Failures of SS Components:

Manufacturing and In-service experience with

Stainless Steels for steam generating
equipment of Power Plants

R. Easwaran
Welding Research Institute & Labs,
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited,
Tiruchirappalli

IIT, Madras Course of Stainless Steels CoSS-2015 27 February 2015

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Power Stations are very complex

Boiler Tubing
for a 500 MW set

PDMS Link

• 443 km length of tubing

• 27400 tube butt welds
• 6 types of butt welding processes
• Over 28000 Despatchable Units (DUs)
• More than 1 Lakh components
• Weighing about 20,000 tons

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Walk through view of Boiler Island

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Boiler Tube Failures in Power Plants
Twenty Two Mechanisms of Boiler Tube Failures (Courtesy: EPRI)
Stress Rupture Fatigue
1. Short Term Overheating 12. Vibration Fatigue
2. High Temperature Creep 13. Thermal Fatigue
3. Dissimilar metal Welds 14. Corrosion Fatigue
Waterside Corrosion Erosion
4. Caustic Corrosion 15. Fly Ash Erosion
5. Hydrogen Damage 16. Falling Slag Erosion
6. Internal Pitting (localised corrosion) 17. Soot Blower Erosion
7. Stress Corrosion Cracking 18. Coal Particle Erosion
Fireside Corrosion Lack of Quality Control
8. Dew Point Corrosion 19. Maintenance Cleaning Damage
9. Water Wall Fireside Corrosion 20. Chemical Excursion Damage
10. High Temperature Coal Ash Corrosion 21. Material Defects
11. High Temperature Oil Ash Corrosion 22. Weld Defects
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
 Stress Corrosion Cracking

 Common Mechanism in austenitic stainless steels…. Stress

and corrodents being ubiquitous, wet chloride being one of
the most common corrodents

 Medium side contamination in many cases …..

 During Transportation .. VCI pellet
 Storage and erection … Rats
 Excessively machined locations
 Hydrostatic Testing …. Poor water quality
 Chemical Cleaning
 Intermediate Shut downs
 ……

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Stress Corrosion Cracking … Bends … VCI Pellets

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 SS347H Insert
Ø 51 x 6 mm
SS 347H
Bifurcate
INV063/ 06 SS347H Insert Ø 51 x 7.5 mm
Ø 63.5 x 12.5 mm
(8mm near STBW)

SS347H Tube
Ø 63.5 x 8.0 mm

Weld
STBW joint
joint

Stress Corrosion Cracking at Machined Regions

SH bifurcate assembly with weld

joints, Ø 63.5X 8.0/ 12.5 + Ø 51x
6.0 mm, SA213 TP347H,
Less than one month service
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
 Stress Corrosion Cracking … Hydro-test water quality

SH-2 outlet header stub to coil (SH 06) (Waste Heat Reheater Boiler),
Ø 38.1 x 3.6 mm & SA 213 TP 316, Failure during commissioning
Bore water used for hydro test at site which contains chlorides
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
 Stress Corrosion Cracking:
Chemical Cleaning carry over

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Corrosion and its Control: Stress Corrosion Cracking
Typical Portable Root Verification Appearance N.D.E. Corrective
Locations Cause Action
SH, RH at -Corrosive -Internal Fine branched Flourescent *Replacement
regions of: conc. from chlorides, cracks Multiple dye check *Surveillance for
-Conc. of drum carry hydroxides cracks Hydro test UT carry over
chlorides, over or -External Thick edges *Hear treatment
sulphates or attemperator sulphates, of bends
hydroxide spray poly thionic *Care during
-Stressed in -SS tube acid chemical
fabrication, material -Stress cleaning
service etc. sensitized analysis *Use of 347H
like bends, -Stress tube
attachment
welds

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Stress Corrosion Cracking: Martensitic SS
SA582 Gr. 416 Valve Stem

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

Hardness 330-350 against
302 max

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
 Platen Super heater Tube
 51 x 5.0 mm
SA 213 TP 347H
Service: 1,14,000 Hrs

Overheating and Creep

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
 1,10,890 hrs Dia 51x 4.5
SA213TP347H

Overheating and Creep

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Tube Ø38.1x7.1 mm SA213 T91 Sleeve:
SS347H & Spacer Rod: Ø 20 mm SS310S

Fatigue

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Fatigue – Tie weld

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 SS 304 Ash cooler tube CCDP- Gasifier

Inside medium: Cooling water, Outside

Medium: Ash flow with Syngas (1000°C max)

Corrosion Fatigue

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 External Erosion

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Sea Water Corrosion
ACW Piping to vacuum pump - SS Pipe Cut
Piece …. used for sea water handling
Ø273.1X9.27 mm & SA312 TP316L

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Dissimilar Metal Weld Failure

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Dissimilar Metal Weld Failure

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India

 Lack of Fusion
Weld Defects
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
SA 213 TP 347H
Ø 63.5 X 4 mm welded to Ø 63.5 X 12 mm

Raw Material Defect

Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
Leaked RH Vertical spaced Reheater Tube
Ø 63.5 x 5 mm SA 213 TP 347H

Delta ferrite content in the weld metal (single

bead) and tube material is found to be 0.0 to 0.25
in the weld metal and 0.20 in the tube material.
This indicates that no filler material is used for
welding.

Lack of Discipline: Stray Arcing

Other issues could be ferritic contamination ….
Shot blasted SS casting rusting; contamination
from files, ferritic grindng dust ….
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India
Committed to be a World Class Institute Welding Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, India