See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/236444534

PREDICTION OF OXIDE SCALE EXFOLIATION IN STEAM TUBES

Conference Paper · April 2010

CITATION READS
1 2,329

2 authors, including:

Adrian Stefan Sabau

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
141 PUBLICATIONS   887 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Laser Assisted Dissimilar Material Joining View project

Freeform Heat Exchangers for Binary Geothermal Power Plants View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Adrian Stefan Sabau on 27 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Boiler Tube and HRSG Tube Failures and Inspections International Conference
Baltimore, MD, 4/19-4/22/2010

PREDICTION OF OXIDE SCALE EXFOLIATION IN STEAM TUBES

Adrian S. Sabau and Ian G. Wright

Bldg. 4508, MS 6083
Materials Science and Technology Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

ABSTRACT
Numerical simulation results are presented for the prediction of the likelihood of oxide scale
exfoliation from superheater tubes. The scenarios considered involved alloys T22, TP347H, and
TP347HFG subjected to a simplified operating cycle in a power plant generating supercritical
steam. The states of stress and strain of the oxides grown in steam were based solely on
modeling the various phenomena experienced by superheater tubes during boiler operation,
current understanding of the oxidation behavior of each alloy in steam, and consideration of
operating parameters such as heat flux, tube dimensions, and boiler duty cycle. Interpretation of
the evolution of strain in these scales, and the approach to conditions where scale failure (hence
exfoliation) is expected, makes use of the type of ‘Exfoliation Diagrams’ that incorporate various
cracking and exfoliation criteria appropriate for the system considered. In these diagrams, the
strain accumulation with time in an oxide is represented by a ‘strain trajectory’ derived from the
net strain resulting from oxide growth, differences in coefficients of thermal expansion among
the components, and relaxation due to creep. It was found that an oxide growing on a tube
subjected to routine boiler load cycling conditions attained relatively low values of net strain,
indicating that oxide failure would not be expected to occur during normal boiler operation.
However, during a boiler shut-down event, strains sufficient to exceed the scale failure criteria
were developed after times reasonably in accord with plant experience, with the scales on the
ferritic steel failing in tension, and those on the austenitic steels in compression. The results
presented illustrate that using this approach to track the state of strain in the oxide scale through
all phases of boiler operation, including transitions from full-to-low load and shut-down events,
offers the possibility of identifying the phase(s) of boiler operation during which oxide failure is
most likely to occur.

INTRODUCTION
The overall goal of this project is to develop an improved model of the exfoliation of the steam-
side oxide scale formed on the ferritic and austenitic steels used for pressure parts in steam
boilers. This model is based on the premise that scale exfoliation is a result of scale failure due to
accumulation of strain during boiler operation, and that the criteria for failure can be related to
the microstructure and physical properties of the specific oxides formed. Visualization of the
evolution of strain in these scales and the approach to conditions where failure and exfoliation
are expected makes use of ‘Exfoliation Diagrams’ of the type pioneered by Manning et al. of the
UK’s Central Electricity Research Laboratory [1,2] that provide maps of various cracking and
exfoliation criteria appropriate for the system considered. Figure 1 is a schematic example of
such a diagram in which strain accumulation with time (or oxide thickness) in an oxide is

1
represented by a ‘strain trajectory,’ derived from the net tensile strain resulting from oxide
growth, differences in coefficients of thermal expansion among the components expressed during
changes in boiler operating conditions, and relaxation due to creep. In this example, the strain
trajectory reaches the criterion for crack initiation in tension when the scale thickness exceeds
200 µm, so that exfoliation would be possible with further increase in boiler operation.

4 Crack Delamination
initiation
3
oxide strain
strain (x103)

2 during
1 boiler operation

0
Crack initiation
-1 (compression)
-2
0 100 200 300 400
Oxide thickness [µm]
Figure 1. Representation of criteria for oxide failure in an Exfoliation Diagram, showing also a
hypothetical ‘strain trajectory’ tracking the evolution of strain in the oxide.

