COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR BOILERS IN

POWER PLANTS
SRINIVASAN SHANKAR- SHANKAR ASSOCIATES

Boilers

Super heaters

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF
BOILERS

BACKGROUND
Increase in demand for energy leads to higher operating temperature and
more demanding operating conditions in boilers
As a result higher erosion/corrosion rates of metallic components of
boilers for plant is being observed

SOLUTION
Coating technologies are flexible solutions to protect the
different zones of the plant with the most cost-effective
approach

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF
BOILERS

Coating tree
Boilers
Boiler
On site Erosion resistance
During manufacturing

Superheaters
High temperature
(< 450 C)
Very High temperature
(>450C)
Erosion
(Blowers)

Grid

Ancillary components
Water jackets
Themocouple pits

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF
BOILERS

COATING TECHNOLOGIES
High deposition rate
Suitable for on-site applications
Large selection of material
available

Boiler (on-site and during

manufacturing)

Arc welding

High Thickness (>2mm)

Metallurgical bonding

Boiler (on-site and during

manufacturing)
Super heater (during
manufacturing)
Water jackets

Laser welding

Metallurgical bonding
Low dilution (< 2%)
Advanced materials available

Super heater (during

manufacturing)
Thermocouple pits

Thermal spray

Superheater (no bending)

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF
BOILERS

MATERIAL SELECTION
Standard, proven materials
Large reference lists
Easy-to-weld material

Boiler (on-site and during

manufacturing)
Super heater (during
manufacturing) T <450 C

Co-Cr-Ni-Al

Advanced materials
Resistance at higher
temperature (compared to
IN625)
Difficult to weld

Super heater (during

manufacturing)
Thermocouple pits

Hard material

For specific applications

Not weldable

Blowers
Super heater
Grid components (Fluidized
bed)

Ni-Cr-Mo
IN 625
Hastelloy

CrC NiCr
Stellite 6

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF
BOILERS

THERMAL SPRAY
Two processes: HVOF and Wire Spray
Flexible technologies easy to transfer on-site
Large selection of applicable materials
Cold, robust application process
High productivity, both automatic and manual
Lower cost

THERMAL SPRAY
TECHNOLOGIES FOR CORROSION
PROTECTION OF BOILERS

THERMAL SPRAY
The intrinsic limit of thermal spray coatings is the
residual porosity of the deposited layer.
IMPROVING STRATEGIES

Porosity reduction through technology development

(HVOF vs. Wire Spray)
Porosity sealing

TS Processes: a comparison
Temperature (C)

4000
APS VPS
3000

arc
flame

HP/
HVOF

2000
1000
0
0

200

400

Velocity (m/s)

600

Wire Spray

HP/HVOF

Cooling
Water

20 lbs/hr (5 kg/hr)
Powder Input

Kerosene

Cooling
Water

Gas
1800-2000 m/s

3100 K
Particle
3300-3900 FPS
(1000-1200 m/s)

Oxygen

3100 K

Nozzle

2500 K

(a.u.)

1 MPa
Temperature
Velocity
Pressure

1800 m/s
Zone of powder
injection
0.13 MPa

Chamber

Barrel

TS Processes: a comparison
Thermal spray process

Wire Flame

Gas stream velocity ( m/s )

Particles velocity ( m/s )
At the impact
Gas stream temperature (C)
Coating porosity (%)
Tensile bond strength (MPa)

Advantages

Limitations

HP/HVOF

450

>2000

120-200

400-700

2500

2800

5 to 10

<1

10-30

>70

Low running cost

High productivity
High thickness
Easy operation on
site
Suitable for manual
operation

Higher porosity
Lower bond strength

Better bond strength

Very low porosity

Not suitable for manual

operation
More complex to install on
site
More expensive

TS Processes: a comparison
Microstructure of as coated material IN625

High Pressure Wire Spray

HVOF

TS Processes: a comparison
Microstructure after exposure in boiler
A) WIRE SPRAY IN 625

At 400 C 1000 h

At 500 C 1000 h

TS Processes: a comparison
Microstructure after exposure in boiler
B) HVOF IN 625

At 400 C 1000 h

At 600 C 1000 h

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Seal WW
IN625 layer deposited
with High pressure wire
spray
High temperature sealing
with ceramic aluminum
slurry (sacrificial layer)
Max. metal temp.: 300 C

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

SEAL WW
High Pressure wire spray is a
proven technology able to
produce reproducible coatings
also in harsh condition
Slurry
sealing
is
fast,
unexpensive and can be
reapplied at each plant stop

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

SEAL WW APPLICATIONS
Flameseal WW has been applied on waterwalls of
power plant boilrs
More than 5000 m2 in exercise
150 1500 ton/day
Tsteam : 240 280 C
Tfumes : 700 950 C
Metal waste (uncoated): 0.3 0.7 mm/y
Metal waste (coated): < 50 m/y

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Uncoated pipes

Seal WW Coated pipes

Thickness losses
Thickness losses
(mm)
(mm)

1
0,5
0,5
0
0
-0,5
-0,5
-1
-1
-1,5
-1,5
-2
-2
-2,5
-2,5
-3
-3
0

Corrosion of tubes
Corrosion of tubes
protected with
protected with
Flameseal
Flameseal
Corrosion of
Corrosion of
uncoated tubes
uncoated tubes

4
2
4
Ope rating ye ars
Ope rating ye ars

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Micrographic examination of a
scale of coating extracted after 4
years of service in a Municipal
waste boiler operating at 30 bar.

