Fireside corrosion and fly ash erosion in boilers: Final report
This report presents the results of a study to assess the state of the art on current methods of reducing the importance of fireside corrosion and flyash erosion as factors responsible for tube failures in utility boilers. In the study, the causes attributed to these problems were evaluated and the remedial measures that are used in practice, and that are available and could be used were reviewed. The approach was based on discussions with personnel at ten utilities, chosen because of their experience with these problems. Fireside corrosion and flyash erosion are considered to be major problems only at those units burning coal that is rated as very aggressive (high sulfur, alkalis, and chlorine), or that contains a high percentage of erosive minerals such as quartz in the ash. These problems are being effectively managed by extensive maintenance and the use of sacrificial, temporary measures such as pad welding, and the fitting of tube shields. There are available, proven, permanent solutions for most of the fireside corrosion and flyash erosion problems encountered. These are not widely applied because the costs of installation are perceived to compare unfavorably with continued maintenance activities. Nevertheless, several forced outages annually are still caused by fireside corrosion or flyash erosion. It is important to note that these are typically repeat failures in the same location, and often the same tube, which indicates that the palliative solutions which have been applied have been ineffective. There are permanent solutions which could be worthwhile to US utilities, and there is sufficient incentive for some utilities to try them. An important example is the use of cold air velocity measurements for the selection and siting of screens and baffles, which has been shown to be capable of essentially eliminating flyash erosion as a boiler tube failure mechanism. 47 refs., 32 figs., 30 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Columbus Div., OH (USA); Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6783187
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-CS-5071; ON: TI87920273
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BOILERS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CORROSION
EROSION
TUBES
FLY ASH
CORROSIVE EFFECTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
AVAILABILITY
FAILURES
MATERIALS
COAL
COMBUSTION
MAINTENANCE
OUTAGES
SUPERHEATERS
AEROSOL WASTES
ASHES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
OXIDATION
POWER PLANTS
RESIDUES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTES
200101* - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Cooling & Heat Transfer Equipment & Systems
360105 - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion