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(Avesta Sheffield 254 SMO )
Austenitic Stainless Steel
in Power Plants
by
Jan Olsson, Research & Development, Avesta Sheffield AB, S-774 80 Avesta, Sweden, and
James D. Redmond, Technical Marketing Resources, Inc., 3209 McKnight East Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, USA
Service Experience
Table 2: S31254 specifications and codes Condenser Tubing
ASTM The first full scale installation of S31254 condenser
A167, A182, A240, A249, A269, A276, A312, A351, tubing took place in January 1982 when Imatran Voima
A358, A403, A409, A473, A479, A743 and A744. Oy in Finland retubed one of the condensers at the
Pending in A 193, A 194. Naantali Power Station on the Finnish west coast. The
condenser was originally tubed with aluminum brass
ASME (OD 23x1 mm) in a Muntz metal tube sheet, but the
Section III, Division 1, Class 2 and 3 tubes had, after 9 years of service, leaked severely and
replacement was necessary. Dezincification was the
Code Case N-439: SA-182, SA-240, SA-249, SA-312, primary form of corrosion.
SA-358 Eighty-two hundred (66,000 m, 23x0.7 mm) S31254
Code Case N-440: Castings to SA-351 tubes were successfully rolled into the Muntz metal
Code Case N-441: Fittings to SA-403 tubesheets despite the rather thin ligaments between
the holes and significantly higher hardness of the stain-
Section VIII, Division 1, up to 400°C (750°F) less steel (27).
SA-182, SA-240, SA-249, SA-312, SA-358, SA-409,
No cathodic protection of the tubesheets was applied
SA-479 because it was believed that the cast iron water boxes
Code Case 2036: Castings to SA-351 would supply sufficient protection. However, continued
dezincification was observed after one year of service
ANSI and a cathodic protection system was designed and
Pending in B31.1 installed. No further corrosion of the tubesheet has
occurred.
The cooling water, which is Baltic Sea brackish water,
S31254 was the first high performance austenitic stain- has a chloride level of approximately 3500 ppm and
less steel designed specifically to use nitrogen for reaches a maximum temperature of 35°C (95°F).
added corrosion resistance. Therefore, it has superior The plant operator reported no problems in the tube
resistance to chloride pitting and crevice corrosion replacement process, no leaks, and high plant avail-
compared to earlier non-nitrogen alloyed austenitic ability (27). These favorable experiences lead to a
stainless steel tubing such as N08366. series of additional installations in Finnish plants.
The resistance of S31254 to pitting, crevice corrosion, During the years 1985-89, 285,000 m, (935,000 ft.), of
and stress corrosion cracking in chloride-containing S31254 condenser tubing (OD 28 x 0.8 mm) were instal-
water has been described extensively (6 to 25) and in led on three different occasions in Unit # 1 and in Unit
summary the results can be described as excellent. # 2 of Loviisa nuclear power station on the Finnish south
coast. The original tubes were 70-30 copper-nickel, but Then in 1986, a second installation took place at Naan-
they suffered erosion-corrosion. The tubesheets are tali power station. The quantity, dimensions, and water
Type 321 (S32100) stainless steel, which enabled seal chemistry were identical, and so far, so has the service
welding following the rolling-in process. Some welding experience.
technique development work was required for the first In 1989, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) retubed
retrofit. Once this was accomplished, service experi- the air removal section of Johnsonville Unit # 7 in New
ence has been excellent with no leaks. Johnsonville, Tennessee, with S31254. The unit had
The cooling water is taken from the Gulf of Finland, originally been tubed in 90-10 copper-nickel which
which is part of the Baltic Sea, and consequently, the failed due to erosion-corrosion. The S31254 condenser
water composition does not deviate much from that of tubes were rolled into a brass tubesheet. The Kentucky
the Naantali water. The chloride level is, however, Reservoir and the Tennessee River provide the cooling
slightly lower, approximately 3000 ppm. Periodic water for Johnsonville # 7.
inspections have shown excellent performance by the In September 1990, 30,000 m (98,360 ft.) of S31254
S31254 condensers. condenser tubing was installed in the Krabi Power plant
In 1985, approximately 66,000 m (216,535 ft.) of alu- in Thailand.
minum-brass tubes were replaced by S31254 tubes There are now nine utility steam condenser installations
in the Hanasaari power station in Helsinki. The tubes of S31254 with approximately 611,960 m (2,007,743 ft.)
were rolled into Muntz metal tubesheets, see Figure 1 of installed tubing. Details on these installations are
(page 4). The chloride level of the water is approxi- summarized in Table 3. All of these installations are con-
mately 3000 ppm and it can sometimes contain hydro- sidered highly successful at this time.
gen sulphide (3).
