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Boiler Stack Economizer Tube Failure

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Abstract

A metallurgical evaluation was performed to investigate the failure of a type 304 stainless steel tube from a boiler stack economizer. The tube had three distinct degradation mechanisms: pitting corrosion, chloride stress corrosion cracking, and fatigue fracture. The primary failure mechanism for the tube was fatigue fracture, but the other mechanisms may have eventually caused a tube failure in the absence of fatigue. This paper details the visual, SEM/EDS, and metallographic examinations used to determine that these failure mechanisms were each present in the same tube.

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Correspondence to Ryan J. Haase.

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Haase, R.J., Hanke, L.D. Boiler Stack Economizer Tube Failure. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 13, 513–520 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-013-9717-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-013-9717-y

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