MAIN FACTORS CONSIDERED

Thermal Expansion
Figure 2 compares the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) for ferritic steel T22 (nominally
Fe-2.25Cr-1Mo, wt%), and austenitic steel TP347 (nominally Fe-19Cr-11Ni-2Mn-1Nb), and the
main oxides expected: Fe-Cr spinel (nominally FeCr2O4), magnetite (Fe3O4), and haematite
(Fe2O3). The thermal expansion data from Armitt et al. [1] were used for alloy T22 and the
oxides. Thermo-physical properties for TP347 were obtained from the CINDAS database [3],
with CTE data for TP347 (Fe-17.65Cr-10.94Ni-1.64Mn-0.73Nb-0.02Mo-0.09Cu-0.58Si-0.06C-
0.013P-0.017S, wt%) from Lucks et al. [4], and Touloukian et al. [3]. Note that the CTE for
TP347 alloy is larger than that for magnetite over the entire temperature range of interest, but
smaller than that of the Fe-Cr spinel for the temperature interval of 465 to 570°C.

Oxide Growth Rate

For calculating oxide thickness (dox) after a given time (t), the parabolic oxidation relationship:
dox2 = 2 kp Δt; k p (T ) = A e−Qox RT (1)
is used, where: A is the Arrhenius constant, Qox is the activation energy for the rate-controlling
process; R is the Universal Gas Constant; T is the oxide growth temperature, Tgr, and t is time.
The oxidation parameters for the alloy considered are shown in Table 1. Two versions of TP347
€
were considered: coarse-grained (TP347H), and fine-grained (TP347HFG), because of the large
reduction in oxidation rate in steam resulting from increased Cr diffusion to the alloy surface in
the fine-grained alloy (see [5]).

2
    
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Coefficients of thermal expansion for (a) ferritic steel T22, and (b) austenitic steel
TP347 and the oxides Fe-Cr spinel (Fe,Cr)3O4, magnetite (Fe3O4), and haematite (Fe2O3).

Table 1. Oxidation parameters for alloys considered.

Qox
Alloy   A (mm2/hr)   References  
(kJ/mole)  
T22   1.5 x 1014   223   [6]  
TP347H   12.4 x 107   132   [7]  
7
TP347HFG   31.6 x 10   164   [7]  

Boiler Operating Parameters

Simple, hypothetical subcritical and supercritical steam boiler operating cycles are used as
illustrative examples in which the parameters used were based on best available estimates, and
are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Figure 3a illustrates the assumed operating schedule for a
subcritical boiler involving daily cycling to 50% load with accompanying changes in combustion
gas temperature (Tg) and pressure (Pg), and steam temperature Tst and pressure (Pst), as shown in
Table 2. The transitions from full-to-partial load, and from partial-to-full each were considered to
occupy 1 hour, and the reduction in heat flux (qf) associated with partial load also is shown.
Annual shut downs were included, in which the transition from partial load to room temperature
was considered to occur over 3 hours, and start up from room temperature to full load required 6
hours. The difference in the steam temperature at full and partial load (5°C) was determined from
several preliminary simulations in order to ensure that the metal midwall temperature difference
between the full load and partial load would be within 20-30°C, as observed experimentally by
Gonzales et al. [8].

Table 2. Parameters for an assumed operating schedule (subcritical boiler; alloy T22)
Duration Pg Pst
Load   qf   Tg (°C)   Tst (°C)  
(hrs)   (bar)   (bar)  
Full   14   1   1100   530   2   170  
Partial   8   0.5   810   525   1   100  
Shutdown   25   N/A   25   25   1   1  

3
 Table 3. Parameters for an assumed operating schedule (subcritical boiler; alloy TP347)
Duration Pg Pst
Load   qf   Tg (°C)   Tst (°C)  
(hrs)   (bar)   (bar)  
Full   145   1   1200   565; 585   2   250  
Partial   21   0.7   1004; 1010   560; 580   1   250  
Shutdown   25   N/A   25   25   1   1  

(a) (b)
Figure 3. Examples of steam temperature variation for hypothetical operating boiler cycles based
on (a) daily cycling of a subcritical boiler and (b) weekly cycling of a supercritical boiler.