Tubesheets
The first large scale application of S31254 tubesheets in
a power plant took place in September 1981 at the
Swedish nuclear power station Ringhals Unit # 1. Cool-
ing at this station is made with North Sea water with a
chloride content between 15,000 and 17,000 ppm. It is
chlorinated during the summer season, May to Septem-
ber, with a residual chlorine level of approximately 1
ppm. The maximum water outlet temperature is 35°C
(95°F). Both aluminum-brass and Naval brass tube-
sheets had previously suffered corrosion at this location
and had to be replaced.
Twenty-four S31254 tubesheets were installed in the
two main condensers. Their dimensions were
3700x2400x37 mm (12x8 ft. x 1.5 inch), see Figure 2.
Titanium tubes were rolled into the tubesheets without
difficulty and seal welding was not employed. Because
of the joint design and the use of dissimilar metals, the
unit has been monitored carefully for signs of galvanic
corrosion. Tubes have been pulled periodically to
enable examination of the crevice area, but neither
leaks nor indication of corrosion have been detected
(28). This experience indicates that S31254 can be used
successfully using rolled joints with titanium tubes.
S31254 tubesheets will also perform well with either
rolled or seal welded joints with similar tubes.
References
1. S. Henrikson, Proc. International Colloquium on
Choice of Material for Condenser Tubes, Avignon,
p. 31, 1982.
2. S. Henrikson, Proc. 9th Scandinavian Corrosion
Congress, Copenhagen, p. 349, 1983, Korrosions-
centralen.
3. M. Aninali and S. Yläsaari, Proc. 8th International
Congress on Metallic Corrosion, Mainz, Vol. 2 p.
1284, 1984.
4. A. P. Bond, H.J. Dundas, Materials Performance,
Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39, 1984.
5. H.J. Dundas, A. P. Bond, Materials Performance,
Figure 3 Vol. 24, No. 10, p. 54, 1985.
S31254 austenitic stainless steel service water piping at the 6. J. Olsson, Proc. International Conference on
Oskarshamn Kraft Grupp AB nuclear power station in Sweden. Evaluation of Materials Performance in Severe Envi-
ronments, Kobe, November 1989, The Iron & Steel
Institute of Japan.
Other Utility Applications 7. J. Olsson and M. L Erbing, Proc. 4th World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Kuwait, Novem-
In 1987 Long Island Lighting Co. installed S31254 ber 1989, IDA/KSIR.
bolting material for under sea fiberglass piping manway
covers. High strength and a design requirement for a 40 8. B. Wallén, Proc. 2nd BSE-NACE Corrosion Confer-
year life were factors in the selection of the bolting ence, Bahrain, p. 140, 1981.
material. 9. A. Garner, CORROSION/82, Paper No. 195, (Hous-
Carolina Power & Light Co. experienced crevice cor- ton, TX: NACE, 1982).
rosion failure of Type 316 (S31600) in 30 days in the 10. P.E. Manning, CORROSION/82, Paper No. 176,
components of a tube cleaning and debris filter system (Houston, TX: NACE, 1982).
at its Brunswick Unit 2 station. These components were
11. J. Olsson and B. Wallén, Proc. International Confer-
replaced with S31254 in 1978. Similar 316 components
ence on Underwater Technology, Bergen, Norway,
of the Unit 1 station were replaced in 1979. Both have
p. 469, 1982, Veritas.
given excellent service since then.
12. J. Olsson and B. Wallén, Proc. 1st World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Florence, Italy,
Vol. 1 p. 241, 1983, IDA.
13. C.W. Kovach and L.S. Redmenski, CORROSION/
84, Paper No. 130, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1984).
14. T. Hodgkiess, P. Habilmatis and R. Ramsey, COR-
ROSION/84, Paper No. 24, (Houston, TX: NACE,
Conclusions 1984).
