.2 Smoke tubes 28

5.2 Materials 28
5.3 Designs for Minimising Wear 29

5.3.1 FBC guidelines 29

5.3.2 Economic assessment 30
5.3.3 Guidelines to minimise smoke
tube wear 31

6. CONCLUSIONS 31
7. REFERENCES 33

Tables 1 - 12

Figures 1-26

Appendices 1 and 2
 MINIMISING EROSION IN COAL-FIRED BOILERS

1 INTRODUCTION

In the early I960's it was recognised that fluidised bed combustion (FBC)
vas a system that offered the potential to burn low grade coals, of high or
variable ash content, coupled with reduced maintenance requirements (1).
It was further recognised that FBC could readily be adapted to control
sulphur dioxide emissions. This was seen as a considerable environmental
advantage particularly in the USA where much of the indigenous coal has a
high sulphur content.
The initial developments in the UK by British Coal (the National Coni
Board) began at that time. They were directed primarily towards power
generation where coals of 15-202 ash are generally used. The coal was
crushed so that both the fuel and ash residues were of a suitable size for
fluidisation - typically less than 6 mm. For efficient combustion and good
sulphur retention, required by large utilities, the coal and sorbent were
injected into relatively deep, about 1 m, 'bubbling' beds which were
fluidised at 1 to 2 m/s. However, a range of different FBC systems have
been developed since for specific markets, Including, pressurised fluidised
bed combustion (PFBC) and circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC)
systems.
In 1973 British Coal (then National Coal Board) initiated a programme
to develop FBC for industrial boilers and hot gas furnaces. From this work
technology was developed in which commercially available industrial coal,
up to a maximum size of 50 mm, is fed directly to the fluidised bed (2).
Efficient combustion is achieved even when using higher fluidising
velocities and shallower bed depths, a result of the low fines content of
this uncrushed fuel. The ability to operate at higher velocities meant
that a reduced bed area could be employed for the same output thus enabling
a more compact unit to be designed reducing boiler construction costs; the
shallower bed gave a lower pressure drop, so reducing fan power costs.
Furthermore, the commercial size grades of industrial fuel could be
fed simply onto the fluidised bed using spreader devices, thereby
minimising the cost of the coal feed system. One of the earliest of
designs of water-tube boiler based on these principles was the Gibson Wells
Modular Boiler (3). The manufacturers (now Foster Wheeler Power Products
 Although the FBC process offers many advantages over conventional
coal-fired boiler design, it is recognised that the inherent nature of the
process means that metal components are in direct contact with moving bed
material. Therefore, there is a risk that these immersed surfaces will be
subject to excessive wear. The severity of this wear and whether it
represents a limitation on the life of the boiler components will depend
upon the conditions within the fluidised bed. Initially, the low
velocities (typically <10 m/s) of the moving bed particles were not
believed to constitute a serious wear problem. However as experience was
gained in the operation of atmospheric pressure fluidised bed combustore
(AFBC) throughout the world, it has become apparent that significant metal
wear was occurring in some units. For example in China, metal losses of 1
mm/1000 hours have been reported on in-bed tubes (4). Metal wastage has
also been reported in the USA (5, 6, 7) and Europe (8, 9, 10).

Metal wastage in the combustion chamber of UK 'shallow bed',

industrial FBC boilers was first detected towards the end of 1981 when some
metal loss was reported in two of British Coal's prototype boilers and a
commercial prototype supplied by a boiler manufacturer. Initially, the
wear affected only very small areas where the upper part of the fluidiseH
bed contacted the water-cooled combustor wall. At this time about 10
fluidised bed units had been built and operated for a short time. By 1983
the number of operational boilers had risen to about 40, whilst the number
where metal wastage had been detected increased to five, with some metal
loss suspected in a further two boilers. Metal loss in one of these was
particularly severe and led to the failure of a tube in the water tube wall
after only 4000 hours operation. In response to concern at the increasing
number of boilers showing signs of metal loss, a study of metal wastage was
proposed to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) with the following
objectives:-
"To establish the effect of particulates and system parameters on wear,
with a view to minimising erosion in modern coal-fired boilers. The work
would concentrate on:
1. Wear on internal surfaces in fluidised bed coal-fired units.
2. Erosion of smoke tubes in fluidised bed and conventionally-fired
boilers."
The research work was defined as a series of five tasks.
1. Cold modelling and mechanistic studies.
2. Materials studies.
3. Assessment of field data.
4. Hot testing.
5. Smoke tube studies.
At the request of the Community, a related proposal submitted by
Foster Wheeler Power Products Limited (FWPP), "The Study of in-bed Erosion
Mechanisms and Evaluation of Protection Techniques on Commercial Fluidised
bed Boilers", was incorporated in the project in the form of a
sub-contract. An edited summary of the FWPP findings is provided in
Appendix 1.
It should be noted that the main body of this report addresses UK
'shallow bed' fluidised bed operations in which heat transfer tubing is
placed near the surface of a 150-300 mm deep bed. The findings may not
always apply to systems where heat transfer tubing is fully immersed in a
deeper bed. All bed heights quoted in the report are with the bed before
fluidi sation (static). When fluidised the bed will expand to almost twice
the quoted height.

2 OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE

A programme of inspection and monitoring of metal wastage in the combustion

chambers of Industrial fluidised bed units began in 1984. A smaller
programme of inspections of smoke tubes began in 1985. The investigations
have considered a variety of systems including horizontal and vertical fire
tube boilers and water tube boilers with varying tube geometries. The
units were mainly commercial installations with the frequency and extent of
the inspections largely depending on the availability of the individual
units, as determined by the operational requirements of the customer.
The initial work showed that the nature and extent of the metal loss
varied considerably. Therefore it was necessary, as far as possible, to
develop a uniform and comprehensive monitoring approach.
2.1 Monitoring Procedures
Three techniques were used In a full inspection. These were:
Visual inspection
Photography
Quantitative measurement
However, in view of the practical problems of availability of
commercial units, it was not always possible to carry out all aspects in a
given inspection.
 The visual inspection was initially the most important aspect of a
survey. Inspections were thorough and meticulously carried out to cover as
much of the boiler as possible, ensuring that any "new" phenomena were
identified at an early stage. The major points looked for were polishing,
scaling, pitting and gouging. Although polishing was the most obvious
indicator of metal loss, scaling was not taken as a sign of no metal loss.
Touch and the use of mirrors were particularly useful in areas where
inspection was difficult due to the limited space available.

Photographs provided a valuable permanent record for future comparison

and were used to identify specific points in subsequent surveys. However,
a good system of reference marks was essential to enable identification of
the area shown, particularly in close-ups.
Quantitative measurements of metal thickness were routinely made using
an ultrasonic thickness gauge. In essence, this equipment was used to
transmit an ultrasonic beam, via a small probe, through the metal. The
bean is reflected at the rear surface of the metal back to the probe. The
time taken for this is converted to a linear measurement of metal
thickness. Use of this technique required careful preparation of the
surface, to ensure it was free from scale. It was also essential to ensure
that the position of measurement was sufficiently well defined so that it
could be re-located in successive surveys. Typically, a survey on a 10 MW
boiler required between 500 and 1000 measurements.
Some care is required in the interpretation of data from an ultrasonic
survey. The measurements should only be used to provide a trend of metal
loss, ie successive measurements at appropriate time intervals are
recommended. Individual measurement differences of less than 0.3 mm are
not significant. It is also important to record, as far as possible, the
boiler operating conditions between inspections.
2.2 Fluidised Bed Experience
Metal wastage has been found on both walls and in-bed heat transfer tubes
of fluidised bed combustore. For any given boiler the maximum wear of
unprotected walls is always greater than that on straight lengths of in-bed
tubing. The main features of the metal loss observed are described below
and discussed in Section 5.
2.2.1 Wall wear
Wear on the walls of the bed containment section was found, in varying
degrees, on all units examined. Much of this wear was localised.
 Metal loss on walls appears to occur preferentially at sites where the
walls surface is rough, or uneven, such as at vertical seam welds or the
ends of stay bars. The regions where in-bed tubes are welded into the wall
are also prone to excessive metal loss. Generally the wear is found in a
band 50 - 150 mm above the static bed level. This corresponds to the most
active zone of the fluidised bed as is discussed in Section 3.2.1.
In the most severe case of metal loss on a water tube wall the wear
was sufficient to cause failure of a tube after just 4000 hours of
operation in which the maximum wear was on the tube, close to the junction
with the membrane.
The greatest wear on a shell boiler wall was 3 mm. This had occurred
in a little over 1000 hours of operation in an experimental unit operating
at fluidising velocities up to 6 ms~ (11) - almost three times the usual
airflow rate of commercial boilers. A more typical metal loss of shell
walls would be between 2 and 4 mm in 10,000 hours. However, many units
have shown losses as low as 0.5 mm/10,000 hours.
2.2.2 Tube wear
Surveys have encompassed various tube bank designs ranging from horizontal
hairpins to tubes with an inclination of 15° to the horizontal. Tubes have
varied in diameter from 50 to 116 mm, with both in-line and triangular
pitch arrangements.
Metal loss on 'in-bed' tubes is more variable in its location than
wall wear. The wear occurs predominantely on the underside of tubes at the
5, 6 and 7 o'clock positions. Some wear has also been found at the 2 and
10 o'clock positions close to where tubes enter a shell wall. The areas of
highest metal loss are often associated with bends at either end of an
inclined tube. However, in some units operating at high fluidising
velocities (greater than 3 ms ) , severe wear has been found along the
entire length of inclined tubes. Fluidising velocity increases with boiler
output or firing rate and Table 1 illustrates the effect that this can have
on wear. Metal losses Increased substantially In 1985/6, when this boiler
was operated at high fire for three times longer than in 1984/5.
Another feature of tube wear is that, for any given boiler, not only
does the metal loss vary along each tube but it can also vary with the
position of the tube in the bed. For example, the metal wastage is
sometimes greater at one side or one end of the bed. The amount of metal
loss has been observed to vary considerably. In some units with horizontal
tubes there has been little or no detectable loss while in others with
inclined tubes it has been as high as 1 mm/1000 hours.
2.2.3 Other wear
There are two areas of metal wastage that can be directly linked to
specific design features. The first is "jet penetration", which can occur
when air distribution nozzles are located too close to the wall and jets of
air cause local gouging. The solution is to refrain from positioning
nozzles closer than about 50 mm to the wall. Where this is unavoidable the
holes facing the wall should be blocked.
A second feature is damage to in-bed tubes in top feed boilers caused
by the coal dropping directly onto the tubes. Several cases of wear
attributable to this coal impact have been seen. In one case metal loss of
2.9 mm in 10,000 hours of operation was measured and in another, a 4.3 mm
thick tube was perforated after 10,500 hours. This can be avoided by
bending tubes away from problem areas or installing equipment to spread
coal more evenly.
2.3 Smoke Tube Monitoring
Erosion of tubes within shell boilers has resulted in several failures
which have necessitated costly downtime for repairs. The failures
generally occurred within 50 mm of the inlets to the tubes and were caused
by dust particles in the flue gases impacting on the tube surfaces.
A monitoring programme was initiated in which measurements of the wall
thickness of smoke tubes wer«; made in seven boilers offering a range of
different designs and operating conditions. For example, gas velocities in
the units ranged from 21 ms to 42 ms with some boilers operating with
grit refire. From this study and extensive field experience of similar
coal fired units, the principal factors that promote smoke tube erosion can
be listed:
High gas velocities in the tubes.
Top feeding of fuel.
Grit refiring.
Use of tipping grates.
Flow of gases downwards from the furnace tube to the smoke tube
inlets.

3 MODELLING AND MECHANISMS

Cold model techniques have been used to study gas and solids flows in order
to gain an understanding of particle to heat transfer surface interactions
and hence wear mechanisms. The techniques have also been used to simulate
wear in boilers in comparatively short duration tests by using synthetic
tube and wall surfaces. This approach has enabled a much wider range of
geometries and operating conditions to be examined than would be possible
on operating boilers or pilot plants.
3.1 Test Facilities
The main cold model facilities and assessment techniques used in this
programme were:
3.1.1 0.7 m cold model
The model consisted of four main elements, Figure 1. A bed section, 0.7 χ
0.68 m in cross-section and 0.9 m high was mounted upon the plenum chamber
and air distributor. The distributor comprised 72 standpipes, each drilled
with forty 3.7 mm diameter holes and was designed to produce a pressure
drop of 25 mbar at a fluidising velocity of 2.5 ms . Supported on the bed
section was the 2.8 m high freeboard, with a single high-efficiency cyclone
on the outlet to remove particulates from the air flow before venting to
atmosphere. The sideplates of the bed section were removable to allow
different size tubes and tube bank geometries to be located within the
model, Figure 2. By installing tubes fabricated from a material which
wears readily in the cold fluidised bed (eg plastic tubes) some of the
parameters influencing wear can be studied in short duration tests under
controlled conditions.