Fig. 3b illustrates the assumed weekly operating schedule for a supercritical boiler. The
transition times from full-to-partial load, and from partial-to-full were considered to require 1
hour, and the transition times associated with a shut-down event also were the same as for the
subcritical cycle. The initial metal temperatures (at full load) of the outer tube surface, tube
midwall, and alloy-oxide interface are shown in Table 4 for the three alloys used as superheater
tubes in the above scenarios: T22 in the subcritical mode, and TP347H and TP347HFG in
supercritical scenarios. Tm is the metal temperature at the locations indicated in Table 4; the
midwall temperature typically is used to denote the ‘average tube temperature’ in boiler
specifications.

Table 4. Initial temperatures at full load for the alloys considered

Tst Initial Tm (°C)   Tgr doxc

Alloy  
(°C)   outer   midwall   inner   (°C)   (µm)  
a
T22   530   586   575   562   560   37  
b
TP347H   565   638   620   600   598   25  
b
TP347HFG   585   655   638   618   617   7.6  
a: subcritical operating scenario;
b: supercritical operating scenario;
c: total oxide thicknesses: after 592 and 483 h for T22 and TP347H, respectively.

4
For the sake of completeness, the maximum and minimum temperatures at the metal-combustion
gas interface (outer) and metal-oxide interface (inner) also are shown. The values of total oxide
thickness (dox) were calculated after slightly different times as shown in the table, and are
included for reference purposes. The listed oxide growth temperature (Tgr) is for the Fe-Cr spinel
layer for which growth was assumed to occur at the alloy-oxide interface; growth of the
magnetite was assumed to occur at the oxide-steam interface, so that its growth temperature is
very close (within 1-2 degrees) to the steam temperature (Tst).

RESULTS OF CALCULATIONS USING THE MODEL

1. Influence of Inelastic Strains on Oxide Strain for Alloy T22

Results for strain evolution in the oxide scale formed on alloy T22 were compared for two cases:
(a) a simplified case where the strains are purely elastic, and oxide growth-induced (OGI) strain
phenomena and creep are not considered, and (b) where inelastic strains due to both OGI and
creep effects are included. The outside and inside diameters of the tube were taken to be 50 and
28 mm, respectively. Figure 4a is a plot of the evolution of elastic hoop strain in the oxide layers
(based on thermal expansion considerations alone) as a function of oxide thickness over a period
of five years of operation of a superheater in a subcritical steam boiler (using the load cycle
shown in Table 2, with no shut-down events).

(a) (b)
Figure 4. Evolution of the average hoop strain in the scale on T22 for the (a) elastic strains only
without including OGI strain and creep phenomena, and (b) net elastic strains after allowing for
plastic deformation

Under full load conditions the calculated strains in the magnetite and spinel layers were small,
tensile, and of similar levels, and did not change significantly with increasing oxide thickness.
Under partial load conditions the calculated strains in both oxides were smaller and decreased
with increasing oxide thickness: the strain in the magnetite layer (at 50 µm thickness) was
approximately 77% of that at full load, and decreased to 55% at a scale thickness of 350 µm. The
corresponding values for the spinel layer were approximately 26 and 21%, respectively.

5
Figure 4b shows the evolution of the net elastic hoop strains ( εθ ,el ) in the magnetite and spinel
layers resulting when OGI strains (based on a combined radial and lateral OIG strain
formulations [9]) were added to the elastic strains, and creep was allowed to occur. The net
elastic strain was found to decrease abruptly in the initial stages of oxide growth, and then to
€ Excluding the initial stage, the elastic
increase asymptotically with increasing oxide thickness.
hoop strains were always negative (compressive) and at low levels. Overall, these results clearly
show that imposition of inelastic effects can cause important changes in strain evolution in these
scales.

