Boiler Tube Failure Reduction Programme

Intertek's boiler tube failure reduction programme and services can help power plants improve reliability and avoid costly outages.

Boiler tube failures are the number one cause of forced outages in fossil-fuel power plants. Identifying the root cause and implementing corrective action is essential to avoiding repeat boiler tube failures and the costs and downtime incurred with those failures.

Intertek’s expertise and experience can determine the root cause of boiler tube failure – with both in situ and laboratory analysis - and provide the remedial action and recommendations to solve tube failure.

Analysis of failed and non-failed boiler tube samples:

Our team of engineers and technicians can perform root cause analysis on failed boiler tube samples as well as evaluate and analyse non-failed boiler tube samples (water cooled and steam-cooled) for present condition and remaining useful life.

Intertek’s laboratories apply standard metallographic methods along with other techniques developed by Intertek to drive a cost-effective programme that can ensure accurate and high quality results.

Tube analysis and evaluation includes:

• Metallurgical evaluation plan
• Visual, non-destructive testing and as-received photo documentation
• Dimensional measurements on ring samples
• Material verification
• Metallographic specimen evaluations
• Hardness testing
• Internal scale and deposit characterisation
  • Steam-cooled tubes – determine steam side scale thickness and morphology
  • Water-cooled tubes – determine the chemistry and deposit weight

• Analysis of data and report
• Conclusions
  • Cause of tube failure
  • Remaining creep lif
  • Current tube condition

• Recommendations
  •  Operational change
  •  Water chemistry changes
  •  Chemical cleaning
  •  Tube replacement
  •  Design changes
  •  Additional analysis

Our boiler tube services include:

• Boiler Tube Remaining Useful Life Assessment and Extension
• Boiler Integrity Management Software
• Waterwall Deposit Measurement System
• Superheater and Reheater Remaining Useful Life Analysis

Request more information to see how Intertek can help your organisation with our Boiler Tube Failure Reduction Programme.