3.1.2 0.6 m cold model

The model consisted of a 0.6 m χ 0.6 m bed section bounded on one side by a
removeable dummy tube and fin wall and on the other three sides by fixed,
smooth, vertical panels (Figure 3 ) . Thirty-six standpipes, on a 6 χ 6
matrix of 75 mm χ 100 mm rectangular pitch, were used to supply the
fluidising air. Each standpipe had fifty holes of 3.8 mm diameter.
The removeable dummy wall section (1.0 m high) could be painted to
obtain wear data or could be replaced by a transparent section to observe
bed behaviour.
3.1.3 Smoke tube model
The test rig was designed, built and operated by Portsmouth Polytechnic
(Department of Mechanical Engineering) under contract to British Coal (12).
The 1:2.4 reduced scale model (Figures 4 and 5) was designed to investigate
gas flow patterns in the reversal cell of a shell boiler and was
constructed mainly of perspex to facilitate flow visualisation. 22 mm
Internal Diameter simulated heat exchange tubes were arranged on a 35.5 mm
triangular pitch. The floor of the model below the heat exchange tube
entries, was adjustable to allow simulation of the progressive build up of
floor deposit and to determine the effect of modification to the design on
flow patterns.
The model was located at the exit from a wind tunnel. Control of air
flov vas achieved by adjusting shutters on the fan intake and air bleed
windows in the tunnel sections upstream of the model. A honeycomb grid
preceded the working section to act as a flow straightener, giving an empty
tunnel turbulence intensity of about 1%.
3.1.4 Wear measurement and visualisation
Two techniques were used to obtain quantitative data on wear from the
models. The first technique was to use PVC for simulated heat exchange
tubes and measure wall thickness using a Bălteau "Sonatest" ultrasonic
probe at a large number of specific points, before and after exposing the
tubes to the fluidised bed. To obtain measurable wear data of sufficient
accuracy by this technique it was necessary to operate the tests for
periods of 150 to 200 hours.
The second technique, used in the majority of the tube wear studies,
was to coat aluminium tubes in acrylic paint. As with PVC tubes, the tubes
were measured before and after exposure to the fluidised bed, but in this
case a test run of less than 24 hours was adequate to obtain sufficient
wear. Paint thickness measurements were made using an Elcometer eddy
current meter (model 256 FN) which was interfaced to an Apple II
microcomputer to aid data analysis.
A major advantage of the paint technique was that, by application of
four different coloured layers, a very revealing visual indication of wear
could be achieved. This approach was used for visualisation of both tube
and wall wear.
3.1.5 Flow visualisation
Video techniques were used to observe the movement of bed material at walls
and around heat exchange tubes in fluidised beds and also gas flows in the
reversal cell of the smoke tube model.
In the fluidised beds a standard video system was used to observe
solids flows at the model walls by using a perspex wall section. In this
way the influence of baffle systems could be assessed. Within the
fluidised beds, solid flows were observed through a perspex tube using a
mirror system (Figure 6 ) . A high speed (200 frames per second) video
system was also used in this work.
In the smoke tube model the gas flow patterns were made visible by
smoke injection. This was either as (a) a single point source which could
be traversed across the model or (b) a multipoint source across a plane.
The latter was achieved by stretching a coated tungsten wire across the
investigation plane and releasing the smoke by heating the wire.
3.2 Mechanisms
Observations from fluidised bed modelling are discussed in this section,
smoke tube studies are discussed in section 3.4.
3.2.1 Wall wear
Examination of video recordings, taken through the transparent wall of a
cold model, revealed that particles ejected into the freeboard by bursting
bubbles collide with the side walls and fall back into the bed close to the
wall. It was not clear whether this mechanism was the only means by which
particles arrived at the walls in the region where wear took place.
However, when barriers were fitted to the model in order to restrict the
lateral movement of particles in the freeboard, this was found to stop the
flow of material down the wall (Figure 7 ) . Therefore, the circulation of
particles ejected from the bed's surface is likely to be the main mechanism
causing particle movement and hence the wastage at the wall.
It has been demonstrated in cold model tests (see section 3.3) that
this particle flow at the walls induces wastage of painted surfaces in the
same regions as the metal wastage found in fluidised bed boilers. Further
cold model tests showed that surface attachments such as shelves or ball
bearings which impede the flow of particles at the wall substantially
reduced this wastage.
3.2.2 Tube wear
The wastage of tubes in shallow bed combustore does not occur in a
consistent, predictable pattern. Wear is often localised in small areas
while the surrounding tube surfaces suffer little or no loss. Painted
tubes exposed in cold models also show such wear patterns,
(a) Particle movement at the tube surface
Optical systems have been developed to observe and to record the
directions of particle flows around transparent tubes mounted in a
cold model fluidised bed (Figure 6). Particle velocities could not be
determined owing to the low speed of a standard video system which
records one field every l/50th second. However, gross particle
movements around the tubes could be discerned readily and zones in
which characteristic flow patterns occured were identified:
i) A region at the top of the tube (up to ±60° from the vertical)
where the bed has relatively high density. The sand in this
 10

region is often stationary or almost stationary. The extent of

this region varies with operating conditions as does the
stability of the region,
ii) Two identical regions on either side of the tube. The velocity
of sand movement is very high in these regions - the direction of
motion can also change rapidly. The bed density is lower than
that in region (i).
iii) A region at the bottom of the tube where sand movement is almost
always towards and then away from the tube surface. The bed
density varies with changes in operating conditions. Movement
over the surface in the direction around the tube (ie normal to
the tube axis) can be identified clearly at the upper edges of
these regions.

Under some operating conditions the boundaries between these

regions are well defined whilst under other conditions the boundaries
are diffuse.
Comparison with tube wear patterns, show that:
1) High wear on the underside of a tube is associated with a high
mass flowrate of sand striking the underside of the tubes - as
may be expected.
2) Upward solids flow seems to be more aggressive than the
corresponding down flow.
Further work was carried out using high speed video equipment to
determine individual particle velocities. However, this was
unsuccessful in the areas of maximum interest around the bottom of the
tube, as the restricted depth of field prevented identification of
individual particles in consecutive frames,
(b) Particle movement in preferential gas paths
It has been suggested that localised wear might be caused by bed
material entrained in bubble streams following preferred flow paths
through the fluidised bed (13). These preferential flow paths can be
induced, for example, by poor air distributor performance. Indeed,
visual observations and measurements of flows through individual
standpipes in cold models show evidence of preferential bubble flows,
induced by two horizontal tubes place above two adjacent standpipe
rows. Similarly video studies show that a layer of stagnant ash on
the distributor can induce a preferential flow path through the bed at
low fluidising velocities (1A). Increasing the air flow caused the
 11

ash to be entrained and eventually dispersed. However, the standpipe

jet velocity in a boiler would be lower than that in a cold model and
dispersion, therefore, less likely. As a result, a preferential flow
path, once established, could persist and produce a zone of high wear
on heat transfer tubes located in the vicinty of the flow path.
3.3 Fluidised Bed Modelling
Modelling of boiler tube bank designs and wall panels in cold model tests
using painted surfaces, has shown that the wear patterns found in boilers
can be reproduced, thus validating the use of the technique.
3.3.1 Wall wear
In previous studies (15) using the 0.6 m cold model the mechanisms causing
wall wear were investigated.
It was shown that the maximum wall wear occurred about 75 mm above the
static bed level in a position similar to that found in operating boilers.
This wear was eliminated by fitting shelf type baffles 3 mm thick and 12 mm
deep on a 25 mm - 50 mm spacing, starting at the static bed level and
extending up the boiler for some 300 - 400 mm, Figure 8.
3.3.2 Tube wear
The 0.7 m cold model has been used to determine the influence of boiler
design and operating variables on wear. The main results from these trials
¿re summarised in the following sections,
i) Operating Conditions
Fluicising Velocity
Fluidising velocity is one of the most important factors that influence
erosion of bed internals. In single tube tests, increasing the fluidising
velocity from 1.5 ms to 2.5 ms increased wear by more than 100%, Figure
9. Fluidising velocity becomes more significant when other factors, such
as tube pitch and tube arrangement, are taken into account.
Bed Height
Tests were performed at a wide range of bed heights (100 mm to 600 mm) with
75 mm diameter tubes. However, when interpreting the data, it became
apparent that the wear rate was influenced by both changes in bed height
and the tube position (relative to the bed surface). Figure 10 presents
data for tubes in which the tube position was held constant at 100 mm above
the static bed level. This shows a near linear relationship between wear
and bed height.
As bubbles rise through a fluidised bed they coalesce and accelerate,
attaining a larger size and greater velocity higher up in the bed.
 12

Consequently, the velocity of particles carried in the bubble "wake" is

greater in these regions. Studies of impact erosion (16) have concluded
that, for ductile materials, the rate of material loss depends on the
velocity of the impacting particles raised to a power of between 2 and 3.
Thus, assuming that particles carried in the bubble wake are mostly
responsible for tube wear and that particle velocities are proportional to
bubble velocities, then it is to be expected that wear is closely related
to tube position in a bed.
Visual inspection of the tubes provides further evidence that bubbles
are the dominant factor in determining tube wear. The position of maximum
wear was observed to change from near the ends of the tube adjacent to the
walls at shallower bed heights to an area towards the centre of the tube in
deeper beds. This conforms with accepted theories of bubble growth by
coalescence towards the middle of the bed as bubbles rise through the bed.
Both of the above effects are consistent with impact erosion being the
dominant mechanism for tube wear. However, it may be expected that
abrasive wear will also increase with bed height, as the particle flux
around the tube increases due to the better developed gross circulation
patterns of bed material.
Bed Material
On start-up fluidised bed boilers usually contain beds of fresh silica
sand; however, accumulations of coal ash soon occur within the bed. The
sand particles also become, to some extent, coated with fused ash. Tests
carried out to investigate the effect of ash concentration in bed material
on the rate of wear of combustor walls have suggested that "dirtier" beds
cause higher rates of wear. However, further work is needed to resolve
uncertainties about the relative effects of large ash and of bed particle
size on wear. This did not form part of this study,
ii) Boiler Design
Tube Position
The influence of tube position on wear was addressed in trials in which bed
height was kept constant. In Figure 11 the results of two series of tests
in which single tubes were positioned at different heights in the bed are
presented. The data are measurements of paint loss rates from the
undersides of the 75 mm diameter tubes. It is evident that for the deeper
bed, the wear increased as the tube position was raised through the bed.
Wear then decreased as the tube was raised higher into the splash zone.
 13

The wear with the deeper bed was substantially greater than that measured
with the shallow bed.
Tube Diameter
The single tube studies show that wear may increase by 100Z as tube size is
increased from 50 mm to 114 mm diameter. However the work with multiple
tube arrays, 50 mm and 75 mm tubes, suggests that wear may be less on the
75 mm tubes. This anomoly has not been resolved and thus the influence of
tube diameter on wear is unclear.
Tube Pitch
Experiments carried out with two rows of tubes arranged in either a square
or triangular pitch array showed that maximum wear occurred on the upper
row of tubes in the triangular array (Table 2 ) . The wear on these tubes
was four times greater than that on the corresponding tubes In the square
array. The high rate of wear of the upper row tubes in the triangular
pitch can be attributed to their location in the path of high velocity bed
material passing between the lower row tubes. The upper rows in the square
array tend to be sheltered by the lower row tubes.
This test series also shows how increasing horizontal tube spacing
(200 mm to 400 mm) can be used to reduce wear, particularly on the upper
row oi a triangular array. Increasing the horizontal pitch of lower row
tubes reduces the inter-tube 'channel' velocity and thus, reduces the
velocity of particles impinging on the upper row tubes.
Tube Inclination
The results from tests with tubes inclined at 10° to the horizontal
suggest that wear may be increased by as much as 50% compared with
horizontal tubes. A proposed explanation for this effect is that bubbles
and particles have been observed, in video surveys, to 'track' along
sloping tubes as opposed to passing around horizontal tubes.
Tube Crossover
This is a common design of tube bank in which alternate tubes are inclinded
from opposite directions crossing in the middle of the bed. In cold model
studies with this geometry maximum wear was observed at the upper ends of
each tube. This wear was significantly greater than the wear observed on
single tubes located In the same position and inclined at the same 10e
angle. The probable explanation for this observation is that the higher
end of the tube forms the apex of a triangular pitch configuration, which
is known to be subject to high wear rates.
 IA

No significant tube wear was measured at the crossover points. This

was surprising at first sight as high inter-tube velocities could be
expected in this area. However, evidence from elsewhere (17) suggests that
the high density of tubes in the crossover region may restrict bubble flow
and thus enhance gas/solids flows in areas away from the crossover.
Tube Fins
A remedial action sometimes taken to alleviate localised wastage of heat
transfer tubes is to fit fins longitudinally to deflect the bed material
away from areas prone to wear. Cold model studies have been carried out to
assess the effects of tube finning on reducing wear. It was found that
although generally beneficial, care is needed in the placement of the fins
as the resulting changes in gas/solids flows can induce high localised wear
in other regions. Evidence from boilers indicates that the fins themselves
will wear, so acting as sacrificial elements of the tube (see Appendix 1).
3.4 Smoke Tube Studies

The aim of these studies was to map the principal gas flow paths in a
simulation of the reversal cell, Figure 4, of a conventional boiler and use
this information to investigate the parameters which influence wear in
smoke tubes.
3.4.1 Reversal cell flows
A point source smoke generator was used at the furnace exit and traversed
vertically and horizontally, Figure 4. With smoke injection at the
vertical centre line the flow was seen to impinge on the rear wall of the
reversal cell, with most of the flow being diverted downwards. However,
the uppermost portion of the impinging flow was diverted towards the roof
of the cell, creating a strong vortex.
When the smoke generator was traversed in the horizontal direction,
Figure 12, vortices were observed at each side. These vortices spiralled
downwards to the bottom of the cell. In general, the flow tended to
achieve the highest velocity near the rear wall of the cell. This flow
concentration continued downwards before turning in towards the heat
exchange tube area but with the side vortices significantly influencing the
velocity distribution at the tubes.
It was noted that continuous operation showed cyclic instability and
inevitably such behaviour will influence wear, particulate deposition and
re-entrainment. Installation of simulated thermosyphon tubes, used to
promote circulation in the boiler, increased the complexity and turbulence
in the flow patterns, Figure 13, demonstrating the importance of their
 15

influence on flow patterns in the reversal cell. However, rear wall

impingement was reduced by an apparent earlier development of bulk movement
of gas down the body of cell.
3.4.2 Floor effects
The proposition that the 'reversal cell' geometry could be modified to
control smoke tube erosion was tested in the model by varying the depth of
the floor in the reversal cell below the tube plate. Three floor positions
were investigated, 170 mm, 90 mm and 30 mm below the first row of smoke
tubes.
Using the smoke wire technique, it was found that for the 170 mm
position, large vortices were created in the box like section below the
tubes with gas flows approaching the tubes at about 70°. The 30 mm
position gave flows essentially parallel to the floor. However, the upward
flow trend towards the tubes started earlier than for the deeper floors
indicating that the second/third tube rows, or higher, could be influenced
by pickup of floor deposits.
3.A.3 Flow patterns at the heat exchange tube inlets
Figure 13 shows the tubes most likely to be influenced by the vortices
formed at the cell sides. Analysis of the flow visualisation data indicate
that the vortex action causes strong flow impingement on the side of the
tube mouth generating a recirculation zone. As the influence of the
vortices diminished, away from the indicated areas, the flow became
progressively straighter.

4 MATERIALS AND HOT TESTING

Much of the foregoing discussion has concentrated on gas and solids flows,
fluidisation behaviour and parameters influencing wear on 'simulated' heat
transfer surfaces in cold models. However, the physical properties of the
impacting particles and the tube surface are also important. It was thus
considered essential to carry out both materials studies and pilot plant
assessment of key parameters identified from the cold model studies.
4.1 Materials Selection
The interaction of the bed material and heat transfer eurfaces patently
affects the wear rate in the fluidised bed, and the selection of both
material types can have an important influence on wear. The forms of wear
relevant to the fluidised bed can be defined as:
1. Abrasion - the loss of material from a surface caused by pressure
contact with hard projections or with hard particles in intimate
contact with, and moving approximately parallel to, the surface.
 16

2. Erosion - the loss of material caused by particle impact.

3. Erosion/corrosion - material loss caused by the joint action of
erosion/abrasion and corrosion. It is possible that the presence
of corrosive conditions may increase the rate of material wastage
by a factor greater than the sum of the individual effects of
wear and corrosion.
For erosive wear the angle of impact and velocity of the particles are
important parameters, while for abrasive wear the load applied to the
particles normal to the wearing surface is an important factor. The
reproduction of boiler wear profiles in cold models suggests that corrosion
does not play an important role in AFBC wear. The characteristics of the
bed material particles will influence the wear process irrespective of the
wear mechanisms predominating in any particulat region of the bed. These
characteristics Include the type, size and shape of the particles and the
rate of particle degradation to form new and possibly more aggressive
particles with increased angularity. The bed material used in industrial
boilers is initially silica sand or sometimes alumina. But during boiler
operation the sand will be progressively contaminated and to some extent
replaced by ash derived from coal combustion. When limestone is fed to a
boiler for control of eulphur dioxide emissions, the bed will contain a
large proportion of partially sulphated sorbent. All these factors will
influence the wear potential of the bed material.

The characteristics of heat exchanger tube materials may be even more

important. At present most in-bed tubing and containment walls are
manufactured in mild steel. However alternative materials have been
examined for improved durability.
Ideally, the alloy, coating or surface hardening treatment employed
should:
a) give a reasonable component life.
b) resist cracking or spalling as a result of temperature cycling or
temperature gradients.
c) possess reasonable corrosion resistance.
d) be easily applied during the boiler construction phase or in-situ
during boiler shut-down.
e) be inexpensive.
f) not affect overall heat transfer significantly.
But is recognised that a candidate material or treatment may not
satisfy all these requirements; a compromise may be necessary.
 17

Unfortunately, the precise contributions of the different wear mechanisms

in fluidised bed systems are difficult to verify, so making the selection
of the most suitable wear resistant materials difficult. For protection
against abrasion, it is necessary to present a hard surface to the wearing
environment. If impact erosion is occurring, some ductility is required to
prevent surface cracking and spallation.
Some methods of protection are unsuitable for application in fluidised
bed boilers. For instance, hard alloys, although cheap, tend to be brittle
and have poor thermal cycling resistance. Some coatings have similar
weaknesses while others have the disadvantage of being very thin, eg
chemical and physcial vapour deposition layers.
Wear resistant materials considered worthy of trial in a fluidised bed
combustion environment include selected hard alloys (possessing some
ductility), surface hardened alloys (including carburised and nitrided
steels) and coatings such as weld and plasma sprayed overlays.
4.2 Laboratory Studies
4.2.1 Test facilities
Four test facilities have been used during this programme, Figures 14 - 17.
These were designed to study the erosive and abrasive wear mechanisms.
The vertical erosion rig, Figure 14, primarily designed to investigate
the erosivity of bed materials, consisted of a sealed hopper which
delivered a 2 kg charge of particles via an air controlled 'L' valve into a
4 m long vertical transport tube. The stream of particles was carried in
an air flow to a target disc. Weight loss from the target was used to
assess the relative erosivity of the bed materials. A range of particle
velocities was obtained by adjusting the flow rate of the main carrier air
supply. Particle velocities were measured using high speed cine
photography and calibrated against the carrier air flow. This test rig was
designed for operation at room temperature.
The recirculating material erosion rig, Figure 15, overcame some of
the limitations of the vertical erosion rig. It was developed to
Investigate erosive wear of both tube and bed materials at a range of
temperatures. The apparatus consisted of an electrically heated fluidised
bed containing a draught tube with a separate air supply to transport
particles to a polished target mounted above and inclined at an angle of
45* to the particle trajectory. After hitting the target the particles
fell back to the fluidised bed. Calibration of particle velocities was
also obtained by high speed cine photography.
 18

The alloy abrasion rig, Figure 16, consisted of an incipiently

fluidised bed containing the abrasive bed material. Alloy specimens,
mounted on an arm, were subjected to abrasive wear by rotating the assembly
in the bed. The unit could be operated at temperatures up to 400°C, and at
linear velocities of up to A ms
The fourth rig used, the YGP apparatus Figure 17, was originally
developed to measure the abrasion index of coals to assess likely wear
problems during milling (18). In this British Standard test (19) four
carbon steel paddles were rotated at 1470 rpm in a static bed of material
and the abrasivity determined by weight loss from the paddles. To reduce
the amount of particle breakage that normally occurs in this test, the
number of revolutions of the paddles was reduced from 12,000 to 3,000.
4.2.2 Tube material
Investigations have been undertaken with mild steel, 2 l/4%Crl%Mo steel,
and stainless steel types 304, 321 and 310. The materials have been tested
at room temperature in the vertical erosion rig, the recirculating erosion
rig and the alloy abrasion rig. Some results are presented in Table 3. In
these tests weight loss has been used as a measure of metal wastage, but
analysis of the results has been made difficult due to imbedment of
particle fragments into the surface of metal specimens, thus affecting the
weight change. However, despite the resulting scatter in the data, the
relative performance of the materials examined was found to be similar in
all tests. The highest losses were from the mild steel specimens while the
stainless steels showed lower weight losses, typically by a factor of two
tc three, with the low chromium steel (2 l/4ZCrl%Mo) approximately mid-way
between. Where comparisons have been made, there was no significant
difference in performance between the stainless steels.
Tests at elevated temperature were carried out using the alloy
abrasion rig. In these isothermal tests with bed and tube specimens at the
same temperature, (at temperatures up to 400°C), the competing mechanisms
of wastage and particle imbedment became more complex due to the changing
properties of the metal surfaces. Thus, under some conditions a net weight
gain was found, while at others a weight gain was found at low
tube/particle contact velocities and a weight loss at higher velocities.
In tests where significant wastage was measured, type 304 stainless steel
again outperformed mild steel by a factor in the range 2 to 5.
4.2.3 Bed material
The wear potential of a range of bed materials has been determined using
 19

the vertical erosion rig, the alloy abrasion rig and the YGP apparatus. To
simplify discussion of the results (by reducing the dependence on
differences in operating conditions), the data have been presented as the
wastage produced by the given bed material relative to that caused by fresh
silica sand, Table 4. These results show that:
(a) the wear potential of silica sand increases after exposure in a
boiler. This is most likely to be related to the increase in
angularity of the particles following particle breakage caused by
thermal shock and attrition in the boiler. Comparison by optical
microscopy of the fresh sand with samples obtained from a boiler
clearly shows this effect. Additionally, the presence of coal ash
occurring both as discrete particles and as a coating over the sand
particles may contribute to the increased wear potential. However,
there was little evidence that the wear potential of bed materials
from a range of boilers firing different coals was related to the coal
type used.

(b) The alternative bed materials examined, alumina and molochite, both
exhibited significantly higher wear potential than silica sand.
(c) The effect of feeding limestone for control of emission of sulphur
dioxide, on wear is unclear. In the test designed to measure
erosivity, (the vertical erosion rig), the 'as-received' and sulphated
limestones all caused greater weight loss of the target material
compared to silica sand. In contrast, in the test designed to measure
abrasivity (the YGP apparatus), all the limestones gave significantly
lower wear compared to silica sand. Since the precise contributions
of abrasion and impact erosion in FBC boilers is uncertain, the
performance of limestone derived bed materials cannot be confidently
predicted from these tests.
4.3 Pilot Plant Trials
It was considered important to obtain reliable data on the performance of
potential wear resistant material in an operating fluidised bed combustor
and to quantify the benefits of operating at the conditions for minimum
wear indicated from the cold model studies. A series of tests was
therefore carried out using the 0.6 m square pilot plant at CRE. This was
considered to be of sufficiently large scale to provide meaningful data
relevant to industrial boilers, while at the same time enabling cloeer
control than achievable in operating boilers.
The objectives of the test programme were:
 20

a) to demonstrate that wear of the heat transfer tubes in atmospheric

pressure fluidised beds can be minimised by suitable design of the
tube bank and selection of operating conditions
b) to investigate the wear resistance of a range of tube materials and
surface treatments.
4.3.1 The 0.6 m square pilot plant
This test facility, shown in Figure 18, was designed to operate over a wide
range of conditions:
Bed temperature 700 - 1200eC
Fluidising velocity 0.9 - 3.7 ms~
Bed height 0.15 - 1.5 m
Fuel size Up to 38 mm
Fuel type Solid or liquid
Fuel quality Premium grade to waste
The plant is briefly described below:-
Combustor
This consisted of a mild steel shell with a 0.3 m thick lining. The lining
was made up of 0.1 m calcium silicate insulating block, 0.1 m of castable
insulating material and 0.1 m of hard face refractory. The doors which
carried tube banks and instrument probes into the combustor were lined with
0.2 m of castable insulating material and 0.1 m of hard face refractory.
For ease of installation three of the doors were bricked with hard face
refractory and insulating blocks. The door sills were made from castable
hard face refractory.
The internal dimensions of the combustor were 0.6 m square by 2.25 m
high in the fluidised bed section and 0.9 m square by 2.33 m high in the
freeboard section.
Coal Feed
Coal from a 40 tonne bulk storage hopper was delivered to two feed hoppers
by a Macawber Denseveyor transport system. Coal was metered from the feed
hoppers by a screw conveyor, with the final delivery to the combustor by a
high speed screw conveyor. This delivered the singles coal to a point 0.9
m above the air distributor.
During these tests, minus 3 mm coal vas used during the start-up
period and for bed temperature control. This was stored in a 10 tonne
hopper and fed pneumatically into the combustor via a calibrated rotary
valve.
 21

Air Distributor
The air distributor consisted on 60 standpipes on a 75 mm square pitch set
into a flat base . The notional 8 x 8 array was constructed with the
central four standpipes omitted to allow installation of an ash offtake
pipe. Each of the 12.5 mm nominal bore standpipes had 2 rows of six 2.9 mm
diameter holes drilled near the tops (total 12 holes).
Cooling Systems
The in-bed cooling system consisted of eight 51 mm diameter water cooled
tubes. The freeboard cooling circuit, used to keep the off-gas
temperatures to below 650°C, consisted of 80 water cooled and steam cooled
48 mm diameter tubes.
Off-gas Cleaning System
Fine particulates elutriated from the fluidised bed were collected by two
cyclones connected in series. The partially cleaned gases vere then passed
through a wet gas scrubbing system before being exhausted to atmosphere
through an induced draught fan. The fines were collected in sealed hoppers
for disposal.
Bed Ash Removal
A constant bed height was maintained by either removing ash via a discharge
pipe and rotary valve or by the addition of fresh sand.
Instrumentation
A process control computer system, 'Diogenes', was used to control plant
operations and maintain selected conditions. This system uses software to
connect the various control linkages and loops Instead of hard wiring,
allowing a greater degree of flexibility and control of plant operating
parameters. For unattended, automatic operation of the plant a number of
safety circuits were installed to cut off the coal feeds and the air supply
in a controlled manner if key operating parameters were outside design
settings. In the event of water pump failure due to loss of power or
electrical fault, for example, control valves would open fully to provide a
gravity feed water supply to ensure protection of the test specimens.
4.3.2 Test programme
Three 1000 hour tests were planned, in which two designs of tube bank and
bed depth would be examined, Figure 19. Each arrangement was designed to
give the same thermal output and response characteristics as found in an
industrial operation. In Test Β a shallow bed and square pitch tube
arrangement was used as recommended from the cold model studies, while in
Tests A and C a 'bad' geometry was used, which was expected to give high
 22

wear. The high wear tests were also expected to provide information on the
wear resistance of a range of tube materials.
The main objec tive of Test C was initially to assess the reported
benefits of inc reasing tube metal temperature (20). Oxides sc ales whic h
form of high c hromium steels at temperatures above about 450CC have been
shown to offer a substantial measure of wear resistanc e. However, it was
later appreciated that in industrial boilers, where the main duty is steam
raising, it would be imprac tic able to raise metal temperature above 250 -
300°C. Therefore the programme was modified so that in Test C the
influence of a bed material would be examined, to give information on the
effect of limestone feed for control of sulphur dioxide emissions.
Table 5 summarises the planned operating c onditions for the three
tests which were completed as follows.
Start End
Test A 12/06/87 8/08/87
Test Β 14/10/87 8/12/87
Test C 4/05/88 15/07/88
The tube materials used in the test programme are listed in Table 6.
These materials were incorporated into 8 tubes, 420 mm long and 51 mm o.d.,
Figure 20. Metal surfac e temperatures were designed to be 250 - 300eC,
typical of those found in industrial boilers.
4.3.3 Plant operation
In preparation for the experimental programme outlined above, a number of
test runs were c arried out to set up instrumentation and test safety
systems for automated operation. Prior to Test C the plant was operated
for five days to prepare a limestone based bed material for use in this
test.
For the main test programme automated operation was required with
daily attendanc e of operating staff for adjusting conditions, removal of
ash products and checking plant condition. During each test there were two
planned shutdowns for tube inspec tion and measurement after approximately
200 and 600 hours operation. In addition, there were some un-scheduled
incidents that caused the safety system to shut the plant down. There were
nine in Test A, eighteen in Test Β and sixteen in Test C. These failures
were more often c aused by c oal feed stoppages but also included fan
failures, water pump failure and a major power failure caused by on
electrical storm. However, the most signific ant problem encountered was
excessive waterside fouling that oc c urred in Test A. This reduc ed the
 23

