Analysis of the Causes of the Emergency Shutdown of Natural Gas-Fired Water Peak Boilers at the Large Municipal Combined Heat and Power Plant

Marcin Trojan (), Piotr Dzierwa, Jan Taler, Mariusz Granda, Karol Kaczmarski, Dawid Taler and Tomasz Sobota
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Marcin Trojan: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Piotr Dzierwa: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Jan Taler: Department of Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Mariusz Granda: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Karol Kaczmarski: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Dawid Taler: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Tomasz Sobota: Department of Thermal Engineering and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-21

Abstract: The paper presents a cause-and-effect analysis of the failure of a 130 MWt gas-fired water boiler. The fault was a rupture of the helically finned tubes in the first rows of the second-stage water heater (ECO2). The high frequency of failures forced the boiler user to investigate their causes. The rapid drop in water flow in the ECO2 and the tightly finned pipes suggested that the permissible operating temperature of the steel used was exceeded. The only possible way to assess the working conditions was through a CFD simulation of the operation of the ECO2. Validated with the data acquisition system, the results show that the main reason for the failure was the overheating of the first rows of finned water heater pipes, regardless of the boiler load. The high heat flux value, exceeding 500,000 W/m 2 , and the increased flue gas temperature in front of the ECO2, almost reaching 900 °C, affected the appearance of the boiling film, limiting the cooling of the tube wall. Heat radiation and eddies behind the tubes significantly impacted the non-uniform temperature distribution, resulting in high pipe wall stress. By analyzing the service life of the first row of pipes based on the Larson–Miller parameter, it was concluded that the pipes would fail after only a few tens of hours.

Keywords: CFD; boiler failure; boiling film; gas-fired boiler; helically finned tubes; pipe rupture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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