D A V I D N. F R E N C H , INC.

, M E T A L L U R G I S T S
O N E LANCASTER ROAD
FALL 1989 N O R T H B O R O U G H . M A S S A C H U S E T T S 01532
VOL. VIS NO. 3
(508)393-3635

A VIEW FROM THE PJZNTHOUSE: USEPUL IWORMATION FOR TAE WORLD OF BOILERS
comparison purposes, t h e correct c i r c u l a r cross
section i s presented.
There a r e occasions during operation A comparison of the ring sections i n each photo
when a b o i l e r tube becomes p a r t i a l l y indicates the flow r e s t r i c t i o n o r reduction i n
collapsed. The most obvious cause of cross-sectional area a t the dent. I n order t o
these dents is a slag f a l l onto the measure the flow r e s t r i c t i o n , a photocopy of t h e
hopper slope. Howwer, superheater and photograph w a s made and t h e ID of each tube
reheater tubes can be damaged by a carefully cut with a p a i r of scissors.
violent rupture in t h e neighborhood.
The f l a i l i n g of a severed %be end can
do considerable damage t o i t s neighbors.
The question always is "how big a dent
and how m c h of a reduction i n cross-
sectional area o r steam o r f l u i d flow is
tolerable?" Some thoughts.
The operation of a b o i l e r is a
dynamic balance between heat flow and
e i t h e r steam generation i n t h e
waterwalls o r steam superheating i n a
superheater o r reheater. Any upset i n Fig. 1. Roof tube damaged by f l a i l i n g tube.
t h i s balance w i l l lead t o increased
tubemetal temperatures. That is,
reduced cooling by a reduced f l u i d flow
leads t o increased metal temperatures
and premature creep o r stress-rupture
failures. A reduction in the cross-
sectional flow area w i l l obviously lead
t o reduced cooling by reducing f l u i d
flow. I n t h e a t r e m e , a slag f a l l may
v i r t u a l l y close off a waterwall tube.
I n t h i s case, a tube f a i l u r e may occur
almost innnediately, usually by a wide-
open, high-temperature burst a t the high
heat-flux zones of the furnace (See Fig. 2. Shotgun p e l l e t damage.
V0L.W. No. 4 of t h i s Wsletter). The
second e f f e c t is t o change t h e stress
distribution within the tube which may
lead t o a localized s t r e s s increase and
premature failures.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 show typical
dents. The photographs a r e cross-
sectional views taken through the
minimum diameter of the dent. Fig. 1 is
from a damaged roof tube dented by the
rupture of a superheater tube i n the
vicinity. Fig. 2 is a cross section
through a reheater tube dented by a
shotgun p e l l e t used f o r de-slagging.
Fig. 3 is a dent caused by an improper Fig. 3. Dent from improper l i f t .
l i f t during i n s t a l l a t i o n . For
The shapes of the paper cut-outs
accurately r e f l e c t the cross sectional
areas a t the end of the tube and through
the dent. These two cut-outs are
weighed t o 4 decimal places. The
relative weights give the r e l a t i v e areas
of the two paper cut-outs. By this
technique the dents were shown t o reduce
the steam-flow area by 4-13%. The
dented tube from the improper l i f t , Fig.
3, has an area reduction of l e s s than
4%. The damaged roof tube from a
guillotine rupture of a superheater
tube, which then hammered the roof tube,
had an area-reduction of 7 1/Z; and the
shotgunpellet dent, Fig. 2, has the
largest area reduction, 13%.
There a r e two concerns with this type
of tube damage:
1. The reduction in cross-sectional
area w i l l lead t o a flow restriction. A
reduced cross-sectional area increases
the resistance t o fluid flow which
reduces the fluid flow. With reduced
fluid flow there is l e s s cooling and
high-temperature creep o r stress-rupture
failures a r e possible.
2. The deformation leads t o a
redistribution of stress. The localized
s t r e s s a t the dent may be s l i g h t l y
higher than designed for, which again
increases the chance of failure.
Clearly t h i s higher s t r e s s is of greater
concern i n high-temperature components
that operate within the creep range.
For waterwall tubes or economizer tubes
that operate below the creep range, t h i s
higher s t r e s s is unlikely t o cause any
concern a t all, see VOL. 11, NO. 3 of
t h i s newsletter. There a r e two minor
concerns for dents made by shotgun
pellets, used for de-slagging of
superheaters and reheaters. One is
grain-boundary penetration of the s t e e l
by molten lead. While t h i s phenomenon
is rare, it has been observed and has
led t o failures. When the molten lead
coats the grain boundaries, there is a
dramatic weakening of the s t e e l which
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IDEAS FOR TOPICS:
leads t o steam leaks. The other is an impact
f a i l u r e i n thin reheater tubes of stainless s t e e l .
For tubes i n service long enough t o form sigma phase
within the microstructure, ashotgun p e l l e t may have
sufficient impact t o rupture the tube. Sigma phase
reduces the impact strength and d u c t i l i t y of
austenitic stainless steels. While these two
f a i l u r e mechanisms are rare, failures from these
causes are known.
In order t o assess the s i z e of a dent that would
be too small t o adversely affect flow, two
fabrication techniques a r e relative. When a backing
ring o r c h i l l ring is used for tube-to-tube butt
welds, an area reduction of up t o 20% is possible,
depending on the s t y l e of c h i l l ring. In one
extreme case the ID a t a well-placed backing ring
w a s 1.34611, while the tube bore w a s 1.54511. These
lead t o r e l a t i v e areas of 1.42 and 1.87 square
inches, o r an area reduction of 24%.
One other area of tubing manufacture that leads
t o flow restrictions is close-radius bends. A 10%
flattening of the tube a t the bend w i l l lead t o an
area reduction of something greater than that,
perhaps 14 o r 15%due t o the thickening of the tube
w a l l s along the inside of the bend.
Thus, it seems reasonable t o suggest that f o r
dents caused by operational problems i n boiler
tubing that r e s t r i c t the flow by l e s s than 15%would
be quite safe f o r long-term operation. The
drawback, of course, is how t o define 15% flow
r e s t r i c t i o n by measuring the shape of the of the
tube. For tubes that a r e s l i g h t l y flattened, as f o r
example, Figs. 2 and 3, a flattening of
approximately 1/4" has led t o flow restrictions l e s s
than lWo. The 1/4" flattening in Fig. 2 represents
a 16%reduction in diameter, and the flattening in
Fig. 3 represents a 13%reduction i n diameter.
Thus, a flattening of perhaps 20% on the diameter
would lead t o a flow r e s t r i c t i o n of something l e s s
than that and would be unlikely t o lead t o long-
term problems.
There once was a boiler named Thor
Whose superheater erupted with a roar.
Was it fly-ash erosion?
O r coal-ash corrosion?
C a l l Dave French, h e ' l l t e l l you the score!
(508) 393-3635
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