Prepared By: Shahid Akbar 1

CONTENTS
• Objective of Presentation
• Introduction to Primary Reformer Furnace, F
201
• Failure Modes
• Engineering Basis of New Catalyst tubes
• Recommendations
• Conclusion
• Questions & Answers

2
 PRIMARY REFORMER TUBE SCHEMATIC

Inlet
Hairpin header

Catalyst
tube

Hot
collecto
r
Outlet
Reformer gas outlet
pigtail3
 Tubes’ design data ( Existing)

Numbers of tubes 288

Design Code API RP 530

Material IN 519 (24 Cr – 24 Ni – Nb )

Design Temperature/Operating Temperature 925 C°/ 895 C°

Design Pressure/Operating Pressure 38 Kg/cm2 / 32 kg/cm2

Design Life 100,000 Hrs

Tube Length (Heated) 11.6 m

Tube Size OD 152 mm (nom.)

Wall thickness 18.7 mm (min.) 4

 FAILURE MODES OF CATALYST TUBES

• Carburization
• Oxidation
• Creep Failure: the contributing Factor

5
 CREEP

• The time dependent, thermally assisted,

deformation Under Load is known as Creep

6
 Creep Curve
Strain Hardening Softening processes Damage processes

7
 Creep Mechanism
• DISLOCATION AND SLIP
• GRAIN BOUNDARY SLIDING
• DIFFUSIONAL FLOW

SLIP PLANE

8
 CREEP
Grain
boundary
Dislocation
fissure

Creep
void
grain

crack
9
 Factors Affecting Creep

• Over heating
• Thermal cycling
• Thermal shock
• Stress corrosion cracking

10
 F-201 Catalyst Tubes History
• 309 tubes replaced.
• Tube failure started in 1985
just five years of plant
comminsioning.

11
CALCULATION FOR MINIMUM SOUND WALL ( MSW)
RUPTURE DESIGN

DESIGN TEMPERATURE ( Td) 904.0 C⁰

P x D₀
Ts =
DESIGN PRESSURE ( Pr) 38 Kg/cm2 2 x Sr x Pr

DESIGN LIFE Ld 100,00 Hrs

P x Di
Ts =
DESIGN INSIDE DIA (Di) 129.00 mm
2 x Sr x Pr

ALLOY L & M CONSTANT (C ) 24.60

Tm = Ts + f(CA)
ALLOWABLE L & M STRESS (Sr) 28.417 MPA

MSW SELECTED 10.7 MM

12
TUBE THICKENS ORDERED 11.5 MM
API 530 Calculations for Minimum Sound Wall Thickness
Factor
Design Temperature (Td) 925 °C 1198.15 K
Design Pressure (Pr) 38 kg/cm2 0.0980665 3.7265 Mpa
Design Corrosion allowance (CA) mm
Design Hours (Ld) 100,000 hours 11.42 Yrs

Alloy 2535MA a b c
Design Outside Diameter (Do) 152 mm 714.6499997 -33.0470359 0.383247311
834.060497 -38.81321763 0.453391869
Alloy Larson Miller Constant 24.6
Calculated Larson Miller Parameter (Lmp) 35.465 5.78
Allowable Larson Miller Stress (Sr) 24.671 Mpa 9.19

Calculated MSW (tm) 10.6736 mm

Lmp 35.79767626
MSW Selected 11.5 mm Sr 22.76422856
Protective Material 0.8264 mm 0.0000

Calculated Stress for Selected MSW 22.7642 Mpa

Corresponding Lmp 35.7977
log t 5.2775
189,434 hours 21.62 Yrs

ID Calculated 129
 Larson and Miller Creep - Rupture Curve
Stress (MPA)

LMP = T(C + log t)/ 1000 14

 Technical Comparison
Date Common Cr Ni Nb Others Relative

% % % Strength
Name

1960s HK40 25 20 --- --- 1.0

1970s IN 519 25 24 1 --- 1.4

Mid- HP Mod 25 35 1 --- 1.9

1970s

Mid- HP Micro- 25 35 1 Ti, w 2.2

1980s alloy
15
 Advantages
• Increased tolerance to temperature excursions.
• Increased tolerance to stresses caused by thermal cycling.
• Fuel Economy
• Furnace capacity enhancement
• Tube cost reduction
• Higher Skin Temperatures
• Increased life of furnace tubes
• Tube weight reduction
• Pressure drop through tubes is less.