effectiveness of the cooling water and caused significant tube metal

temperature rises for more than 200 hours before the problem was corrected.
Figures 21 shows the metal temperatures of the tubes of most concern, those
containing the temperature sensitive chromised and nitrided surface
treatments. Figure 21 shows the temperatures of the same tube from Tests Β
and C to demonstrate that the problem was corrected.
The coal used in all tests was Daw Mill 'singles', a washed coal of
size <25 mm, (Table 7 ) , and in Test C the limestone was Ballidon, Table 8.
The major operational parameters measured during the test are summarised in
Table 9.
4.3.A Test results
Accurate measurement of tube wall thickness, to within 3 urn, was carried
out before and after each test. Pre-test measurements were made on
metrology equipment developed at G rimethorpe PFBC Establishment and post
test measurements were carried out by optical microscopy at the National
Physical Laboratory. A single reference tube was supplied to both Research
Centres for validation of the measurement techniques. The two sets of
results of the wall thickness measurements at eight radial positions for
each of four defined measurement planes were in agreement to better than 2
μ in.
Each test specimen was measured at eight points around its
circumference. (An example showing variation of wastage around the
circumference of some of the tubes from Test A is shown in Figure 22).
Maximum metal loss was generally from the underside of the tube, and as
this is the most important Information for boiler designers and operators
the data have been summarised in this form for all three tests and are
presented in Table 10. Maximum loss results are also presented in
histogram form in Figures 23.
The most significant conclusion from the test programme was that
maximum metal losses from Test B, the recommended geometry, were
substantially less than from Test A and C. Indeed, most of the metal loss
values for Test Β were less than 50 μτα compared with losses of around a 1
mm for some specimens in Tests A and C. This wear reduction (by a factor
of at least 20 from Test A) was more than might have been predicted from
the cold model studies.
Further examination of the data show:
 24

a) Wastage in Test C was approximately 30% lower than in Test A, Table

11. This indicates that limestone derived bed materials cause less
wear than the sand beds.
b) Metal wastage was highest, up to 1.3 mm, from the bottom surface of
the tubes (positions 3, 4 and 5) while the top surface (positions 7, 8
and 1) showed very little metal loss (<0.15 mm).
c) There was no consistent difference in wear rate between upper and
lower row tubes. This is a surprising result in the light of the
experience with shallow bed in cold model tests and operating boilers.
It may be that the wear mechanism in the deeper bed, where bubbles are
coalescing and accelerating (13), is different from that in shallow
beds.
d) Tube 8 experienced very low metal wastage. This may be accounted for
by the position of the tube close to the combustor wall in the lower
row of the tube bank with a tendency for gas bubbles to move away from
this region.
e) There is some evidence that the specimens in the centre of the bed
suffer greater losses than others. This would agree with cold model
studies and fluidisation theory which predict that, with increasing
height in the bed, bubble activity increases towards the centre of
deep beds due to bubble coalescence.
On the performance of tube materials:
1) There was considerable variation in metal wastage within Tests A and C
even on the mild steel and 2 l/4ZCr steel specimens, used as control
materials, distributed through the tube banks. However, comparison of
the wear distribution through the bed in Tests A and C, Figures 22 and
24 shows them to be very eimilar. These variations may be due to
local influences, such as coal and limestone feed ports, on the
fluidisation environment.
2) The performance of the high alloy materials, AISI 310, AISI 321, AISI
410 and 9%CrlZMo, was no better than that of the low alloy steels and
sometimes significantly worse.
3) The chromised specimens showed less wear than adjacent low alloy
specimens. However, metallographic analysis revealed that some of the
thin chromised layer had worn away from the underside of the tube.
Therefore, wear would be expected to increase again to that found for
 25

low alloy steel. There is no conclusive evidence that the overheating

in Test A, significantly impaired the performance of this material.
4) The pre-oxidised tube specimen used in Test C was designed to reduce
wastage of the 2 1/4Z Cr specimen by providing a wear resistant oxide
coating approximately 20 pm thick. Wear was reduced by 70%, when
compared with Test A, but the small oxide thickness is unlikely to
provide sufficient wear protection.
5) The three additional surface treatments exposed in Test C, carburised,
boronised and plasma sprayed NI16, all performed very well with less
than 100 urn wastage.
4.4 Boiler trials
(a) In-bed Tubes
The installation of shelves to protect the walls of shell boilers was
identified as a possible corrective measure early in the test
programme. Experience has now been gained from a number of industrial
boilers with over 10,000 hours of operation. The system has proved to
be very successful with little evidence of wear. For example, erosion
was initially found to be very severe in an experimental boiler
operating at a high fluidising velocity (6 ms ); viz 3 mm loss
occurring in 1200 hours. Mild steel shelves (20 mm wide, 6 mm thick
on a 50 mm pitch) were welded to the boiler wall and, in the
subsequent 5000 hours of operation, no further wear was observed.
Castable refractory has been used to protect some boilers with
membrane or, tube and fin type walls, as shelves are more difficult to
apply in such cases. Although these systems have proven effective,
(Appendix 1), relatively frequent maintenance has been required and
there is some loss in heat transfer.
A range of tube materials and coatings, Table 12, have been
exposed for periods up to 8000 hours in two fluidised bed boilers.
The wastage of these materiale was monitored using ultrasonic
thickness measurement and their performance assessed following removal
of sections for metallographic analysis. After 4400 hours of
operation the FeCrAl and cermet coatings had 'worn' through. The
ceramic, although it suffered some wear, had not exposed the
underlying tube metal. The hard weld overlay and the AISI 410 steel
showed no improvement in wear resistance when compared with mild
steel. The lZCr iZMo steel Indicated a 30Z Improvement compared to
mild steel. The nitrided steel specimens, which unfortunately had to
 26

be installed late in the programme and therefore were exposed for only
1500 hours, showed no detectable wear. In the second boiler, the
calorised tube had worn through after 2000 hours and the tungsten
carbide coating, although worn, was still intact after more than 460C
hours of operation.
Metallographic analysis of selected specimens showed that
spallation was the main reason for failure of surface coatings (plasma
sprayed cermet, plasma sprayed FeCrAl alloy and the hard weld
overlay). Samples examined from the nitrided steel tubes showed
little evidence of surface damage,
(b) Smoke Tubes
Fine recycle is commonly used to maximise combustion efficiency.
However, this is known to increase the particle loading of the gas
flow through the smoke tubes, adversely affecting the erosion rate of
the tubes. To obtain some basic information on this effect, a short
programme of work was carried out on a horizontal shell boiler fitted
with a tipping grate (21) with the aim of measuring the rate of fines
recycle and hence particle loading.
The boiler was modified by inserting a divertor into the grit
refire line and measurements of the fines recycle rate made by
collecting the fines over short periods (<10 mins). The recycle rate
was estimated to be about three times the ash input rate to the boiler
at high fire. Therefore the solids loading in the smoke tubes must be
at least three times that which would be present in the boiler if
operated without fines recycle.

5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Operational Influences

5.1.1 Fluidised beds
The visualisation studies show that solids movement, and hence wear of
immersed surfaces, is closely linked tothe behaviour of the bubbles rising
in the bed. These bubbles carry particles in their wake and eject material
at high velocity of the bed surface (22). The coalescence of bubbles as
they rise through the bed results in their growth and migration towards the
centre of the bed. A consequence of this upflow in the centre is a strong
downflow of bed material at the vessel walls. The development of these
bubbles is closely linked to fluidising velocity and bed height. It is
 27

therefore not surprising that these two parameters were found to be the
most important factors in the cold modelling and boiler monitoring studies.
In cold model studies the influence of a range of operating parameters
on wear were investigated. The following parameters were identified as
having a major influence on wear:
Fluidising velocity.
Bed height.
Tube arrangement.
Other secondary factors such as:
Tube size.
Tube inclination,
were considered to have a lesser influence. It was encouraging that the
wear patterns produced in the cold models were generally very similar to
those observed in the operating boilers.
The boiler monitoring programme independently identified:
Fluidising velocity.
Bed height.
Tube inclination.
as significant parameters and led to development of a correlation of the
form:
Wear (mm/h) - 1.873 χ 10~9 U, 2 D 0 , 6 L 1 # 3 3 (1 + 0.1 P)
ι s
where Uf - Fluidising velocity (m/s)
L - Bed Depth (before fluidisation) (mm)
D - Tube Diameter (mm)
Ρ - Tube inclination (deg)
Comparison between the correlation and observed metal loss for eleven
boilers is given in Figure 25. In view of the variety of boiler designs,
from six manufacturers, this comparison is most encouraging.
Analysis of the cold model data on the same basis produced a very
similar correlation.
Wear (mm/h) - 1.872 χ IO - 8 U f a D 0 , 6 L * · 3 3 (1 + 0 . 1 P)
of painted tubes
Comparison of the two equations indicates that wear of painted tubes
in cold models was approximately ten times that in an equivalent
configuration in an industrial boiler. This gives us confidence in making
quantitative predictions from the cold model data.
The influence of tube arrangement on wear is somewhat unclear from
this programme of work. Cold model studies and the limited information
 28

from operational boilers suggest that wear on upper row tubes in a

triangular pitch arrangement will be high. However, the two 0.6 m
combustor trials, Tests A and C, with this arrangement showed little
difference in wear between upper and lower rows. The explanation for this
difference may be that the wear mechanisms operating in the shallower, <0.3
m deep, cold model beds were somewhat different to those of the deeper,
0.40 m, pilot plant beds.
Nevertheless, the importance of the 0.6 m combustor trial objectives,
demonstration of a good boiler design was most decisive by achieved.
5.1.2 Smoke tubes
The short programme carried out at Portsmouth Polytechnic was most useful
in developing and demonstrating techniques for studying gas flows through
boiler smoke passes. Although not a comprehensive programme, the work did
identify that gas flows in certain geometric arrangements may cause wear of
the lower tube rows. This agrees well with the observations of wear in the
operating boilers. The modelling study also shows the potential complexity
of predicting changes in the gas flows resulting from changes in boiler
geometry.
The boiler monitoring programme confirmed that the major influences on
smoke tube wear are gas velocity and solids loading in the gas stream.
Unfortunately overcoming this problem in some commercial boilers may not be
easy. For example, top feed boilers, which tend to produce high solids
loadings in the off gases, are competitive because they are comparatively
cheap installations. However, the work has shown that an order of
magnitude reduction in wear can be achieved by simply designing for low gas
velocities and for offgases to pass upwards from the fire tube into the
second pass rather than downwards. This latter modification should ensure
that re-entrainment of particles from the reversal cell floor is avoided.
5.2 Materials
The laboratory materials test programme has provided useful materials
rankings in both abrasion and erosion modes. It has also demonstrated that
erosive wear can proceed at the low velocities, less than 10 m/s, existing
in fluidised beds. In comparison, wear in pulverised coal fired power
stations is considered negligible below about 15 ms (23). However the
test work has not provided rankings consistent with those observed In coal
burning fluidised bed boilers. For example, all the laboratory tests
Indicated that stainless steels wear at rates two to three times less than
mild steel. In contrast the 0.6 m combustor trials showed them earing
 29

similar to the mild steel and 2 l/4%Cr steel. Clearly, it is not yet
possible to simply extrapolate wear data from laboratory scale rigs to
operating boilers; the latter environment being more complex than those
evaluated in the laboratory rigs. Therefore for future materials
assessment studies ve need to:
(a) Develop better laboratory tests.
(b) Concentrate on pilot plant trials or
(c) Insert test specimens in operating boilers.
The materials trials in the 0.6 m combustor, as indicated above,
showed that there is little difference in performance between mild steel,
2 l/4%Cr steel and stainless steels at the conditions used in industrial
boilers. The metal temperatures, typically 250-300°C, are clearly too low
to allow development of the wear resistant oxide layers reported by others
(20).
The triads do however show that hardened wear resistant layers (eg
nitriding or carburising) can confer significant reductions in wear
provided they are reasonably thick and can maintain their integrity in
normal boiler operation.
5.3 Designs for Minimising Wear
Many of the parameters investigated in this programme have a significant
influence on metal wastage. Therefore, their control should result in
dramatically reduced wear rates. For example, Figure 26 shows predictions
of how tube wear may vary with fluidising velocity and bed depth. The
twenty times range in the wear rates illustrates the importance of
following the guidelines, detailed in Appendix 2, that have been circulated
to UK boiler makers. A summary of these is given below.
5.3.1 FBC guidelines
Boiler Operation
It is recommended that the maximum fluidising velocity of a bubbling bed
boiler be less than 2.5 ms and that the static bed height, other design
considerations permitting, be no greater than 150 mm. If deeper beds are
needed, for example with sulphur emission control, then greater steps will
be required to prevent erosion.
Preferential air flows have been shown to cause localised wear and
should be avoided as far as possible. They can be caused by (1) poor
plenum design, (ii) low pressure drop air distributors, (iii) damaged
standpipes and (iv) accumulations of large ash or sinter in localised
areas.
 30

Boiler Walls
For new installations, shelving protection measures for the containment
walls are recommended with confidence for both shell and water-tube
boilers. Retrofit protection on water tube walls can be in the form of
hard castable refractory although this may reduce heat transfer.
Tube Bank Design
The design of a tube bank for a fluidised bed boiler should incorporate the
following features to reduce metal wastage:
(a) An in-line tube arrangement rather than a triangular pitch.
(b) Tubes of small diameter, 50 mm rather than 116 mm.
(c) Minimum tube inclination.
5.3.2 Economic assessment
As part of their contribution to the programme, Foster Wheeler Power
Products carried out an economic assessment of the technical solutions to
FBC wear, Appendix 1. The following measures were considered:
(a) Reduction in fluidising velocity.
(b) Tube protection methods.
Nitriding
Chromising
Tungsten carbide coating
Finning
Finning and pinning
Ball studding
(c) Sidewall protection methods.
Refractory
Horizontal shelves
The study concluded that:
(a) Reducing the fluidising velocity to 2 m/s would lead to a email
increase in capital cost and it is likely that this would lead to a
sufficient increase in tube bank life for this to be cost effective.
However any increase in capital cost of a boiler would make it more
difficult to sell.
(b) The installation costs of all types of tube bank were very similar and
accounted for the majority of the cost of replacing a tube bank.
Hence a cheap, regularly replaced tube bank was not considered cost
effective. Nitriding and finning of tubes are relatively inexpensive
and, providing extended tube life can be shown, these measures are
worth considering.
 31

(c) The cost of shelf protection on furnace sidewalls Is substantially

lower than the cost of refractory.
5.3.3 G uidelines to minimise 'smoke tube' wear
The findings of the test programme together with wear data from the
literature has enabled design guidelines to be prepared. In summary, we
recommend that:
Gas velocities should be minimised (<22 rn/ε)
Ash content of the fuel should be low (<10Z)
Quartz content of the ash should be low (<10%)
Solids loading in the gas etream is also a major factor influencing
wear therefore those features which increase solids loadings should,
ideally, be avoided, eg:
Fines in the fuel.
Grit refiring.
Top feeding of fuel.
The aerodynamic design of the gas flow passages should also be
considered at an early stage. For example, flue gases should turn upwards,
rather than downwards, from the combustion chamber to promote the
disengagement of fines from the gas stream. Reversal cells should be made
deep to avoid re-entrainment of solids although this may require the
addition of a suitable ash removal system to the base of the reversal
cells.
Finally, ferrules can be used as 'fixes' for smoke tubes which are
suffering from excessive wear. But care should be taken to ensure these do
not contribute to fouling and hence increased gas velocities in other parts
of the boiler with resultant erosion problems in these locations.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Metal loss has occurred to varying degrees on the walls and in-bed tubes of
the UK shallow fluidised bed boilers. This metal loss has been caused by
the wearing action of the sand and ash particles. It occurs mainly in the
region between the 'static' bed surface (before fluidieation) and that of
the fully fluidised bed. Maximum wastage has been greater than 1 mm/1000
hours of operation from the tube banks and up to 3 mm/1000 hours of
operation from the containment walls. Localised wear at the entry to
certain smoke tubes also occurs with some conventional boiler designs.
 32