No corrosion in the IN 625

layer
Limited corrosion growth at
the interface

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Alloy H
Corrosion resistant layer
deposited with HVOF
Large selection of material
applicable
No sealing required
Max. metal temp.: 400 C

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

ALLOY H
HVOF produces thermal spray
coatings of superior quality
With optimized equipment can be
applied on very large surfaces as, for
examples, on boiler panels prior to
assembly of the boiler
It is also possible to install on site
HVOF
equipment,
if
boiler
dimensions are large enough

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Alloy H Applications
Alloy H 525

Composition similar to IN 625 Boiler panels

Water jackets

Alloy H 555
Alloy H5050

Composition similar to
Hastelloy C276
Ni-Cr 50-50

Boiler panels for high S fuel

Hard material

For specific applications

As overlay coating on Alloy
H525

Super heater (in blower area)

Grid components

CrC NiCr
Stellite 6

Power plant boilers

THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

ALLOY H5050 APPLICATIONS

320 MW ENEL boilers for use with Scontaining fuels (i.e. ori-mulsion) and
reducing combustion conditions
No thickness losses after 5 years
operations

CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

CLAD
Clad is a family of coating produced by arc cladding
Proven technology possible to transfer on-site
Metallurgical bonding
Standardized process, widely accepted by the
industry
Possible both automatic and manual application
Temperature resistance up to 400-450 C

CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

CLAD APPLICATIONS
A large reference list of CLAD
applications is available, mainly
using IN 625 alloy; CLAD has
been applied both in boilers and
in superheaters
Application costs can be reduced
planning the cladding during the
construction of the components

CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Clad Coated Panel

area in boiler :
Tsteam: 250 C
Tfumes: 1020 C
Position: at the end of
the postcombustion
(Picture taken after 2 years in
service)

CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

APPLICATIONS
Clad has been applied on superheater and
boilers:
150 1500 ton/day
Tsteam : 350 450 C
Tfumes : 700 950 C
Metal waste (uncoated): 1 3 mm/y
Metal waste (coated): < 0.1 0.3 mm/y

CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Corrosion phoenomena
on clad IN625:
Superheater tube
operating at metal
temperature of 520 C

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS
Micrographic examination of a 2layers coating composed by:
1 mm Clad
0.5 mm Seal
after 1000 h corrosion test @ 500C

No corrosion at the
interface of the two layers
No corrosion growth at the
interface with base metal
Large selection of materials available as top coat !

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS
EROSION PROTECTION OF BLOWERS AND BURNERS AREA
Flam H 834 is the result of exhaustive research in which chemical composition and coating
process are optimised to reach maximum microhardness values.
This process is suitable for pieces subject to severe high temperature erosion. Blowers of
coal burning power plants are coated with Flam H 834
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Chrome Carbide (Cr3C2)
75%
Nichel Chrome
25%
TECHNICAL PROPERTIES
Excellent erosion resistance
Excellent corrosion resistance at high
temperature
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Microhardness (HV 300)
800
1000 HV
Porosity
< 1%
Bond strength
> 60 Mpa

LASER TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Laserclad
Advanced alloy layer deposited
with laser cladding technology,
developed by CESI
Low dilution fine microstructure
metallurgical bonding
Suitable for superheaters and
critical parts of boilers

Ni-Cr-Co alloy laser cladding on

thermocouple sheaths of incinerators for
high temperature operation

Laser cladding of Co-Cr-Ni alloy (28%-29%-bal.) on thermocouple

sheaths: sheath diam. 22 mm; coated length 550 mm; two layers
laser cladding; cladding average thickness 1.5 mm

LASER TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Thermocouple pits
coated with Laserclad

Superheater bundle
manufactured with
Laserclad tubes

LASER TECHNOLOGIES FOR CORROSION

PROTECTION OF BOILERS

Transition between
coated and
uncoated area in a
superheater tube
(after 6 months):
Tsteam: 350 C
Tfumes: 1020 C

COATING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

CORROSION PROTECTION OF BOILERS

COATING TECHNOLOGIES - SUMMARY

Technology

Max. T
( C)

Thickness
(mm)

Nominal
Productivity
(for one torch)

Applications

Seal WW

300

0.5

10 m2/shift

Boilers
Optimal on site

Alloy H

350 400

0.4

8 m2/shift

Boilers
(manufacturing)
SH (no bending)

Clad

450

1.2 m2/shift

Boilers (on site and

manufacturing)
SH