16
 Recommendations
• No over heating (loss of secondary carbide)
• Better operational control of temperature
• Periodic Inspection of tubes.

17
 Refrences
• Introduction to Physical Metallurgy by Sidney H
Avner
• Damage mechanism and life assessment of High
temperature components by R. Viswanathan ASM
International.
• The journal of corrosion Science and engineering
• 6th Schmidt and Clemens Symposium

18
Questions & Answers

19
 CARBURIZATION

Oxide
Carbon
layer
deposited Primary
SecondaryCoarsening of primary and secondary
carbides
carbides carbides
Growth of new
carbides

20
 OXIDATION

Oxidizing gases

Tube metal

Reduction in tube thickness

21
 Design Specification
Old Tubes New Tubes

Design Code Main Tube (Design life 100,000 hrs) API-RP-530 API-RP-530

Design pressure main tube (Inlet / main tube / outlet) 38/33.7/38 38/33.7/38 kg/cm2g

Operating pressure main tube (Inlet / main tube / outlet) 34.5/33.7/32 34.5/33.7/32 kg/cm2g

Design Temperature main tube (Inlet / main tube / outlet) 590 /925 /852 590 / 904 / 852 °C

Operating Temperature main tube (Inlet / main tube / outlet) 520/889/827 520/889/827 °C

IN-519 Micro alloy

Material
(25Cr25Ni) (25Cr35Ni,Nb,Ti)

Guaranteed Design Life 100,000 100,000 hours

Tube ID and Catalyst Volume

Old Tubes New Tubes

mm
Tube OD 152 152

Tube ID 113 129 mm

Tube Thickness 19.5 11.5 mm

Tube Length 11.66 11.66 m

Tube Length (Effective) 11 11 m

Catalyst Volume 30.89 40.26 M3

Percent Gain - 30.32% %

 Over heating
• Temperature increase when catalyst become
inactive
• Feedstock or steam supply failure
• Absence of cooling effect of endothermic reaction
• Burner misalignment
• Restricted flow of process due to catalyst choking

24
 Thermal Cycling
• Through wall stresses are temporarily increased
• Tube wall gradient can be significant
• Stresses produced by different expansion and
relaxes through creep
• Temperature changes up and down will re induce
some stress

25
 Tube Bowing
• O

26
 Thermal Shock
• Creates extremely high stresses as the tube
attempts to contract under restraints
• Result in circumferential and tearing or shuttering
of tube

27
 Stress Corrosion Cracking
• Ov

28
 Tubes Life Statistics

62 tubes will have more

than 13 years of life till
TA-2004.

Tube life:
19 years
18 years
17 years 17

15 years
14 years
13 years

29
30
• Ov

31
 Comparison
F-201 F-4201

No. of tubes 288 168

Catalyst tube material 24Cr 24Ni Nb 25Cr 35Ni Nb Ti

Tube inner diameter 113 mm 124 mm

Tube outer diameter 152 mm 146 mm

Minimum sound wall

19.5 mm 10.2 mm
thickness.

Tube heated length. 11,600 mm 11,570 mm

ASTM A 312 TP 321H

Hair pin material ASTM A 312 TP 321H

Pigtail material ASME SB407 Alloy 800H ASME SB407 Alloy 800H

32
33
 Creep Mechanism
• High rates of diffusion permit reshaping of crystals to
relieve stress
• Diffusion significant at both grain boundaries and in
the bulk
• High energy and weak bonds allow dislocations to
“climb” around structures that pin them at lower
temperature

34
 Creep Curve
• Primary carbides

• Secondary carbides( main contributor finer

dispersion) with time each carbide acts as a barrier
to prevent the movement of creep damage through
the microstructure
• As time passes service temperature increases the
the secondary carbide diffuse and become coarser.
The creep strenght is reduced

35
 Creep Curve
• strain hardening
• softening processes
• damage processes
• (such as cavitations and cracking, and
necking).

36
 F-201 Catalyst Tubes Replacement History
Year No. of tubes Tube life (years) Replacement criteria
replaced

1985 03 5 Leaked during shutdown

1986 11 6 UT results
1987 03 7 Nipped
1989 27 9 UT results
1990 18 10 Nipped / UT results
1991 08 11 Nipped / UT results
1992 25 12 Nipped / UT results
1994 35 14 Nipped / UT results
1995 80 15 Nipped / UT results
1997 81 17* Nipped / UT results
2000 02 11 Bulged / Deformed
2003 02 14 Leaked / Nipped

* 02 no. of tubes replaced with 11 years life and 01 with 08 years life. 37
 Nipped tubes data
Year No. of tubes Replaced Tube life (years)

1985 03 5
1987 03 7
1990 08 10
1991 06 11
1992 06 12
1994 13 14
1995 22 15
1997 04 11 (01 no. of tube), 17 (03 no. of tubes)
2003 03 14 (02 no. of tube), 17 (01 no. of tube)
68

38
 Furnace Shutdowns
Year Total S/Ds I1 Tripping
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003 9 4
2002 6 8
2001 1 0
1999 7 6
1998 4 1
1997 7 1
1996 2 1 39
 Dislocation
• Dislocations can lower the required shear stress to cause
slip
• They can also interfere with each other and be impeded by
barriers ( grain boundaries, impurities, inclusions ) which
can cause the required shear stress for slip to go up.
• This is referred to as Work/Strain Hardening
– Increases strength of metal
– Increases hardness of metal

40
 Grain Boundary Sliding
 Diffusion : need defect
 Plastic deformation : need dislocation

41
 Creep Mechanism
• Dislocations are defects in the orderly arrangement
of the atomic structure including

42
 Grain Boundary Sliding
• Process by which grains will begin to slide along one
another at the boundary
Possible Effects on Metal:
1. Plastic deformation
2. Creep mechanism (elongation under stress over period of time)

Note: These types of

deformation are usually
accompanied with high
temperatures as well

43
 Furnace Data
• No of burners : 648
• Process gas consumption 36472 Nm3/hr
• Fuel gas consumption : 22003 Nm3/hr
• Fuel gas temperature : 1010 c
• Outer dia .of tube : 150.4 mm
• Inner dia of tube : 122 mm
• Type of burners : oil gas self aspirating
• Direction of firing: parallel to wall
• 3405 kg/cm
• 925c`

44
 Carburization
• Carburization occurs carbon from
environment combined @ elevated
temperature primarily with Cr & other carbide
former an adverse effect on the creep
strength. the coarser carbide precipitates
• Ti & Nb acts as stable carbide ( fine dispersion)
• Ni resistant to carburization.

45
 Oxidation
• Chromium acts as corrosion and oxidation
resistant
• Oxygen from atmosphere acts forming oxide
which causes thickness reduction of tube and
reduction in creep strength

46
 Alloying elments
• Chromium acts as corrosion and oxidation
resistant
• Ti & Nb acts as stable carbide stabilizer ( fine
dispersion).
• Ni resistant to carburization. Plus enters the layer
and decrease the defects.
• Austenitic matrix with finer dispersion of
carbides. ( Ni & Nb for finer & more stable
carbide)
• Ni has high melting point remain stable at high T
47
 NDE
• NDT eddy current & UT in form of internal
cracking.
• Carburization and oxidation of austenitic steel
create Ferro magnetic layers. Indicator of
tubes degradation.
• The laser maping “ laser profilometry”

48
 definitions
• Dislocation may be defined as a disturbed
region between two substantially perfect parts
of a crystal.
• Recovery: reduction or removal or work
hardening effects.
• Recrystallization : change from one crystal
structure to another as occurring on heating
or cooling.
• Cavitation: the formation & instataneous
collapse of inumeerable tiny voids or cavities.

49