1. A range of useful measuring and flow visualisation techniques have

been developed to study wear in laboratory units and commercial
boilers.
2. Video studies have shown that wall wear is related to lateral movement
of particles, ejected by bubbles, at the bed surface and subsequent
down flow at the walls.
5. Shelf type baffles and refractory cladding have been developed to
disrupt this wearing action. Experience of over 10,000 hours in
operating boilers has shown that these techniques will eliminate wall
wear.
A. The precise mechanisms involved in the wear of in-bed tubes are less
well understood. However, there are clear links between the passage
of bubbles, which carry particles in their wake, and subsequent
material movement at the tube surfaces being worn.
5. A major cold model programme has identified the relative influence on
tube bank wear of a number of operating conditions (including,
fluidising velocity and bed height), and tube bank design parameters
(including, tube pitch, diameter, position and inclination).
6. Extensive monitoring of operational boilers has confirmed the
influence of the major parameters identified in the modelling studies
and enabled development of correlations for predictive purposes.
These correlations show that, with careful design, wear in operating
boilers can be dramatically reduced.
7. Design guidelines for minimising wear in UK AFBC boilers have been
prepared, circulated to boiler manufacturers and are being
successfully applied.
8. Smoke tube studies have clearly identified that gas velocity and
solids concentrations are the major parameters influencing wear. The
monitoring and modelling studies have also shown how the redesign of
gas flows in the reversal cell can also reduce wear.
9. Laboratory materials tests have investigated both erosion and abrasion
mechanisms of wear. All tests indicate (a) stainless steels are more
wear resistant than low alloy steels and (b) sand exposed in a boiler
is substantially more erosive than the unused sand. No significant
influence of coal types was found. The use of limestone gave
conflicting results (high wear in the erosion test and low wear in the
abrasion test). There are concerns that these tests do not adequately
 33

simulate the materials performance in operating boilers and a

reappraisal of laboratory materials testing is required.
10. Three 1000 hour trials in a pilot combustion plant have shown that:
(a) Good boiler design can reduce metal wastage by more than twenty
times.
(b) Stainless steels provide no improvement in wear resistance,
compared with mild steel, at the conditions employed in UK
industrial boilers.
(c) A number of surface treatments eg, nitriding, carburising,
boronising and a plasma sprayed coating showed good wear
resistance. These materials are worthy of further investigation
provided their mechanical integrity and economic viability can be
demonstrated.

7 REFERENCES
1. Fluidised Bed Combustion of Coal, British Coal, London, 1985.
2. Payne, R C., "A Review of Coal-Fired Technology in the UK Applied to
Residential, Commercial and Industrial Heating Equipment Design",
Urban Coal Burning Pollution Prevention, Beijing, China, December
1987.
3. Gibson, T, Ellis, F, Highley, J and Tringham, D, "Design and Operation
of a 15 MW Modular Boiler". 7th Int. Conf. on Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Philadelphia, USA, October 1982.
4. Zhang, Xu-Yi, "The Progress of Fluidised Bed Boilers in the Peoples
Republic of China" 6th International Conference on Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Atlanta, USA (1980).
5. Bass, J W and High, M D, "Operating and Performance Summary for TVA's
20 MW AFBC Pilot Plant" Institute of Energy Conference: Fluidised
Combustion, Is it Achieving its Promise?, London October, 1984.
6. D'Acierno, J et al, "Performance of the Shamokin, PA, Fluidised Bed
Combustion Boiler with Anthracite and Bituminous Coal Waste Fuels" 6th
International Coal and L ignite Utilisation Exhibition and Conference,
November 1983.
7. Kantesaria, Ρ Ρ and Jukkola, G D, "Observation of Erosion of In-Bed
Tubes in the Great L akes AFBC", Materials and Components Newsletter,
No.46, US DoE, October 1983.
8. L eckner, Β and Högberg, E D, "Material L oss from the Heat Exchange
Surface of a Fluidised Bed Combustor" 1st International FBC and
Applied Technology Symposium, Bejing, China, August 1983.
9. Temmink, H M G and Meulink, J, "Operation Experiences with the TNO 2 m
χ 1 m AFBB Facility, "Coal Technology Europe, Amsterdam, October 1983.
10. Klei, J L, "Experience with the AFBC Boiler at Shell Europort", Coal
Technology Europe, Amsterdam, October 1983.
11. Fisher, M J, Topper, J M and Jenkins, F, "Some New Developments in
Fluidised Bed Shell Boilers", 8th International Conference on
Fluidised Bed Combustion, Houston, Texas, March 1985.
12. Horsley, M E, Ahmed, Α Κ and Rogers, E A, "Modelling of Gas Flow in
the Reversal Cell of a Shell Boiler" 1st European Conference on the
Influence of Inorganic Constituents on Coal Combustion, Institute of
Energy, London, September 1987.
 34

13. G hadiri, M et al, "Diagnosis of Gas Flow Patterns in Fluidised Beds",

4th International Fluidised Bed Combustion Conference, Organised by
the Institute of Energy, London, December 1988.
14. Carter, B, Ghadiri, M, Clift, R and Jury, A W, "The Behaviour of Large
Jetsam Particles in Fluidised Beds" Powder Technology, 52, pp 263-266,
(1987).
15. Parkinson, M J, Jones, K A G and Jury, A W, "Cold Model Studies of
AFBC Erosion" Workshop on Materials Issues in Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Nova Scotia, July/August 1985.
16. G oodwin, J E, Sage, W and Tilly, G Ρ, "Study of Erosion by Solid
Particles", Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., JJJ4, 279, (1969).
17. Summer field, I R, Mandela, K, Napier, B A and Medhurst, S J, "Large
Scale Fluidised Studies" Final Report on EEC Contract No.EN3F.0009
UK(H) In Preparation.
18. Yancey, H F, G eer, M R and Price, J D, Mining Engineering, p.262
(1951).
19. British Standards Institution, BS 1016, Part 19, (1980).
20. Tossaint, H H J, Rademakers, Ρ L F and Van Norden, Ρ Ρ, "AFBC Design
for Low Tube Wastage is Possible", 7th International Conference and
Exhibition on Coal Technology, Amsterdam, (November 1988).
21. Kaye, W G , "Recent Developments in Coal-Fired Industrial Boilers and
Furnaces" 1st European Conf. On Industrial Furnaces and Boilers,
Lisbon, Portugal, March 1988.
22. Lockwood, F C and Sivaprakasam, "Laser Doppler Measurements in the
Freeboard of a Fluidised Bed" Final Reprt on NCB Project R&D 63,
Imperial College, London, (July 1985).
23. Raask, E, Wear, Π , p301, 1969.
 35

TABLE 1 . INFLUENCE OF LOAD FACTOR ON WEAR

IN A 5 MW WATER-TUBE BOILER

Operatinq hours
Boiler lood 1984/5 1985/6

High Fire 1200 3800

Medium Fire 3200 2000

Low Fire 100 50

Total 4500 5850

Metal Loss Wall Tube Woll Tube

per onnum (mm) 0.4 0.6 2.1 1.1
 36

TABLE 2 . WEAR DATA FOR TRIANGULAR AND SQUARE PITCH

TUBE GEOMETRIES

TEST TUBE HORIZONTAL MAXIMUM MEAN WEAR (urn)

NUMBER GEOMETRY PiïCH (mm) LOWER ROW UPPER ROW

1 Square 200 23 7

2 Triangular 200 20 26

3 Triangular 400 21 13

OPERATING CONDITIONS IN ALL CASES

Fluidising Velocity 2.5 m/s

Tube Diameter 5 0 mm
Static Bed Height 150 mm
Vertical Pitch 110 mm
Tube Position* 200 mm

* - Measured from the mid-point of the stondpipe holes

to the centre - line of the lower row tubes
 37

TABLE 3 WEAR RESISTANCE OF TUBE MATERIALS

Weight loss relative to mild steel

Alloy Vertical Recirculating Alloy
erosion rig material rig abrasion rig

Mild Steel 1 1 1

2 2 5 % Cr,1% Mo 0.6 - 1.0 0.6 nd

Stainless steel 02 - 03 03 02 -03

types 3 0 4 / 3 2 1

Stainless steel 0.4 - 0.6 0.4 nd

type 310

Notes Tests conducted at 20 deg.C using silica sand sized 0.6 — 1 2 mm as

erodent with particle velocities in the range 2 — 8 m / s .
Results expressed as the ratio of the specimen weight loss in the test
to that of mild steel under the same conditions.
Tests using the alloy abrasion rig at elevated temperatures gave a
similar mnking between mild steel ond 304 stainless steel, but the
wear/deposition was velocity dependent (see text).

nd not determined
 3tí

TABLE 4 WEAR POTENTIAL OF BED MATERIALS

Weight loss relative to silica sand

Type of bed Vertical YGP

material erosion rig apparatus

Unused sand 1 1

Sond from boilers 1 -25 3 - 8

Alumino 25 nd

Molochite 5 nd

Limestones 15-55 0.2 - 0.6

Notes: Tests conducted at 2 0 deg.C.

The wear has been expressed as the ratio of
the weight loss in the test to that found with
unused sand.
Five limestones from different UK sources
have been tested, both os-received and
following sulphation in a laboratory
fluidised bed at 850 deg.C.
Porticle size was nominally in the range
0.6 - 1.2 mm.
nd not determined
 39

TABLE 5 DESIGN OPERATING CONDITIONS

Operatinq conditions Test A Test Β Test C

Fluidising velocity (m/s) 23 23 23

Bed height (mm) 400 150 400
bed materiol Sand Sond Limestone
Bed temperature (degC) 900 900 900
Tube diameter (mm) 51 51 51
Tube geometry Triangular Square Triongular
Excess oir (%) 65 65 65
Calcium/sulphur ratio πα na 2

Notes: na not applicable

 40

TABLE 6 MATERIALS EXPOSED IN 0.6m FBC TESTS

Hiqh alloy steels Low alloy steels Surface treatments

AISI321 Mild steel Chromised

NHrided
AISI310 2.25%Cr,1%Mo Oxidised
Corburísed
AJSI410 Boronbed
NI16 plosma-
9%Cr.1%Mo sprov coatina
 41

TABLE 7 DAWMILL COAL SIZE & CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

SIZE ANALYSIS
Singles coal Crushed coal
Size % non cumulative Size %non cum.
(mm) Test A Test Β Test C (mm) Test A
+265 0.0 05 0.0 +6.7 0.0
+19.0 - 2 6 5 23.9 13.0 21.6 +355 - 6.7 16.9
+132 - 19.0 43.6 375 505 +1.7 - 3 5 5 24.9
+6.7 - 132 28.0 272 24.6 + 1.0 - 1.7 17.0
+3.35 - 6.7 15 8.6 05 + 0 5 - 1.0 18.0
+ 1.7 - 3.35 05 45 02 +025 - 0 5 11.6
+ 1.0 - 1.7 05 2.0 0.1 +0.125 - 0 2 5 6.6
+ 0 5 - 1.0 0.4 22 05 +0.063-0.125 3.0
-05 1.7 4.9 1.9 -0.063 2.0

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Component Test A Test Β Test C

Mean Mean Mean
CV (kJ /kg) 29595 29793 29837
Ash (%ad) 52 5.1 45
Moisture (%od) 6.1 55 55
Carbon (%ad) 742 72.6 72.9
Hydrogen (%od) 5.0 4.6 45
Oxygen (%ad) 8.9 8.9 85
Sulphur (%ad) 15 15 1.4

Notes: od os determined
 42

TABLE 8 BALLIDON LIMESTONE SIZE & CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Size
(mm) % non cum. Component (% ad)
+6.7 0.0
+335 - 6.7 0.7 CaO 55£
+1.7 - 3 . 3 5 982 MgO <0.1
+1.0 - 1.7 0.9 C02 482
+0.5 - 1.0 0.0
+025 - 0.5 0.0
+0.125 - 025 0.0
+0.063-0.125 0.0
-0.063 02

Notes: ad as determined
 43

TABLE 9 ACTUAL OPERATI NG CONDI TI ONS 0.6m FBC TESTS

Operating conditions Test A Test Β Test C

Mean Mean M eon
Bed temperature (deg.C) 901 902. 898
Bed height (fluidised) (mm) 640 270 640
Coal feedrate (kg/h) 76.8 71.6 73.6
Limestone feedrate (kg/h) na no 7.9
Fluidising velocity (m/s) 25 25 25
Oxygen in flue gas (%) 9.7 8.0 8.2
Total fines rate (kg/h) 5.1 42 9.1
Mean tube temp. (deg.C) ♦264 244 286

Notes:
* Actual tube temperatures varied widely due to overheating
na not applicable
 44

TABLE 10. MAX

I MUM METAL WASTAGE : TESTS A . B & C

Tube No. Tube Maximum Metal Wastage ( m m )

Material Test A Test Β Test C
Mild Steel 0.34 0.06 0.69
1 Mild Steel 053 0.03 0.43
Chromiaed 0.23 0.02 0.03
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0Λ4 0.07 0.29
2 Mild Steel 1.07 0.04 0.29
Mild Steel 0.89 0.02 0.16
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.29 0.04 0.10
3 AISI321 0.78 0.01 0.75
AISI310 0.77 0.01 0.60
Nitrided 0.04 0.06 •0.08
4 AISI410 1.26 0.02 **0.08
2.25%Cr1%Mo 038 0.06 ••♦0.06
AISI310 1.23 0.02 0-86
5 AISI321 1.21 0.03 1.04
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.86 0.03 0.15
Mild Steel 0.76 0.05 0.16
6 2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.67 0.09 038
Nitrided 0.25 0.07 0.07
225%Cr1%Mo 0.64 0.02 0.46
7 AISI410 1.00 0.02 0.69
9%CM%Mo 0.85 0.03 0.61
Mild Steel 0.16 0.03 0.13
8 Mild Steel 0.13 0.03 0.12
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.10 0.03 0.22

• Boron raed
** Plasmo spray coated
*** Corburfeed
 TABLE 11 RATIO OF MAXIMUM WEAR TEST C : TEST A

Tube No. Specimen Radial Position

3 4 5
Mild Steel
1 Mild Steel 233 137
Chromised 0.91 053
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.26 035 050
2 Mild Steel 0.15 024 0.43
Mild Steel 030
2.25%Cr1%Mo
3 AISI321 1.00 0.96 1.49
AISI310 0.67 0.78 059
Nitrided
4 AISI410
2.25%Cr1%Mo
AISI310 0.61 0.71 0.70
5 AISI321 0.91 0.78 056
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.18
Mild Steel 024 0.18 024
6 225%Cr1%Mo 0.53 051 0.63
Nitrided
2.25%Cr1%Mo 0.72 0.67 0.68
7 AISI410 0.69 0.72 0.60
9%CM%Mo 0.75 0.76 0.65
Mild Steel
8 Mild Steel
2.25%Cr1%Mo

Mean 059 Data selection Criteria:

SD 039 - Wear > 0.10mm
No. 39 — Similar materials
 46

TABLE 12. COATINGS AND METALS USED FOR IN-BED TUBES

1 AISI 410 12% Cr, balance Fe

2 1%Cr 1% Cr, 05% Mo, balance Fe

3 FeCrAI 2 7 5 % Cr, 6% Al, 2% Mo, balance Fe

4 Ceramic Alumina over a bond coat of Ni, Cr, Al composite

5 Cermet 70% Alumina, 30% "Nickel Alumînide"

6 Weld overlay Hardex 3 5 0 , 3-3% Cr, 1% Mg, balance Fe

7 Carbide Tungsten Carbide in o Nickel matrix

6 Calorie ed Diffusion of Aluminium into the surface

9 NH/ided Diffusion of Nitrogen into the surface

 47

À EXHAUST

L
SUPPLY
HOPPER
CYCLONE

VALVE

FREEBOARD

VALVE

FINES
COLLECTION

FLUIDISED
BED

AIR SUPPLY
AIR
DISTRIBUTOR A 4
VALVE ORIFICE
PLATE

FIGURE 1 0.7m COLD MODEL

 43

Locating
holes for
side plate

905

Cover piote
REMOVABLE SIDE PLATE
locating holes

Model wall

Bolt and captive nut

78mm diameter hole

'0' ring

Locating holes
Cover plate
SIDE VIEW PLAN
COVER PLATE

FIGURE 2 REMOVABLE SIDE PLATE & TUBE COVER PLATE

 49

FIG.3 0·6πιχ0·6π) CO LD MO DEL

 50

Smoke injection
P°rt / Combustion
chamber

1
010

Tube bundle
( ID = 22 )

Reversal ce (Dimensions in mm)

FIGURE 4 LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF REVERSAL CELL
(SCHEMATIC)
 51

SECTION A - A

Left Right

oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooo

FIGURE 5 CROSS-SECTION OF REVERSAL CELL

OF SMOKE TUBE MODEL
/ideo Camera Light Source

Mirror
^/^
■v/^

FIGURE 6 VIDEO RECORDING OF PARTICLE FLOW AROUND TUBES

 BARRIERS PREVENT
/ F L O W AT WALL

DOWNWARD
/FLOW OF
BED MATERIAL

— FLUIDISIN6
I AIR

FIGURE 7 MECHANISM CAUSING METAL LOSS ON SIDE WALLS

 54

IN-BED TUBES

(B) SIMILAR PANEL (WITH SHELVES)

(A) SPRAY PAINTED WALL PANEL
AFTER EXPOSURE IN THE
FOLLOWING EXPOSURE IN A
COLD MODEL.
COLD MODEL.

PAINT LOSS >100>jm

FIGURE 8 EFFECT OF APPLICATION OF SHELVING TO

PROTECT WALLS (COLD MODEL TESTS)
 55
KEY

PAINT LOSS <25-pm

25>jm <PAINT LOSS <50ym

| I 50ym <PAINT LOSS <75ym

/
/
/
/
/
;/

U=2-5ms- 1 U = 15ms-1
200mm PORTS, 150mm BED

IGURE 9 EFFECT OF BED HEIGHT ON TUBE WEAR

(COLD M ODEL TESTS)
 56

ο -

E 7 - MyS

.3s
6 - ■
C
O -O
5-
D -Ζ

ι- o 4 -

o·:
E α 3 -
zi "σ

.i i 2 -
χ
^ Ο ■
1 -
y/ m
0 - τ ι Ι ι ■■ 1 —

Ο 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Bed Height (before fluidisation) m m

FIGURE 10 EFFECT OF BED HEIGHT ON TU BE WEAR

 Rate of Paint Loss (bottom of tube)jjm/h
8

6 -

Expanded bed
2 - level

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Tube Height above stand pipes mm
Static Bed 330mm + - Static Bed 150mm

FIGURE 11 PAINT LOSS VS TUBE POSITION

 58

Left Right

Plan

ooooao o
oooo (OOOO
oooo }φοοο
OOOQ ΊΟΟΟΟ
oooo >000
ooo ooo

End view

FIGURE 12 FLOW DIRECTION CHANGES IN REVERSAL CELL

 59

Left Right

jpOCOQOCÒO
OOOOOOOOQ'
οοοοοοοοοσ
oooooooo
DOOOOOOQpO
OOOOOOOÒO "
T_ jøoooooo:;
Όοοος>οοοοοο

FIGURE 13 POSITION OF TUBES AFFECTED BY VORTICES

 60

AIR BLEED TO HO PPER

HOPPER CO NTAINING
IMPACTING PARTICLES

MAIN AIR JET

AIR BLEED TO CO NTRO L

PARTICLE FLO W

TRANSPORT TUBE Um)

AIR EXHAUST
THROUGH FILTER ι

1 £
'TARGET (AT 45 e TO TRANSPO RT TUBE)

OISCHARGE VALVE FO R IMPACTING PARTICLES

FIGURE 14 VERTICAL EROSION RIG

 61

TARGET (AT 4 5 · TO DRAUGHT TUBEI

DRAUGHT TUBE

FLUIDISING NOZZLES

FLUIDISING AI R

JL
PREHEATER

SPOUT AI R
PLENUM ♦
I
i PREHEATER

FIGURE 15 RECIRCULATING MATERIAL EROSION RIG

 62

50cps 240V SUPPLY

MOTOR
CONTROLLER AND
TACHOMETER

MOTOR

INSULATION
/ 'CONVECTION OEFLECTOR
KXSSSSSN ^

•SPECIMENS

SAND;BED
• ·· * · · · •ELECTRICAL
ιι H 'u'rr-Vr HEATER COI L__

—** PLENUM

^SNSS^Si^

♦ ♦
SHAFT FLUIDISING
COOLING AIR
AIR

FIGURE 16 HIGH TEMPERATURE ALLOY ABRASION RIG

 63

Φ 190

Saction

Direction of
roi α t ion

Curved t d g ·

Retaining
bolt

Quadrant arm

Dimension in millimctr··

FIGURE 17 BRITISH STANDARD ABRASION TEST (YGP) APPARATUS

reproduced by the permission of the British Standards Institution
 SINGLES COAL SECONDARY CYCLONE
WET CAS EXHAUST
PRIMARY CYCLONC SCRUBBER
LOCK
HOPPER

I D. FAN

COAL
FREEBOARD
FEED SECTION
HOPPER

START-UP COOUNG PRIMARY SECONDARY

COAL
FEED WATER FINES FINES
HOPPER

METERING SCREW
\y\y\y\y\ i-

FLUIDISED BED
i*,/\;\s>\, SECTION
HIGH SPEED SCREW
COOLING
WATER

PLENUM
FLUIDISING AIR
CHAMBER

ASH

FIGURE 18 SCHEMATIC LAYOUT OF THE 0.6 m SQUARE FLUIDISED

COMBUSTION TEST FACILITY
 Tests A & C Test Β
Large coal
feed screw

In-bed
tubes
® G> Q> G > K
Bed level G> Q) G> Θ
(static}
ϊ Fine coa
Q
Θ Θ Θ Θ
Q) Q Bed level
(static)
400mm ^ feed Fine coal
Jl50mm feed
Air inlet Air inlet
Plenum
ţ Air
Distributor
Plenum

4
ţ Air
II Distributor
Ash drain Ash drain Ν
¿_
"7
Tube Pitch: 150mm horizontal
75mm vertical

FIGURE 19 COMBUSTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR EROSION TESTS

 ó6

TESTS A &

w
Ν
m.
MS = Mild Steel 410 = AISI410
2.25 = 2.25%Cr1%Mo 9 = 9%Cr1%Mo
310 = AISI310 NTD = Nitrided
321 = A.5I321 CHD = Chromised
CARB=Corbur¡sed BRN = Boronised
PSC = Plosma spray coating
Pre-ox¡d¡sed
tube

TEST C

FIGURE 20 TUBE MATERIALS

 67

Temperature (*C) 700

TUBE 1 TUBE 6
(nitrided steel)
(chromised steef
• top
• top ♦ bottom
• bottom

800 1000 400 600 800 1 000

200 400 600
Running hours
TEST A

700 700
TUBE 1 TUBE 6
600 H 600-
(chromised steel) (nitrided steel)
500 500- ■ top
• top ♦ bottom
400 400
♦ bottom
300 300

200 200

100-1 100

0 0
200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000

TEST Β

700- 700
TUBE 1 TUBE 6
600-
(chromised steel] 600 (nitrided steel)
500- ■ top 500
400' ♦ bottom
400
300" 300
200" 2001 top
100- 100
bottom
o-
200 400 600 800 1000 ° 0 200 400 600 800 1000

TEST C
FIGURE 21 TUBE SURFACE TEMPERATURES
 TUBE 5 TUBE 6

AISI310 - M ild Steel

AISI321 * 2.25%Cr
2.25%Cr ° Nitrided

3 4 5 6 3 4 5 6
Radial Position Radial Position

TUBE 7 TUBE 8 CO

2.25%Cr ■ M ild Steel

AISI410 - M ild Steel
9%Cr1%Mo 2.25%Cr

3 4 5 6 3 4 5 6
Radial Position Radial Position

FIGURE 22 M ETAL LOSS FROM BOTTOM ROW TUBES TEST A

 69

co
co
o

E
D
E
χ
σ
ω σι ^
2 5 N

Tube No.
1.3
E 1.2
TEST Β
E LI Η
1
co 0.9 -
co 0.8 -
_o 0.7
0.6
E 0.5
0.4
0.3
X 0.2
O 0.1
0

Tube No.

co
co
O

E
D
E
X
o
ΙΛ l/> ^
2 2 (N

Tube No. 8

FIGURE 2 3 M AXIM UM LOSSES FROM TUBES

 1.3
TUBE 5 1.2 TUBE 6
1.1
AISI310 " Mild Steel
ι • 2.25%Cr
AISI321 0.9 β
Nitrided
2.25%Cr 0.8
0.7
0.6
σ
(f)
0.5
O 0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
3 4 5 3 4 5
Radial Position Radial Position

3 4 5 3 4 5
Radial Position Radial P o s i t i o n
FIGURE 24 METAL LOSS FROM BOTTOM ROW TU BES TEST C
 71

Predicted Lose (mm)

1 2 3
Measured Lose (mm)

Range of Design/Operating Parameters

Fluidising Velocity 1.7 - 3.4 m/s

Bed Depth (before fluidisation) 130 - 260 mm
Tube Diameter 5 1 - 8 9 mm
Tube Inclination 0 - 1 3 deg
Operating Time 600 - 21,000 hours
(Symbols represent the 11 boilers examined)

FIGURE 25 COMPARISON OF MEASURED AND

PREDICTED METAL LOSS IN 1 1 BOILERS
 72

METAL
LOSS RATE
(mm/1000h)

2 2.5 3
Fluidising Velocity (m/s)

FIGURE 26 EFFECT OF FLUIDISING VELOCITY

AND BED DEPTH ON WEAR
 73

APPENDIX 1

IN BED TUBE EROSION MECHANISMS AND EVALUATION OF PROTECTION TECHNIQUES

ON COMMERCIAL FLUIDISED BED BOILERS (FOSTER WHEELER POWER PRODUCTS LTD)

Executive Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

Over the past six years, Foster Wheeler Power Products Limited and their
subsidiary Company, Gibson Wells Limited have been involved in the design
and operation of atmospheric fluidised bed boilers. This report describes
the experience gained from three boilers supplied, based on shallow bed
technology as developed and licenced by the British Coal Corporation. All
three are water tube designs, operated on a commercial basis. Boilers 'A'
and 'B' commenced operation in 1982, the third, Boiler 'C' was commissioned
early in 1985. The three units had completed a total of 59,650 operating
hours by January 1988.

Early test and operating experience with fluidised bed combustore had
not identified the problem of metal loss from heat transfer surfaces.
However, with the continued development of the technology the problem
emerged and it is now documented that many units have experienced severe
metal wastage, although some seemingly have none.
Wastage has occurred to both in-bed heat transfer tube banks and
furnace enclosure walls. The occurrence is not limited to a few units but
has been reported world wide and is recognised as a major obstacle to the
advancement of the technology.
From the early stages of operation of the first two Gibson Wells
boilers, within the initial 1,000 operating hours, signs of in-bed erosion
were evident and regular inspections were made in order to closely monitor
the metal loss from the boiler pressure parts. A programme of work was
undertaken with the objective of documenting the effect on the boilers,
identifying corrosion/erosion experience and erosion mechanisms, together
with the relevant design and operating parameters which influence metal
loss. During this stage various erosion protection systems were installed
in the operating boilers in an attempt to combat the metal loss. A
considerable amount of information was collected which, at that time, was
not fully analysed and correlated.
The same basic design philosophy was applied to all three boilers,
however the third unit was constructed at a later stage; when more
 74

knowledge of erosion protection devices had been gained, and some

additional changes were thus incorporated to the design and operating
philosophy.
The original two units were modified in an attempt to improve on the
performance of the first erosion protection devices by overcoming some of
their detrimental effects.
In 1985 Foster Wheeler Power Products Limited commenced this study;
sponsored by the European Coal and Steel Community, in conjunction with the
British Coal Corporation. The study was of three years duration and
encompassed both a review of existing experience and further development.
The project objectives were:

To identify the relevant areas of concern.