2. Effects of Boiler Shut-Down Events on Oxide Strain for Alloy T22

The evolution of the average elastic hoop strain (including inelastic effects) was considered
during boiler shut-down events that involved that involved transition from the temperature and
pressure at partial load to ambient temperature and pressure under subcritical steam conditions,
as specified in Table 2. In the absence of data on actual pressure variation with time for
superheater tubes during a shut-down event, it was assumed that the pressure decreased linearly
to ambient conditions. The results for the evolution of the average elastic hoop strains over the
duration of a 5-year operating span with shut-down events every 11 months are shown in Fig. 5a.
In this representation, the strains associated with the shut-down events appear as spikes, since the
duration of a shut-down event is very short compared to the total length of operation, so that only
the maximum and minimum strain values appear in Fig. 5a. These spikes indicate that the
magnetite layer attained peak tensile strains of the order of 0.6 x 10-3, and the spinel layer
experienced maximum tensile strains of the order of 0.3 x 10-3, followed by a maximum residual

(a) (b)
Figure 5. Evolution of the average hoop strain for the oxides formed on alloy T22 (a) for
the entire boiler operating time considered, with shut-down events at 11-month intervals
(red symbols = spinel; blue symbols = magnetite; solid lines = full load; dashed lines =
partial load), and (b) details of the strain evolution during shutdown events (at times
equivalent to oxide thicknesses of 144 and 368 µm, i.e. first and last shut-down events).

6
compressive strain at room temperature of 0.4 x 10-3. From the viewpoint of causing scale
exfoliation, these strains are quite small compared to those required to cause scale failure (e.g. ≥
2 x 10-3 [1]) as indicated in Fig. 1.

Using the tracks of the maximum strains indicated as dashed lines in Fig. 5a as ‘strain
trajectories’ in Fig. 1 suggests that scale failure (and exfoliation) would not be expected to occur
by the modes represented in Fig. 1 in a time period commensurate with normal boiler operation.
Nevertheless, the spikes clearly illustrate that a shut-down event causes a sharp variation in the
strain in the oxide over a short time.

Figure 5b shows the evolution of strain during two individual shut-down events as a function of
the oxide temperature, that is, the temperature at the interface between metal and oxide (Tmo).
These results reflect the strong influence of the thermal expansion properties of the alloy and
each oxide layer on the maximum strain attained. For the magnetite layer the average elastic
hoop strain (tensile) was found to reach a maximum at a temperature of approximately 400°C,
with a smaller residual tensile strain at room temperature; the overall level of strain increased
slightly with increasing oxide thickness. For the spinel layer, a tensile strain was developed from
the start of the shutdown event, peaking at 375°C (lower spike in Fig. 5a), and then decreased
with further cooling to be replaced by a compressive strain of higher magnitude at room
temperature. The maximum differential strain (approx. 0.6 x 10-3 or 0.06%) between the spinel
and magnetite layers occurred at room temperature. This differential strain would be expected to
raise the potential for shear between the spinel and magnetite layers; if this strain were
concentrated along the interface between these layers (by, for instance, the presence of flaws
such as voids), separation could occur.

3. Results for TP347 Austenitic Steel

A search of the literature did not reveal any definitive information concerning differences in
mechanical properties of the two versions of TP347 considered, or changes in the physical and
mechanical properties of the Fe-Cr spinel as a function of Cr content. Hence, for these
calculations the same material properties were used for both TP347H and TP347HFG. Also, on
this basis, the criteria for oxide failure for both of the TP347 alloys are identical.

The evolution of the average elastic hoop strain for the oxidation of TP347H was calculated
based on the interactions among OGI strain phenomena and creep [9]. The assumed supercritical
steam boiler operating conditions used are listed in Table 3. Two steam temperatures were
considered (565 and 585°C) to simulate ‘current’ and ‘advanced’ steam conditions. In order to
maintain the tube midwall temperatures at values commensurate with ensuring adequate creep
strength, the fireside and steam-side heat transfer coefficients (hf and hs, respectively) and the
temperature of the combustion gas (Tg) were adjusted accordingly, resulting in the initial metal
temperatures shown in Table 4. The values of hf and hs were considered to be the same as those
for the subcritical steam cases, i.e., 100 and 3,000 W/m2. Refinement of the heat transfer
calculations to better describe actual boiler conditions would require that these coefficients be
based on local plant conditions through correlations established for forced convection; such
modifications have not yet been attempted. Finally, the tube dimensions were assumed to be the
same as those of T22 considered in the previous section.