15. B. Wallén and T. Abrahamsen, Proc. Stainless
• S31254 is an excellent material for tubes and tube- Steels, Gothenburg, p. 463, 1984, Chalmers.
sheets in power plant condensers where brackish 16. B. Todd and J. Oldfield, Trans. Institute of Marine
water or seawater is used as a coolant.
Engineers, Vol. 97, p. 139, 1984, IME/BSE.
• S31254 is an excellent material for service water 17. N. Nilsen and B. Espelid, CORROSION/85, Paper
piping handling brackish water or seawater. No. 320, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1985).
• S31254 should be used with caution for plate type 18. B. Wallén and T. Abrahamsen, Proc. 4th Asian-
heat exchangers handling brackish water. Pacific Corrosion Control Conference, Tokyo,
• S31254 should not be used for plate type heat Japan, Vol. I p. 523, 1985.
exchangers handling seawater. 19. S. Nordin, B. Ericsson and B. Wallén, Proc. 2nd
• Based on chemical process industry experience, World Congress on Desalination and Water Re-use,
S31254 can be considered for a variety of auxiliary Bermuda, Vol. ll, p. 247, 1985, IDA.
power plant heat exchangers of the shell and tube 20. B. Todd and J.W. Oldfield, Proc. 2nd World Con-
design. gress on Desalination and Water Re-use, Bermuda,
Vol. ll, p.261, 1985, IDA.
21. H. Diekmann, Werkstoffe und Korrosion, Vol. 37, p.
130, 1986.
22. S. Nordin and J. Olsson, Proc. 3rd World Congress
on Desalination and Water Re-use, Cannes, Vol. Ill,
p. 235, 1987, IDA.
(cont.)
References (cont.)
23. B. Wallén and S. Henrikson, CORROSION/88, Paper
No. 403, (Houston, TX: NACE, 1988).
24. T. Drugli, T. G. Rogne, J. Johnsen and S. Olsen, COR-
ROSION/89, Paper No. 410, (Houston, TX: NACE,
1989).
25. B. Wallén, A. Bergquist and J. Olsson, Proc. 11th
Scandinavian Corrosion Congress, Stavanger,
Paper No. F-3,1989, Högskolesenteret i Rogaland.
26. M. Liljas, B. Holmberg and A. Ulander, Proc. Stain-
less Steels, Gothenburg, p. 323, 1984, Chalmers.
27. E. Lecklin, Imatran Voima Oy, personal communica-
tion.
28. S. Henriksson, Offshore Materials and Corrosion,
Paper No. 4, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.
29. R. Steen Hansen, Offshore Materials and Corrosion,
Paper No. 3, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.
30. O. Hagerup, Offshore Materials and Corrosion,
Paper No. 2, Oslo, 1988, NITO/NiDI.
Addendum
All nuclear power plants in Sweden, in total twelve units,
with a capacity of 9,700 MW, were originally equipped
with condenser tubes of copper alloy—mainly aluminum
brass. However, these proved to be insufficiently resis-
tant to corrosion and a total refurbishing programme
into titanium tubes was initiated during the 1980s.
After some years, the titanium tubes also showed signs
of attack—not as a result of seawater, but from erosion
corrosion caused by high velocity droplets on the steam
side of the condenser tubes. According to a report from
the Swedish Power Board (Vattenfall), eleven out of the
twelve plants have experienced this type of attack. The
outer sets of tubes therefore need to be replaced. The
condenser of the twelfth unit, Ringhals I, is expected to
last for the remainder of its service life, due to a lower
steam velocity. The same type of problem has been
reported by other plants, mainly in France, but also in
Finland and Germany.
Material tests initiated by the Swedish Power Board
simulating the same conditions showed that Avesta
Sheffield 254 SMO had a much better resistance to ero-
sion corrosion than titanium. Consequently, 254 SMO
was selected for the first refurbishing carried out at the
Oskarshamn II plant in 1991. In total, some 50,000
metres of tubes were replaced in the four sections of
the condenser.
Further tests have shown that an even better degree of
resistance could be achieved by using Avesta Sheffield
654 SMO (UNS S32654), and therefore this 24% Cr,
22% Ni, 7.3% Mo type stainless steel can also be con-
sidered a candidate for future retubing of power plant
condensers.
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