Root cause analysis of stress corrosion at tube-to-tubesheet joints of a waste heat boiler

• The failure of a waste heat boiler is caused by stress corrosion cracking.
• The expansion pressure used in manufacturing is less than that actually required.
• The enrichment of chloride occurs in the gaps between the tubes and tubesheet holes.

Leakage at the tube-to-tubesheet joints occurred in a waste heat boiler. The mode and the root cause of the failure were investigated by chemical composition analysis of the tube material, metallographic structure and crack observation, and corrosion product analysis of the damaged tubes, as well as the operation condition examination of the waste heat boiler. Results revealed that failure of the tubes occurred due to the stress corrosion cracking (SCC), which was caused by tensile stress and chloride-buildup in the narrow and long gap between the tube and tubesheet hole. The gap formation was further analyzed by comparison of the minimum expansion pressure from the common formula provided by the manufacturer, with that from finite element method computations. It is found that the minimum expansion pressure used in manufacture is small and cannot eliminate the initial gap. Meanwhile, the enrichment of chloride in the gap was briefly discussed.