ABSTRACT

The power generation plays a vital role for any country

development. One of such power generation unit is
thermal power plant which is the main source for largescale production of electrical energy. The cycle used is
MODIFEID RANKINE CYCLE which includes super
heated steam, regenerating feed water and reheated
steam. Raw materials used in thermal power plant are
coal, water, oil and air.

The main objective behind my project is to study about

the thermal plant, how power is generated, what are its
sources, working of boilers and boiler tube failures.

This work concentrates much about boiler tubes,

different type of tube failures and main cause for failure
of tubes and preventive measures in boiler tubes.

CONTENTS

Principle of power generation

Boiler

Boiler accessories

Boiler tube failures

Case study of boiler tube failures

Conclusion

PRINCIPLE OF POWER GENERATION

It is known fact that when coal is burnt releases heat energy. The
same phenomenon when chemically represented.

C + O2 = CO2 + Heat Energy (395 KJ/Mole)

Energy Transfer:
In the boiler chemical energy of fuel is converted into thermal
energy by heating water and converting it into steam. The steam
produced in the boiler is expanded in the turbine where thermal
energy is converted to kinetic energy.

As the steam expands it rotates the turbine this motion of

the turbine is transmitted to generator in which mechanical
energy is converted into electrical energy, which is transmitted to
various load centers through transmission lines .

The basic theoretical working cycle of a steam power plant

on which it works is RANKINE CYCLE the modern steam
power plant uses modified Rankin cycle which includes
reheating, super heating and regenerative feed water
heating.

RANKINE CYCLE:-

ENERGY CONVERSON DIAGRAM:

Chemical Energy BOILER Thermal Energy

TURBINE Kinetic Energy GENERATOR Electrical
Energy

BOILER
Boiler

is the main part in the power generation.

Boiler

is a sealed vessel in which water is converted into steam.

Boiler

acts as a medium in which water is converted into steam

by using the heat released in the process of combustion of coal
in the presence of oxygen.

Before

combustion process the coal is collected from bunkers

into millers.

This

coal is converted as powder (pulverized) in the millers

During

this process if their is any wet coal ,it is converted into

dry coal.

And

finally It sent to the boiler by using the air.

BOILER ACCESSORIES

BOILER DRUM

It is the main part of the boiler, in which steam and

water separates.
Inside the boiler drum, saturated steam is separated from
water and then directed in to super heating tubes for further
temperature increase.
Water separated from steam will combine with the incoming
boiler feed water and then re-enter the down comers to
repeat the cycle.
Thus the boiler drum acts as a steam separator.

DOWNCOMERS:

There are six down comers in (500 MW) which carry water
from boiler drum to the ring header.
They are installed from outside the furnace to keep density
difference for natural circulation of water & steam.

DRUM INTERNALS:

PRIMARY SEPERATORS Consists of baffle arrangement

devices which change the direction of flow of steam and
water mixture
SECONDARY SEPERATORS- Separators employing
spinning action

WATER WALLS

Almost all modern power boilers are equipped with water

walls .

In large boilers water walls completely cover the interior

surfaces of the furnace.

These tubes receive water from the boiler drum by means

of down comers connected between drum and water walls
lower headers.

In a boiler the water walls absorbed approximate it 50%of

heat released by the combustion of the fuel in the furnace.

Heat so absorbed by the water walls used in the

evaporation of water supplied to boiler.

ECONOMIZER

The purpose of economizer is to preheat the boiler feed

water before it is introduced into the steam drum by
recovering heat from the flue gases leaving the boiler.
Feed water after heated goes in to the boiler drum.
The economizer is used for improving the efficiency of the
boiler and it is the one of the important for the accessories
for the boiler.

ADVANTAGES OF ECONOMISER:

220 C reduction in flue gas temperature increases boiler

efficiency by 1%.
6oC raise in feed water temperature, by economizers
corresponds to 1% saving in fuel consumption .

SUPER HEATER

A super heater is a device which heats steam to high

temperatures.
A super heater consists of group of tubes made of special
alloys such as chromium molybdenum.
The wet steam from the boiler drum enters in to the super
heater and gets heated up to a temperature of 535 deg cen
and pressure of 170kg/sq cm by gaining heat from the flue
gases leaving the furnace .
The steam entering the super heater and then the
secondary super heater to the tertiary super heater.

RE-HEATER:
The function of re-heater is to increase the

temperature of the steam leaving the HPT again to

540 deg C and the pressure up to the 42kg/cm2.

BURNERS:

500 MW boiler is a tangential corner fired boiler having

32 burner assemblies i.e. 8 burner assemblies at 4
different elevations.

M.S

C.R.H

H.
R.
H

FROM F.R.S
BOTTOM RNG HDR

ST

PASS W.W

1ST PASS W.W O/L HDRS

ROOF I/L HEADER

2ND PASS UPPER C-HDR

2nd PASS LOWER C-HDRS

LTSH I/L HEADER

LTSH O/L HEADER

D.P.I/L HEADER

D.P.O/L HEADER

S.H. HEADER

R.H.HEADER

2ND PASS ROOF O/L HDR(REAR

ECONOMISER

BOILER TUBE
FAILURES
Overview:

Boiler tube failures are the leading cause of forced outages

of fossil-fired power plants.
Boiler tubes are subjected to various failure mechanisms driven
by temperature, stress and environmental hazard, depending on
their designs and functions.
Super heater tubes, re heater tubes & furnace water wall tubes
always experienced high temperature ductile failures such as
stress-rupture failure, initiated by creep process or sudden
overheating due to steam starvation or flue gas disruption.
Suspended tubes with a lack of support or exposed to vibration /
cyclic loading would bear a risk of mechanical fatigue.

