Failure of a super heater tube

The failure of two adjacent platen super heater tubes of a thermal power plant has been analysed. One tube fractured with a fish mouth opening and another thinned down considerably. A significant amount of oxide layer was observed in the inner side of the failed tube. In the other tube the inner oxide layer was very small and the tube was thinned down due to fireside corrosion. The unexposed tube from the same lot revealed a ferritic bainitic microstructure. The failed tube also showed a ferrite bainite microstructure but most of the bainitic carbide had transformed to globular form. Considerable carbide precipitation both in grain boundary (GB) and inside grains were observed. A large number of cavities and micro-cracks were observed along the grain boundaries. A similar microstructure was observed on the same tube 10 cm away from the failed region. The micrograph at the fracture location showed a similar microstructure but the grains are very much elongated. The formation of globular oxide on the other tube was compared to that of the failed tube. Due to breakage of oxide scale of the failed tube, the metal surface of the failed tube was exposed to steam at a higher temperature and this accelerated the oxide growth. This led to creep damage of the material. Ultimately, failure occurred due to rapid overheating of the tube material. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.