To gain an understanding of the bed material flow within a
fluidised bed and establish a mechanism for metal wastage.
To monitor and record patterns of metal wastage from in-bed
surfaces in commercial fluidised bed boilers.
To determine wear rates of in-bed surfaces exposed to the active
fluidised bed.
To determine the effects of time and fluidised bed design and
operating parameters on erosion rates and patterns.
To monitor the effects of erosion elimination systems in
operating units.
To evaluate and refine the existing techniques to develop a long
term economic solution to the problem.
The study scope to achieve these objectives was:
Continued monitoring of the in-bed tube banks. Analysis and
correlation of the measurement data from the boilers. Improved
data collection at the boiler sites.
Evaluation and reportage of metal wastage experience in the
boilers.
Utilisation of a cold model test rig to reproduce wear profiles
in existing boilers and consider the effects of changing design
and operating parameters.
Assessment of bed material abrasivity using a bench scale
Indexing technique.
Perform an economic assessment of alternative erosion protection
methods and tube surface coatings/treatments.
 75

The overall aim of the study was to identify guidelines for the design
of cost effective tubebanks with commercially acceptable life spans.

2 DISCUSSION

2.1 G eneral
2.1.1 Reportage of tube metal wear rates
The assessment of reporting of wear rates must be carefully considered and
consistent. The use of diametrical measurements should be avoided since
the measurement is across a diameter and does not reflect the tube
thickness at a unique location.
Average wear rates for a tube; or number of tubes, are useful for
indicating 'overall' metal losses for comparative purposes, however, tube
thicknesses must be recorded from a spread of measurement locations. The
use of extra measurements from areas of high wear will bias average
results, limiting their use in comparative studies. The calculation
procedures must also be consistent.
However, the replacement of a tube(s) is dependant solely on the
maximum wear rate. If, though, the maximum rate is an Individual rate due
to a local phenomenon and no other rates are nearly as high as the maximum,
then the maximum is not a true representation of the bank performance.
2.1.2 Metal Wastage
Intuition would suggest that the silica sand beds utilised in UK boilers
would wear surfaces since the medium is commonly used for
polishing/grinding. Thus, it is concluded that metal loss is Inherent to
fluidised beds, and that the aim of any design should be to minimise the
loss to a commercially acceptable level as it cannot be expected to be
completely alleviated.
2.2 Mechanism of Metal Loss
2.2.1 G eneral in-bed tube wear
The mechanism of metal loss from in-bed surfaces was Initially attributed
to erosion, in which the metal was removed by the impact of a particle on
the tube, then moving directly away. Stringer (1) (2) discusses the
possible erosion mechanisms and relations of the operating parameters to
the rate of metal loss. Miera and Finnie (3) reviewed the abrasive wear
mechanism and the different classes were also described by Stringer (1).
It is considered that the predominant wear mechanism for immersed
tub e β is an abrasive action. However, erosive wear may occur at the
surface at the fluidised bed, in the splash zone. At this location,
 76

bursting bubbles "throw" material against the tubes, and also mater'.-l
thrown above the bed, falls back onto the tube surface. This action is an
erosive mechanism.
2.2.2 Rate of metal wastage
All of the tube banks; with the exception of Boiler 'A', tubebank 2,
exhibited an initial 'conditioning' period in which a significant tube
thickness (up to 0.5 mm) was lost during the operating period un to the
first inspection. Losses of this magnitude were much larger than future
wear rates. The initial loss is attributed to the removal of tube
millscale and is predicted to occur on all new tubes Installed in this
condition.
The analysis of the wear profiles shows that; over the remaining tube
life, the wear rates were generally fairly constant (within the accuracy of
the measuring technique). This indicates that the fluidised bed
environment did not affect the tube surface during its exposure, and thus
increase or reduce its resistance to metal wastage. The only tubebank,
where the rate did change with time was Boiler 'A', tubebank 3, which
exhibited an increasing profile. This bank, however, was protected by
longitudinal fins, which initially prevented any metal loss fror« the
tubesides. After the fins had worn, exposing the tube sides, the tubes
started to suffer from metal loss. The fins continued to wear and it is
considered that the increasing wear profile exhibited by the tubebank was
due to the continued fin wear resulting in a continuous reduction in
protection of the tubes.
2.2.3 Localised metal wastage

The study has highlighted several cases of localised metal wastage, soire of
which could have been anticipated and for which there are plausible
explanations, and others which are extremely unusual.
It is clear that the distributor plate is an area requiring a high
standard of engineering integrity. A small leakage releasee a jet of high
velocity air which can cause catastrophic damage. The lose of the top of
an air distributor nozzle has the same result. This problem has also been
experienced in other plants (5) and is by definition, an erosion mechanism.
It is also clear that careful, experienced design, and location of other
items such as air distributor nozzles, thermocouples, supports and
reinjection nozzles is necessary to avoid local erosion. It is suggested
that no item be located within 50 mm of an air distributor nozzle and if
 77

this i s unavoidable then the standpipe holes facing the item should be
blanked off (5) ( 6 ) .
2.2.A Metal loss profile around the tube circumference
In this study the metal loss consistently observed from in-bed tubes is
generally a maximum at positions 20 - 45 Deg. to either side of the base of
the tube. The wear at the base is less, and around the upper half there is
essentially no wear. As a result, two flats develop on either side of the
tube base and hence this area warrants most protection. This wear profile
has been reproduced in cold model tests performed in this study. The
inclusion of protection devices, bends or other changes to the tube may
alter the wear profile.
For in-line tubebanks, the upper tube rows are protected by the
previous row and it is the sides of the upper tube rows which are subject
to metal loss, often at a higher rate than the undersides of the
"unprotected" lower rows. In these arrangements it is thus the tube sides
which warrant additional protection.
An alternative wear pattern has been reported (7) by Grimetherpe in
their PFBC unit and also substantiated by cold model reproduction. This
wear profile has the maximum metal wastage at the base of the tube,
diminishing on either side. The different wear profiles may be due to
several differing factors between atmospheric and pressurised operation,
including bed depth and tube bank arrangement, and this is an important
consideration when comparing the two technologies.
2.2.5 Metal loss from furnace sidewalls
The metal loss from tubular furnace sidewalls was observed to be worse then
that from in-bed surfaces. This is not substantiated by early Chinese
experience (8) which reported in-bed tube surfaces suffering from rates of
metal loss in excess of 100 times greater than from furnace sidewalls.
However, the wear observed in this study was predominately due to a
downflow of bed material in the channel formed between the tubes and
Interconnecting fins. This mechanism has been reproduced in cold model
tests (9). The construction of the wall, without the channel may alleviate
the problem, however severe wear has been reported from shell type boilers
with flat furnace walls (5). It is recommended that all furnace walls be
protected from wear.
Refractory protection has been proven, however it has been observed
that continuous maintenance is required and that heat transfer to the
furnace sidewalls is substantially reduced, even when using materials with
 78

high thermal conductivities. Major refurbishment is required to allow

in-bed tube replacement.
A protection scheme utilising horizontal shelves has successfully
protected furnace sidewalls in cold and hot model tests (5) and is
presently being assessed in a commercial operating environment. The
arrangement is economically attractive and allows heat transfer to the
furnace sidewalls, thus reducing in-bed surface requirements.
The wear of walls in shell boiler furnaces has been reported to occur
preferentially at positions where the wall surface is rough or uneven, such
as vertical seam welds. The preferential attack of seam welds is singlar
to that reported in this study of the welds between furnace sidewall tubes
and fins.
2.2.6 In-bed tube bends
The bends of in-bed tubes are subject to significantly worse rates of metal
loss than straight lengths. The bends studied were full 90 degree bends,
passing from the vertical to horizontal orientation. Bends should not be
exposed to the active bed environment. Any bends should be protected
either with refractory or other methods such as fins or studs.
However, the tubebank design should preferably avoid locating bends in
the bed area, either by having straight tube length across the full furnace
or by incorporating bends into the furnace walls and then combining their
protection with the furnace walls ie refractory or shelves.
2.3 Parameters Affecting Metal Loss
It is clear from the study that the rate of metal loss from tube surfaces
is dependant on, and a combination of, many factors.
Because the factors act in combination it was difficult to Isolate the
effect of any single parameter on the wear rates. Only fluidising velocity
can be clearly identified.
2.3.1 Fluidising velocity
The primary operating parameter affecting metal loss is the fluidising
velocity. This has been confirmed both in commercial operating plant and
cold model testwork. The exact correlation between the fluidising velocity
and rate of metal loss has not been ascertained, although a linear
relationship would fit and has been reported by others (10). The data
suggest that below a certain fluidising velocity, metal loss ceases. This
is consistent with the theory of intrinsic wear In fluldlsed bed and it is
suggested that below a 2.0 m/s fluidising velocity metal loss will be
 79

minimal for surfaces in AFBC. À lover limit has been suggested for FFBC
applications (10).
Experience from operating plant and cold model tests has been
correlated, as discussed in the main report» and a power law with an
exponent of 2.0 was found to best fit the data. Cold model work performed
within this study identified an exponent of 4.6 thus greater amplifying the
importance of fluidising velocity as the primary factor concerning wear
rate. This work was, however, very limited and further investigation is
required for confirmation.
2.3.2 Tube protection methods
Protection methods such as fins and discs do not seem to alter the wear
mechanism, but to act in a sacrificai mode. A combination of fins and
extra tube wall thickness can be used to maximise tube life. Longitudinal
fins are the preferred protection method because they are relatively cheap
and also extra fins can be attached to the tubes, if required, at
accessible locations during operation.
The design and position of the fins should be carefully considered to
ensure the maximum protection of the tube surface. If a number of
longitudinal fins are located on the lower half of a tube, then to avoid
bowing due to the heat of welding during manufacture, at least a single fin
should be located on the top of the tube. A fin on the top of the tube
will increase the heat flux at this location and the boiler circulating
system must be designed to accommodate this. A pair of offset fins should
be avoided on the top half of the tube because they offer limited erosion
protection and allow the accumulation of stagnant bed material between the
fins, thus reducing heat transfer to the tube surface.
The rate of metal loss from fins may be greater than experienced from
the tube surface. Although not tested, alternative fin materials may be
advantageous. Ball studs also offer protection and seem to suffer from a
sacrificial wear mode. However, wear of the tube surface may also occur
between the studs and the rate of wear seems to be dependant on tube
location and also stud pitching. It has not been possible to fully
quantify the rate of wear of studs or tube surface.
2.3.3 Tubebank arrangement
Under identical design and operating conditions, staggered tube banks
suffer from woree wear rates than in-line arrangements. This cannot be
identified directly from the study of the tube banks but has been shown in
cold model testwork (see main report) in which wear on upper row of tubes
 80

in a triangular array was greater than that in the corresponding tubes in a

square pitch. Intuition would concur with the theory that bed material
would channel between the lower tube rows and strike the next staggered row
at a higher velocity, and this is reflected by the recorded wear rates of
upper and lower tube rows in staggered arrays.
The effect of tube pitching cannot be fully assessed from the study.
Reduced tube pitch to form a close packed triangular array may produce high
channel velocities between the lower tube row and a resultant high rate of
metal wastage from the upper tube row. This reasoning led to the use of a
square arrangement for the Boiler 'A', tubebank 3. Although the lower tube
row pitching was reduced, the use of a square pitch arrangement resulted in
a 60" reduction in channel velocity. However the anticipated reduction in
metal wastage rate was not observed, and in comparison, Boiler 'C' with a
channel velocity 3.1 times larger, suffered from a substantially lower rate
of metal loss.
The effect of bundle arrangement on bubble development/flow has also
been discussed (1), and results from Grlmethorpe PFBC have suggested that a
densely packed array is preferable. This conclusion however, is probably
restricted to PFBC technology where deep beds (greater than 2.0 m) and
corresponding tube banks would be an important factor in relation to bubble
development and motion.
Staggered tubebanks, generally suffer from worse wear rates than
in-line arrangements, operating with all other parameters the same.
2.3.4 Bed material
The abrasive nature of bed material is a contributory factor to the rate of
metal loss from a tubebank. It is difficult to assess what contribution
the bed material makes to the wear rate performance of a tubebank. Within
this study, differences in abrasive Index of more than 60Z have been
identified between bed materials. TVA (11) reported a step change In wear
rate associated with a change in the limestone sorbent. Abrasive teet
results of the limestone were quantitatively consistent with the changes in
wear rate.
It is clear that the effect of coal/coal ash on, or in combination
with, the original silica sand bed material dictates the abrasive nature of
the bed. The difference In abrasive index may be dependant on the
coal/coal ash due to its mechanical/chemical properties or alternatively in
combination with the particle size distribution of the material, and/or
particle shape.
 81

