Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis with Case Studies from the Chemicals, Concrete and Power Industries

Abdel Salam Hamdy Makhlouf, Mahmood Aliofkhazraei

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780081001257
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Industrial Management
• Index: Business

Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis: With Case Studies from the Chemicals, Concrete and Power Industries provides an in-depth examination of materials failure in specific situations, a vital component in both developing and engineering new solutions.

This handbook covers analysis of materials failure in the chemical, power, and structures arenas, where the failure of a single component can result in devastating consequences and costs.

Material defects, mechanical failure as a result of improper design, corrosion, surface fracture, and other failure mechanisms are described in the context of real world case studies involving steam generators, boiler tubes, gas turbine blades, welded structures, chemical conversion reactors and more. This book is an indispensable reference for engineers and scientists studying the mechanisms of failure in these fields.

• Introduces readers to modern analytical techniques in materials failure analysis
• Combines foundational knowledge with current research on the latest developments and innovations in the field
• Includes many compelling case studies of materials failure in chemical processing plants, concrete structures, and power generation systems

Chapter 1

Progressive failures of components in chemical process industry

Case history investigation and root-cause analysis

George A. Pantazopoulos* [email protected]; Pandora P. Psyllaki^{† *} ELKEME Hellenic Research Centre for Metals S.A., Athens, Greece
^† Piraeus University of Applied Sciences, Egaleo, Greece

Abstract

The increased significance and value of the multi- and interdisciplinary failure analysis field arises from the benefits incurred in terms of insurance costs, quality improvement, and prevention or minimization of environmental and safety risks. Especially in the chemical industry sector, the preventive role of failure analysis is of paramount importance, since the criticality and risk of an unfolding failure event provides a potential of huge safety and/or environmental hazards (chemical accidents, explosions, environmental-type leakages, etc.). Progressive-type failures are considered as the most insidious damage mechanisms which are very often difficult to detect and predict. Aggressive service conditions prevailing in chemical process plants, such as elevated temperature and pressure and corrosive environments, stretch the safety operating limits of engineering materials and components at challenging levels of endurance and reliability. The current chapter presents the investigation methodology of characteristic failures of chemical and process plants’ components, based mainly on case history investigation approach. A brief introduction addresses the progressive failure modes, focusing mainly on creep and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in special steel structural members. Next, the results of the investigation of two respective case histories are thoroughly analyzed and discussed. The evolution of creep damage is presented in the case of a steel pipe operating in a power plant together with the discussion of the influence of operation parameters. The SCC mechanism is addressed through the catastrophic failure of a stainless steel screen (grid) used in a naphtha production unit in petrochemical industry. Visual inspection, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis were used as the principal analytical techniques for the case history failure investigation.

Keywords

Creep

Stress corrosion cracking

Chemical process industry power plant

Chapter Outline

1 Overview of Failure Mechanisms 1

2 Analytical Techniques 4

3 Case Studies 4

3.1 Creep Fracture of a Carbon Steel Superheater Tube Installed in a Power-Plant Unit 4

3.1.1 Summary 4

3.1.2 Background Information 6

3.1.3 Failure Analysis 7

3.1.4 Discussion and Conclusions 14

3.2 Corrosion Failure of a Stainless Steel Filter Grid Operated in a Petrochemical Plant 15

3.2.1 Summary 15

3.2.2 Background Information 15

3.2.3 Failure Analysis 17

3.2.4 Discussion and Conclusion 21

References 22

1 Overview of Failure Mechanisms

Failure analysis is a structured procedure that can be implemented using a process-based approach aiming to determine the damage mechanisms, discover the root-cause(s), and outline the corrective actions, which are necessary precursors for the improvement of a system [1]. This is an approach common in almost every technical/economic activity offering significant potential in problem-solving viable growth.

Metal components exhibit lower service life when operated at elevated temperatures. Depending on the particular environmental and loading conditions, the most common causes of elevated-temperature failures can be classified as creep-originated, environmentally induced fractures, high-temperature fatigue, and thermal fatigue [2]. Creep is realized through the nucleation and growth of transgranular or intergranular voids depended on the applied operating conditions, that is, stress and temperature [3]. Creep is a progressive time-dependent deformation which leads to final rupture with potential catastrophic consequence and implications to health, safety, and environment. Remaining life-assessment techniques are a valuable asset in failure prevention and cost minimization of high-temperature working equipment. Methods using the Larson-Miller parameter (LMP), expressed in Equation 1.1, life fraction rules, and damage accumulation conditions are very popular in remaining life prediction [4,5], along with finite-element analysis (FEA) modeling presented in the relevant literature [6]

$\mathrm{L}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{P}=T\times \left(23+logt\right)$

(1.1)

where T is the operating temperature (K) and t is the service time (h).

Larson-Miller creep rupture ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Progressive failures of components in chemical process industry: Case history investigation and root-cause analysis
• Chapter 2: Engineering failure analysis in chemical process industries
• Chapter 3: Boiler tube failures: Some case studies
• Chapter 4: Creep damage of high alloyed reformer tubes
• Chapter 5: Failure analysis of reinforced concrete structures subjected to chloride penetration and reinforcements corrosion
• Chapter 6: Nonlinear 3D finite-element modeling for structural failure analysis of concrete sleepers/bearers at an urban turnout diamond
• Chapter 7: WITHDRAWN: Investigation of failure behavior of thin-walled tubular components and development of a procedure for evaluation of their mechanical and fracture properties
• Chapter 8: Seismic risk of RC water storage elevated tanks: Case study
• Chapter 9: Reliability and material failure analysis of water and wastewater systems: Case studies
• Chapter 10: A reliable analysis method for estimating large excavator structural strength
• Chapter 11: The reliability design of mechanical system and its parametric accelerated life testing
• Chapter 12: A nonlocal damage-mechanics-based approach suitable for failure assessment and remaining life estimation of critical industrial components
• Chapter 13: A concise filtergram wear particle atlas and some case studies
• Chapter 14: Fatigue failure analysis of welded structures: An overview and A case study
• Chapter 15: Welding-associated failures in power boilers
• Chapter 16: Degradation of protective PVD coatings
• Chapter 17: Application of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in failure analysis for the identification of organic compounds in chemical, rubber, and automotive industry
• Index