7
The strain trajectory calculated during the growth of oxide on TP347H (coarse-grained) during
load-following operation without shut-down events is shown in Fig. 6a. The initial net strain in
each oxide layer was found to be similar and compressive, and decreased sharply up to an oxide
thickness of approximately 10 µm, after which it attained an essentially steady value of
approximately 0.34 x 10-3 (compressive). That value of strain is sufficiently low that the strain
trajectory would not intersect any of the scale failure criteria shown in Fig. 1 at times (oxide
thicknesses) commensurate with plant experience, so that scale failure would not be expected.
However, shut-down events resulted in much larger compressive strains (>2.9 x 10-3 in the both
oxides, with larger strains in the spinel layer, Fig. 6b).
 
Details of the evolution of the average hoop strains in the oxide layers during cooling at the first
shut-down event for generic TP347 are shown in Fig. 7. Data sets are shown for a mid-wall
metal temperatures of 620°C representing the case for TP347H in 565°C steam. In these cases,
the maximum strain in the oxide layers occurs at ambient temperature, reaching 3.6 x 10-3 and

 
(a) (b)
Figure 6. The evolution of the minimum hoop strain in the radial direction in the magnetite layer
formed on TP347H at an initial metal midwall temperature of 620°C (Tst = 565°C) (a) under
load-following conditions with no shut-down events; and (b) when shut down events (at 11
month intervals) are included.
 

   
Figure 7. Details of the strain evolution in the magnetite and Fe-Cr spinel layers formed on
TP347H operating with an initial metal midwall temperature of 620°C and a steam temperature
of 565°C during a shut-down event after 11 months of operation.

8
2.9 x   10-3 (compressive) in the spinel and magnetite layers, respectively. The calculations
indicated that the strain in the spinel layer is compressive and increases monotonically from full
load to  ambient conditions, whereas for magnetite layer the strain exhibited very little variation
until the temperature of the oxide was approximately 450°C, after which it increased
monotonically. This behavior is quite different to that noted for T22 (Fig. 5b), for which the
maximum strains were developed in the magnetite layer and were tensile.

As shown in Fig. 8a, these strains are sufficient to intersect the oxide failure criterion for
delamination in compression at times equivalent to an oxide thickness of 46 µm. From the oxide
growth kinetics calculated for the assumed supercritical conditions (Fig. 9), this oxide thickness
would be reached in only 575h, so that scale failure would be possible during the first boiler shut
down after this time. For a TP347HFG superheater tube operating under supercritical steam
conditions with a steam temperature of 585°C and starting with an initial metal midwall
temperature of 638°C (Table 4), because of the significantly slower rate of oxide growth on this
alloy, a total oxide thickness of only 80 µm would be attained in the 5 yr operating period
considered, and the temperatures at the tube-combustion gas interface and the metal-oxide
interface (at full load) would increase by only 2°C and 2.5°C, respectively [10]. The strain
trajectory for this alloy is shown in Fig. 8b.

Although the strains generated during shut-down events are the same as for TP347H, the
differences in rate of oxide growth will require a longer time than TP347H to attain the critical
oxide thickness (approx. 15kh, Fig. 9), so that for this alloy, operating at a higher steam
temperature, scale failure becomes possible just before the second annual shut-down event.
 

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Superposition of the ‘strain trajectory for TP347H operating at a steam temperature of
565°C (from Fig. 6b) on an Exfoliation Diagram, indicating that failure of the magnetite
layer is expected at a total scale thickness of 46 µm; and (b) the equivalent plot for
TP347HFG operating at a steam temperature of 585°C
(initial metal midwall temperature of 638°C).

9
 Figure 9. Oxide growth rates on alloys TP347H and 347HFG under the assumed conditions of
operation in supercritical steam at steam temperatures of 565 and 585°C, respectively.