It has been reported (12) that coals with less than 10 percent quartz
in ash are moderately abrasive. The chemical composition may effect the
hardness of the bed particles. All of the samples of used silica sand
taken in the study had a coating of coal ash, identified by the changed
colour of the sand. Used bed material also consists of a large proportion
of coal ash.
Particle size has been shown to influence wear rates. Cold model
studies, both in this study and by others (10) have shown that larger
particles resulted in higher wear rates. The abrasion mechanism has been
postulated to be dependant on particle size. However, the primary reason
for this effect has not been determined and may be one, or a combination of
the following:
The abrasive wear mechanism being related to particle size.
The fluidisation behaviour of different particle sizes at
different fluidising velocities. These flow regimes ere
described by Geldart (13).
Defluidisation, particles produced preferential flow paths
through the bed, and thus "jets" on to tube surfaces.
Clearly, further testwork is required to Investigate the factors
described above. However, the applicability of the test method should be
verified initially by comparing it with metal loss from within operating
fluidised beds and also by close comparison with cold model work. An
alternative test method may be developed with a closer similarity to the
actual fluidised bed environment. An improved method may extend the test
capabilities to encompass the effect of bed temperature and also to allow
the testing of different tube materials.
2.3.5 Channel velocity
Channel velocity is a re-calculation of fluidising velocity based on the
gaps between the tubes. There Is no obvious correlation between channel
velocity and wear rate for the banks studied. However, it is considered
that there may be a correlation between channel velocity and the rate of
metal wastage from the sides of the upper tube rows of in-line bank
arrangements. Intuition suggests that this relationship would occur and
that lower channel velocities would result in lower wear rates. Further
study of other in-line tube bank performance is required.
2.3.6 Height within bed
The tubebanks studled always suffered from the maximum wear at a location
 82

within the expanded bed zone ie between the static and expanded bed levels.
Sidevall wear at the static bed level has also been reported in other
boilers (14).
2.3.7 Tubebank inclination
All of the tubebanks studied had inclined tubes. The inclination varied
between 4 and 10 deg. However, these are design figures and fabrication
tolerances, particularly for the tubebanks which were refurbished within
existing boilers, are such that a large variation can be expected. There
is no conclusive evidence, from FWPP studies that tube inclination does
relate to wear performance. It has been considered that an inclined tube,
particularly with offset longitudinal fins may 'trap' rising bubbles and
that they then 'track' along the underside of the tube length causing high
wear. In Boiler 'B' tubebank 2 (4 degree inclination) some of the tubes
protected by offset longitudinal fins had circumferential discs at regi.lar
intervals to prevent tracking. However, from the limited data the tubes
with fins and discs suffered from higher rates of metal loss than the tubes
with fins only. Horizontal tubebanks are not conducive to natural
circulation schemes and can only be recommended for forced/assisted
circulation arrangements. Severe waterside corrosion, due to "steam
blanketing" of the top of horizontal tubes has resulted in failures ( 6 ) .
2.3.8 Tube diameter
Only two tube diameters were studied; 76 mm and 89 mm, and no firm
conclusions can be drawn regarding the effect of diameter on wear rate.
Cold model studies, see main report, have shown that tube wear can
increase by a factor of two when the tube diameter is increased from 50 mm
to 116 mm. It is recommended that 76 mm outside diameter tubes are
utilised. The use of a smaller diameter would substantially increase the
number of tubes required and hence the cost of replacement.
2.3.9 In-bed tube surface treatments/coatings
All of the tubebanks assessed in the study were fabricated from carbon
steel and as such no comparisons can be made with other materials. Work
has been carried out to assess the performance of alternatives, generally
with higher chromium contents. However» this has usually been at higher
operating temperatures and the results may be a combination of metallurgy
and metal temperature. These results are not applicable to low pressure
saturated boilers. However, a possible application may be for protection
devices such as fins. These extended surfaces operate with tip
 83

temperatures up to 150 deg.C higher than the tube outside metal

temperature, and the use of a higher grade alloy may be advantageous.
None of the tubebanks assessed in this study had tube surface coatings
or treatments, however their potential as a means of alleviating or totally
eliminating metal wastage cannot be ignored. Some of the options are
particularly expensive, increasing the base capital cost by up to 8Z, thus
reducing the initial attraction of the fluidlsed bed option and also
necessitating a long life expectancy from the tubes.
The nitriding surface treatment is a relatively cheap option and is
easily performed, allowing consistent treatment to all surfaces, even if
sacrificai protection devices are attached. Test performance so far (5)
has been encouraging and full long term demonstration trails should be
Implemented.
Chromising has been installed In operating units and performed well
(15). It is now a standard design option, although, the cost is around
twice that of the nitriding option.
2.3.10 Bed depth
Cold model testwork has shown that tube wastage is greater with deeper
beds. Bed depth should be minimised, however, the constraints of velocity
turndown, residence time and sulphur capture must be addressed, and if
necessary a compromise made.

3 CONCLUSIONS

The study has highlighted the need for a consistent method of tube
thickness measurement, utilisation of measurement data, calculation of wear
rate and statistical analysis. Such a procedure has been developed during
the course of the study. Further consideration Is required on how to
present the calculated wear rates. Presentation of maximum and average
values is open to error or Disinterpretation and does not fully describe
the wear profile. The frequency and range of all the higher wear rates in
any bank should be considered, and a better statistical technique is
required to reflect this. Only then, can results from other separate
sources be fairly compared.
Although the scope of cold model work carried out during the study was
limited, the resultant wear profiles corresponded to the profiles observed
in operating plant and It Is thus considered as an acceptable method for
comparing the effect of design and operating parameters on metal wastage.
 84

The abrasivity test work highlighted, that coal type may have a
significant effect on the abrasivity of bed material and hence the wear
performance of a tube bank. Further work is required to identify the
dominant factors and to isolate the effects of chemical and physical
composition. However, it is most important initially to confirm that the
test method accurately represents the environment within the fluidised bed.

The designer can minimise the risk of catastrophic failures by careful

mechanical design and observing some design and layout rules gained by
experience. The consequences of a tube bank failure can be severe. Jets
entrain particles which quickly erode other surfaces resulting in a domino
effect, and extensive damage. The engineering integrity of fluidised bed
boilers in and around the bed regions needs to be higher than for
conventional coal fired boilers.
This study identified that the metal wastage phenomenon is due to a
large number of contributory factors. The influence of single parameters
could not be considered in isolation. Incorporating knowledge from
monitoring of in-bed tube banks and the other bench scale, test rig and
paper studies, guidelines have been developed for future designs of tr.be
bank. The following are the guidelines as related to the main design and
operating parameters.
The guidelines are based on experience gained from seven ln-bed tube
banks in three fluidised bed boilers which have operated for a total of
more than 57,000 hours. The tube banks have been developed during the
operating period and changes to the design and operating parameters have
allowed a comprehensive data base of experience to be compiled.
The tube banks have combated metal wastage with varying degrees of
success. Boiler 'A' has consistently suffered from high rates of metal
loss in all three tube banks and major constructional constraints ensure
that the situation will probably continue. However, Boiler 'B' has been
refurbished on the basis of knowledge gained in this study and as a result
has an anticipated life of around five years. This is considered to be a
commercially acceptable solution. Boiler 'C' was designed and manufactured
based upon the early knowledge gained at the other two sites and has been
relatively unaffected by metal wastage in more than 13,000 operating hours.
It is concluded that on the basis of knowledge gained, the existing
boilers can be re-designed or refurbished with tube banks exhibiting
commercially acceptable life spans and that by utilising the experience and
 85

design guidelines developed in this study future plants can also be

designed with confidence.

4 REFERENCES
1. J Stringer, "Current Information on Metal Wastage in Fluidised Bed
Combustors". 9th International Conference on Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Boston, 1987.
2. J Stringer and I Wright, "Erosion/Corrosion in FBC Boilers". EPRI
Workshop on Wastage of In-bed Surfaces in FBC's, Argonne National
Laboratories, November 1987.
3. A Misra and I Finnie, Trans ASME, 104 (1982) 94-101.
4. NCB (IEA G rimethorpe) Limited. G EF/U/83/16, "Materials related
problems and investigations during test series 1", (1984).
5. S A Brain and E A Rogers, "Experience of erosion of metal surfaces in
UK Fluid Bed Boilers". International Specialists meeting on Solid
Fuel Utilisation, Combustion Institute, Lisbon, July 1987.
6. F Verhoeff, "Design and Operation of the 115 t/h FBC boiler for AKZO -
Holland". 9th International Conference of Fluidised Bed Combustion,
Boston, USA, 1987.
7. J S Anderson et al, "Wastage of In-bed Heat Transfer Surfaces in the
Pressurised Fluidised Bed Combustor at G rimethorpe". J En? G ap
Turbines for Power, Vol. 1987.
8. Xu-Yi Zhang, "The progress of Fluidised Bed Boilers in the Peoples
Republic of China". 6th International Conference of Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Atlanta, USA, 1980.
9. M J Parkinson, K A G Jones and A W Jury, "Cold Model Studies on AFBC
Erosion". EPRI Workshop on FBC Materials Issues. Port Hawkesbury,
Nova Scotia, Canada, July 1985.
10. M J Parkinson, Β A Napier, A W Jury and Τ J Kempton, "Cold Model
Studies on PFBC Erosion". EPRI Workshop on FBC Materials Issues.
Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, Canada, July 1985.
11. R Q Vincent, J M Poston and B F Smith, "Erosion Experience of the TVA
20 MW AFBC Boiler". 9th International Conference on Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Boston, 1987.
12. E Raask, "An Assessment of Ash Impaction Erosion in Oil to Coal
Converted Boilers". Proc 6th International Conference on Erosion by
Liquid and Solid Impact. 1983, 56-1 and 56-10.
13. D G eldart, "Wastage of In-Bed Surfaces in Fluidised Bed Combustor".
EPRI Workshop on Wastage of In-Bed Surfaces in FBC's". Argonne
National Laboratories, Nov. 1987.
14. J Ρ Moore et al, "Operating Experience with horizontal and vertical
Shell Boilers". Proc 7th International Conference of Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Philadelphia, USA, 1982.
15. E D Montrone, "Experience with Foster Wheeler Fluidised Bed
Combustors". EPRI Workshop on Wastage on In-Bed Surfaces in FBC's.
Argonne National Laboratories, November, 1987.
 87

APPENDIX 2

GUIDELINES FOR MINIMISING WEAR IN UK AFBC BOILERS

(AS CIRCULATED TO UK BOILER MANUFACTURERS)

1 INTRODUCTION

By the end of 1983 a number of fluidised bed installations had been

operational for several thousand hours and it was noted that significant
erosion of both vails and in-bed tubes could occur in some combustors.
This wear was typically at the rate of 5-10 mm/10,000 hours operation.
A programme to study the causes and mechanisms and possible remedies
in shallow bed systems, typically 150-300 mm bed depth, was begun by
British Coal in 1984. The study has covered the following areas, which are
all topics of on-going research.
1. Field experiences
2. Mechanisms
3. Cold model studies
4. The role of materials of construction
5. Hot testing under controlled conditions
The metal wear, which can occur on both the walls and tubes in contact
vith the fluidised bed has been shown to be a localised and not a general
phenomenon. The wear mechanism is predominantly erosion/abrasion and not
corrosion, as metal temperatures are low (i250°C) and the patterns of wear
can be qualitatively simulated using cold models.
The research studies and boiler monitoring have shown that a mürber of
operating conditions (fluidising velocity and bed height) and tube design
parameters (tube pitch, diameter, position and inclination) can affect
metal wastage. This wastage is often at a maximum on surfaces in the
region between the surface of the static bed and that of the fully
fluidised bed.
As an interim measure the following notes are issued as design
guidelines on those parameters which have the most significant effect on
erosion. It must be accepted that these guidelines reflect current
knowledge and recommendations may change in the light of new Information.
For the purposes of this document it is suggested that <1.5 mm/10,000 hrs
is an acceptable wear rate.
The metal wear on walls and tubes follows different patterns which are
considered separately.
 88

2 VALL WEAR

2.1 Occurrence
Metal loss can occur on both plain and membrane walls in a band 100-200 mm
wide with a mid-level about 50 mm above the static bed level. The loss
also occurs on small projections, such as the ends of stay bars a'd Stan.
welds, situated within the band.
The rate of wear is normally acceptable at fluidising velocities below
1 m/s but is markedly increased by increasing fluidising velocity in the
range 1-3 m/s. Wear rates are not reduced by the use of hard weld overlay.
2.2 Remedial measures for existing boilers The use of metal shelves, 20 mi",
wide, 6 mm thick, welded to plain walls on a 50 mm pitch in the affected
region has reduced the wear rates to acceptable levels. Walls of tube and
fin construction have been protected by covering with castable refractory.
However care should be taken to ensure that refractory additions do not
reduce the cross sectional area of the boiler thereby increasing wear due
to the higher velocities required to maintain output.
2.3 Design recomirendations
The preferred approach is to fit steel shelving, as described above,
covering the region between 0.1 m below, and 0.4 m above, the level of
static bed surface. For tube and fin walls the use of a casteble
refractory to protect the area is an alternative if shelving is considered
to be difficult or expensive to fit.
It is recommended that fluidising velocity be kept to below 2.5 m/s
and the static bed depth to the shallowest practicable, commensurate with
operating and control design requirements. If fluidising velocities in
excess of 2.5 m/s are used, rapid wear may take place severely limiting
combustor life. Similarly, if beds deeper than 150 mm are required, e.g.
for sulphur retention, then a wider band of shelving may be needed. The
influence of sulphated limestone or dolomite on wear has yet to be
assessed.

3 TUBE WEAR

3.1 Occurrence
Metal loss normally occurs on the underside of tubes with inclined tubes
and some bends being more prone to wear. Localised wear on the tops of
tubes has been observed in some units, due to the Impact of coal where the
coal is fed from above through simple feed chutes. Some localised wear has
been observed where tubes pass through a shell wall.
 89

3.2 Remedial measures for existing boilers

Bends susceptible to wear have been encased in refractory but use· of this
measure should not be allowed to significantly increase gas velocities in
other parts of the boiler. Installation of fin and disc baffles ir
localised areas has enabled extended life of tubing to be achieved. By far
the most effective remedial measure has been to lower fluidising velocity
provided the customer can accept the resulting reduced boiler output.
3.3 Design recommendations
The tube bank should incorporate the following features to reduce metal
wastage.
1. The tubes should be arranged on a square pitch in preference to a
triangular pitch. Use of a triangular pitch in cold model studies
showed wear rates of the upper row tubes Increased by a factor of 4
compared with square pitch.
2. Where triangular pitch or cross-over arrangements are used, some
protection on the underside of the upper tubes may be required.
3. Use the smallest practicable diameter of tube commensurate with goor"
circulation. Cold model studies indicate wear rates may increase by a
factor of 2 as the tube diameter is increased from 50 to 116 mm.
4. Use horizontal tubes if possible. Cold model studies indicate that
e
tubes inclined at 10 may give wear rates 1.5 times higher than those
for horizontal tubes.
5. There is evidence suggesting that wear rates are increased or. tubes
located in the region between the static and the expanded bed levels.
If possible avoid locating tubes at that position although this may
not be possible when bed expansion is used for turndown.
The following good operating practice should be observed:
1. Keep the fluidising velocity below 2.5 m/s and preferably below 2 m/s.
Operation at higher fluidising velocities may well cause excessive
wear. The fluidising velocity is the single most Important parameter
in its effect on wear rates. Cold model studies indicate that the
wear rate may increase by a factor of 3 as the fluidising velocity is
Increased from 1.5 to 2.5 m/s.
2. Use the shallowest static bed depth permissible which satisfies other
design criteria. Cold model studies indicated an increase in wear
rates by a factor of A when the bed depth was increased from 150 to
500 mm.
 90

3. Avoid non-uniform air flows through the combustor. These can increase
wear rates by a factor of 2 or more. Preferential air flows may be
caused by:-
i) poor plenum design,
ii) use of air distributors with too low a pressure drop,
iii) damaged standpipes.
lv) accumulations of oversize ash or sintered material in
parts of the bed.

April 1987