Failure Analysis of T12 Boiler Re-Heater Tubes During Short-Term Service

The failure of T12 re-heater tubes that had been in service only for 3000 h was investigated. The wall thickness of the tubes was visibly reduced by heavy oxidation corrosion on the outer and inner walls. The original pearlite substrate completely decomposed. Uniform oxide scale appearance on the inner wall shows obvious vapor oxidation corrosion characteristics. Corrosion originated in the grain boundary, and selective oxidation occurred due to ion diffusion in the substrate. The layered oxide scale formed on the inner wall is related to the different diffusion rates for different cations. Exposure to high temperature corrosive flux accelerated the corrosion on the outer wall. The microstructure degradation and corrosion characteristics of the tubes indicate that the tubes failed primarily because of overheating, as evidenced by calculations.