Engineering Failure Analysis 13 (2006) 7579 www.elsevier.

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Analysis of a boiler pipe rupture

Zhang Baoyou *, Lai Zhonghong, Cui Yuexian, Fan Xigang
Analysis and Measurement Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China Received 28 October 2004; accepted 29 October 2004 Available online 31 March 2005

Abstract The rupture of a boiler pipe was studied by using chemical analysis, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results show that excess temperature caused by obstruction of stream ow was associated with the bubble clusters on the bore surface, which resulted in the creep deformation responsible for elongated grains and wall thinning. The pipe burst because the high temperature strength was below the designed standard. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Burst; Boiler pipe; Creep deformation

1. Introduction A water cooling boiler pipe made of 20 steel burst after ve months usage. The outside diameter and thickness of wall are 38 and 4 mm, respectively. The steam temperature is 450 C, and the pressure is 382 MPa. A segment 165 mm in length containing the rupture was cut from the pipe.

2. Experimental procedure and results 2.1. Macroscale analysis A large approximately elliptical gap, with long axis of 53 mm and minor axis of 34 mm, can be observed from the pipe, as shown in Fig. 1. The sharp fracture edge about 0.5 mm in thickness is thinner than in the other regions. The bore close to the fracture surface is clean, corresponding to the location of a bubble
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 451 8641 4867; fax: +86 451 8641 4234. E-mail address: xigangfan@163.com (Z. Baoyou).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2004.10.015

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Fig. 1. The morphology of gap.

cluster 180 mm long. The other regions are covered with thick oxide lm. The wall thickness at one end is uniform and at the other is non-uniform as seen from the section, with the minimum thickness of 2.8 mm close to the gap (Fig. 2). 2.2. Analysis of material inclusions The inclusions are contain suldes, aluminum and spherical oxides. 2.3. Optical microstructures Specimens were cut from the gap and the end of the analyzed segment. The microstructure was measured using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The microstructures of the segment ends are mixtures of ferrite, pearlite and cementite. Spherical or blocky cementite are located in the ferrite grain boundaries. The majority of pearlite is spheroidized (Fig. 3). As shown in Fig. 4, the region close to the gap comprises ferrite, pearlite and cementite, and the pearlite is also spheroidized. The ferrite grains in the regions next to the gap were elongated along the deformation direction of the pipe. 2.4. Analysis of oxide or bore From Fig. 5, a layer of rust on the bore surface can be observed. The EDS result (Fig. 6) indicates that it is Fe-bearing oxide. The ductile fracture is shown in Fig. 7. The composition of the surface involves the elements Al, Si and Ca (Fig. 8).

Fig. 2. The section of pipe.

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Fig. 3. The microstructure of the segment end.

Fig. 4. The microstructure of the gap.

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Fig. 5. The oxide morphology of the surface of inwall.

Fig. 6. EDS result for Fig. 5.

3. Discussion The microstructures of the pipe involve ferrite, pearlite and cementite. The majority of pearlite is spheroidized. The evolution of microstructure indicates that the pipe was used under high temperature, but the highest temperature was not above the AC1 temperature of steel (735 C). The evolution of microstructure resulted from excess temperature which reduced the creep strength and resulted in the pipe expanding under the steam pressure. The greatly elongated grains at the edge of the gap show that the pipe failed under fast deformation.

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Fig. 7. The cracked surface morphology.

Fig. 8. EDS result for Fig. 7.

The excess temperature is related to bubble clusters. The rough surface obstructed the water ow, causing the overheating and excess temperature. The encrustation of the bore, one of the reasons of overheating, is probably related to water quality.

4. Conclusions The excess temperature, on account of the obstruction of stream ow associated with bubble clusters on the surface of local regions, resulted in the creep deformation leading to wall thinning and rupture.