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

This appears to be the first study to account for inelastic effects in the development of strain in
oxides grown on the steam side of tubes subjected to conditions experienced in an operating
boiler, namely, pressure, heat flux, and temperature and pressure cycling due to boiler load
fluctuations. For the temperature range considered (which was intended to match closely that
encountered in U.S. boiler service) exploration of stress relaxation by creep indicated that the
oxide layers experienced more creep than the alloy. As expected intuitively, the inclusion of
creep considerations yielded a decrease in the level of elastic strains in the oxides, and results
such as those shown in Figs. 5 and 6 indicate that inelastic effects have an important influence on
strain evolution.

Overall, calculations using the present version of the model to follow the evolution of strains in
(two-layered) oxides formed on alloys T22 and TP347 when exposed to scenarios appropriate to
their typical use in steam boilers in the U.S. led to the following observations:
• For T22 the net strain in an oxide (>50 µm thick) growing on a tube subjected to subcritical
steam conditions with routine boiler load cycling is very small and decreases at longer times
(increasing oxide thicknesses). For both the magnetite and Fe-Cr spinel layers the maximum
strain developed was calculated to be of the order of 0.2 x 10-3 (compressive), and occurred
under partial load conditions. This level of strain is far less than that required to trigger
failure of the scale in compression (>1 x 10-3, as indicated in Fig. 1, for instance). However,
when shut-down events were considered excursions to higher (tensile) strains were
calculated, with the magnetite layer reaching a maximum on cooling to 400°C (approx. 0.65
x 10-3 for a total scale thickness of 368 µm), and the spinel layer 0.3 x 10-3 at 375°C. Again,
these strains are significantly lower than that required for scale failure by through-scale
cracking in tension. The residual strains in the magnetite and spinel layers at ambient
temperature were calculated to be 0.2 x 10-3 (tensile) and 0.4 x 10-3 (compressive),
respectively.
• A peak tensile strain in both oxide layers upon shut down, and the development of a
compressive strain in the Fe-Cr spinel on cooling to ambient temperature are key events
required by some suggested mechanisms for the formation of multi-layered scales on T22
[11,12]. Such scales consist of pairs of magnetite and spinel layers that decrease in thickness
from the steam-oxide interface inwards and, while exfoliation of small sections of scale has

10
 been observed in practice such scales can remain adherent up to total thicknesses in excess of
400 µm. Unfortunately, the magnitudes of the strains calculated in this study for the oxides
formed on T22 appear to be insufficient to result in through-scale cracking in tension, or
delamination in compression, at least for total scale thicknesses <600 µm.
• The fact that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the austenitic steel TP347 is much
higher than for the ferritic steel T22 (and of the Fe-Cr spinel) led to the generation during
shut-down events as part of an assumed supercritical steam cycle of compressive strains that
are sufficient to exceed the criterion for scale failure by delamination. The compressive
strains in both oxide layers considered (Fe-Cr spinel and magnetite) increased continuously
during cool down, with the maximum values attained at ambient conditions. For the materials
properties used in these calculations, the maximum strain attained in the magnetite layer
would be expected to cause scale failure when the total scale thickness exceeded 46 µm. For
the examples of steam conditions considered, the rate of oxide growth on the coarse-grained
alloy (TP347H) is sufficiently rapid that this critical oxide thickness will be reached in less
than 600 hours, compared to more than 15,000 hours for the slower-oxidizing, fine-grained
alloy (TP347HFG).

The state of development of the model appears sufficient to provide predictions of exfoliation
behavior that are reasonably close to practical observations. At issue, however, is the ability to
differentiate between scale failure and exfoliation; the various oxide layers are treated in the
model as being in perfect contact and able to communicate their individual states of strain. Large
differential strains between adjacent oxide layers would be expected to raise the potential for
shear between these layers and, where there are flaws (porosity; voids) concentrated along the
interface between these layers, it would be expected that the strain level to cause separation
would be reduced. While the criteria currently used for scale failure represent the best available
understanding of the modes of scale degradation [2], it is not clear that the parameters used (for
example, critical flaw sizes) correspond well with the relevant features that develop in oxides
grown in steam boilers. Thus, it would be useful to determine if (and how significantly) flaws
that develop in real, multi-layered oxide scales can influence the state of strain and stress, as well
as the rate at which such flaws develop.