BOILER TUBE FAILURES

Major reasons contributing for boiler
tube failures are :
Short Term Overheating
Long term overheating
Dissimilar Metal Welds
Hydrogen Damage
Pitting
Falling Slag Erosion
Soot Blower
Material Defects
Welding Defects

SHORT TERM OVER HEATING

Short term overheating in water cooled tubes occurs because of

abnormal coolant flow are excessive combustion gas temperature. As a
result, the tubes are subjected to excessively high temperature
often hundreds of degrees which results in rapid failure.
A considerable increase (> 5%) in the inside or outside diameter of
affected tubes.
Once flow conditions are interrupted as described above the normal
cooling effects of the water no longer occur and tube metal
temperature rises rapidly.

MAIN CAUSES:

Partial blockage caused by maintenance

activities.
Poor control of drum level.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS:

The deposits can be blown off which is very time consuming, or

The unit can be chemically cleaned.

LONG TERM OVER HEATING

Long term overheating can caused by deposits attached on inner
surface of tubes.

Long term overheating can occurs in all of pressure part in steam boiler
such as water wall tubes, header, super heater, re heater, economizer,
steam drum, water drum
Almost 90% failure can occurs in super heater
Definition of long term overheating is a condition in which pressure
parts have metal temperature higher than temperature design in long
term

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS:

Temporary pad welds should not be used because of the

uncertainty associated with base metal condition.
Tube shielding.

DISSIMILAR WELD JOINTS

As the elevation of the boiler is very much higher we

have to join the different tubes to that much of higher
elevation according to the temperatures inside the
boiler.
Quality control needs to be applied to assure sound
weld.
Results from application of high temperature and
stress beyond design value

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS:

Replacement
Frequent inspection.

HYDROGEN DAMAGE

Hydrogen damage in boiler tubes is caused by a corrosive reaction between steam and
steel
Shown below:
Fe +H2o =Fe304 + H2

The hydrogen that is released reacts with carbides to decarburize the steel and forms
methane gas at the boundaries.
Results in wall loss due to corrosion and decreases the strength in material attacked
by hydrogen.
The damage usually occurs in areas of high heat flux and flow disturbances includes
tubes opposite to burners and tube bends

Corrective Action:
Control Boiler Water Chemistry

Check corrosion product ingress

Chemical cleaning
Replace affected tubes

PITTING

The formation of small pits in a surface as a consequence of

corrosion.
Pitting corrosion may takes place in the environment of
stagnant, oxygenated water formed during shutdown.
Most familiar form of oxygen attack in boiler and condensate
system.
Dissolved oxygen is essential to corrosion of copper alloy
tubes.
At higher temperatures oxygen weakens steel.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS:

If D.O in feed water is >10ppb,its source needs to be identified and arrested

may be mechanically or chemically.
Proper operation of deareator,L.P.Feed water Heater.

FALLING SLAG ERROSION

Typical Locations:

Lower furnace sloping wall near bottom opening

Probable Root Cause

Slagging of coal and massive clinker fall
Coal properties and boiler design

Corrective Action
Change in fuel

SOOT BLOWER

A soot blower is a system for removing the soot that is deposited

on the furnace tubes of a blower during combustion.
Soot deposited on the heating surfaces of a boiler acts as aheat
insulator. The result is that less heat is transferred to the water
to raise steam and more heat is wasted up thechimney. This
leads to higher fuel consumption and/or poor steaming.

Various types of soot blowers such as wall blowers, long

retractable blowers and air heater blowers are used for cleaning.
Steam is normally used as a medium for blowing away the soot.

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY SOOT

Reduce efficiency

CASE STUDY
FLY ASH EROSSION:

UNIT NO: 7
Location: Z- Panel Corner 1 Tube No. 1
Failure Date: 30.01.2012
Reason of failure: Falling slag erosion.
Action: All the 7 tubes replaced. Radiography taken
found OK.
Action proposed: Plastic refractory will be provided in this
location during next overhaul.

Long term over heating:

UNIT NO: 5
Location: Final Re heater Coil No. 17 Tube No. 19
.Failure Date: 31.01.2012
Reason of failure: Long term overheating.
Action: All tubes replaced. Total no. of joints 14
radiography done and cleared. Vacuum pulling
done and found OK.
Action proposed: Oxide scale will be measured in this
area in next overhaul.
Other action plan:
will be decided based on R&D report.

MECHANICAL RUBBING:

UNIT NO: 5
Location: Spacer Tube of Final Super heater near Coil
No. 21
Reason of failure: Erosion due to mechanical rubbing of
Super heater cleat with spacer tube.
Failure Date: 13.12.2011
Action taken: All the three tubes replaced.
Total number of joints 6. All joints radiography
done and cleared.
Action proposed: Spacer tube locking and
alignment to be ensured in all overhauls.

The boiler efficiency for stage(3) in NTPC

Ramagundam is 87.145 % with out any FAILURES in
boiler tubes.
If there was any failures in boiler tube then
its efficiency will be lower than required one.
Daily NTPC Ramagundam supplies 62.4MU
If Stage(3) overhaul for few hours.
i.e24hrs then power loss will be 12MU
In order to overcome the efficiency and power
generation. Boiler tubes will be in good condition .
To check over them vacuum pulling test and
radiography test will be done