Another issue is that the presence of haematite in the scale and its potential influence has not
been considered in any detail. Because of the large differences in the temperature-dependence of
the CTE of haematite compared to magnetite and the Fe-Cr spinel (Fig. 2), there is the potential
for large differences in net strain (time to scale failure) in cases where haematite is present and
absent. For alloys that develop inner scale layers that become increasingly protective with time
(such as TP347HFG), there is the likelihood that the proportion of haematite in the outer scale
will increase with time, with potential consequences for exfoliation behavior. The incorporation
of a further oxide layer into the model is not a problem theoretically or practically, but represents
a needed investment of time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute under a Work for Others
program (agreement No. EP-P18842/C9306) with the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Fossil Energy (DOE-FE). We gratefully acknowledge the continued enthusiastic support
provided by successive program managers at EPRI: Barry Dooley, Ken Coleman, and John

11
 Shingledecker. We also thank ORNL colleagues Bruce Pint and Peter Tortorelli for providing
critical discussion during the course of the research, and for reviewing the manuscript.

REFERENCES
1. See: J. Armitt, D.R. Holmes, M.I. Manning, D.B. Meadowcroft, E. Metcalfe
The Spalling of Steam Grown Oxide from Superheater and Reheater Tube Steels,
EPRI Report No. FP 686 (1978).
2. M. Schütze, “Modeling oxide scale fracture,” Materials at High Temperatures, 22, 147-
154 (2005).
3. Y.S. Touloukian et al., Thermophysical Properties of Matter (1979) (now
Thermophysical Properties of Matter Database) https://cindasdata.com
4. C.F. Lucks, H.B. Thompson, A.R. Smith, F.P. Curry, H.W. Deem, and F.G., Bing, “The
Experimental Measurement of Thermal Conductivities, Specific Heats, and Densities of
Metallic, Transparent, and Protective Materials. Part I,” U.S. Air Force Technical Report
1-127 (1951).
5. J.P. Shingledecker, M.L. Santella, D.F. Wilson, and I.G. Wright, State of Knowledge for
Advanced Austenitics, EPRI Report No. xxx (2010).
6. I.G. Wright, P.F. Tortorelli, and M. Schütze, Oxide Growth and Exfoliation on Alloys
Exposed to Steam, EPRI report No. 1013666 (2007).
7. M. Montgomery and A. Karlsson, “Survey of Oxidation in Steamside Conditions,” VGB
Kraftswerkstechnik, 75 (3), 235-240 (1995).
8. M.M.P. Gonzalez, F.J.F. Garcia, I.S. Ramon, and H.S. Roces, “Experimental thermal
behavior of a power plant reheater,” Energy, 31, 665–676 (2006).
9. A.S. Sabau and I.G. Wright, “Influence of oxide growth and metal creep on strain
development in the steam-side oxide in boiler tubes,” Oxidation of Metals 2009, DOI
10.1007/s11085-009-9188-4.
10. I.G, Wright, A. S. Sabau, Development of an Integrated Model to Predict and Control
Oxide Scale Exfoliation: Exfoliation Calculations for Ferritic, Austenitic, and Fine-
Grained Austenitic Alloys – 2009 Progress, EPRI Report No. 1017625, Nov. 2009
11. M.I. Manning and D.B. Meadowcroft, Effects of Tube Creep Strains on Laminated Scale
Formation in Ferritic Pressure Tubing, CERL Report No. RD/L/R2012 (1980).
12. P. Mayer and A.V. Manolescu, “The role of structural and compositional factors in
corrosion of ferritic steels in steam,” pp. 368-379 in High-Temperature Corrosion, R.A.
Rapp, Ed., Intl. Corrosion Conf. Series NACE-6, NACE, Houston, Texas (1983).

12

View publication stats