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Acoustic Emission Examination of Metal Pressure Vessels Anatomy of a Catastrophic Boiler Accident Austenitic Stainless Steel Auto-Refrigeration Black Liquor Recovery Boilers - An Introduction Boiler Efficiency and Steam Quality: The Challenge of Creating Quality Steam Using Existing Boiler Efficiencies Boiler Logs Can Reduce Accidents Boiler/Burner Combustion Air Supply Requirements and Maintenance Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Preventable With Complete Inspection Combustion Air Requirements:The Forgotten Element In Boiler Rooms Composite Pressure Vessels for the Hydrogen Highw ay Creep and Creep Failures Description of Construction and Inspection Procedure for Steam Locomotive and Fire Tube Boilers Ensuring Safe Operation Of Vessels With Quick-Opening Closures Environmental Heat Exchangers Factors Affecting Inservice Cracking of Weld Zone in Corrosive Service Failure Avoidance in Welded Fabrication Finite Element Analysis of Pressure Vessels Fuel Ash Corrosion Fuel Firing Apparatus - Natural Gas Grain Boundaries Heat Treatment - What Is It? How to Destroy a Boiler -- Part 1 How to Destroy a Boiler -- Part 2 How to Destroy a Boiler -- Part 3 Identifying Pressure Vessel Nozzel Problems Inspection, Repair, and Alteration of Yankee Dryers Inspection, What Better Place to Begin Laminations Led to Incident Low Voltage Short Circuiting-GMAW Low Water Cut-Off Technology Low -Water Cutoff: A Maintenance Must Maintaining Proper Boiler Inspections Through Proper Relationships Microstructural Degradation Miracle Fluid? Organizing A Vessel, Tank, and Piping Inspection Program Paper Machine Failure Investigation: Inspection Requirements Should Be Changed For Dryer Can Pipe Support Performance as It Applies to Pow er Plant Safety and Reliability Polymer Use for Boilers and Pressure Vessels Pressure Vessels: Analyzing Change Preventing Corrosion Under Insulation Preventing Steam/Condensate System Accidents Proper Boiler Care Makes Good
Proper Boiler Care Makes Good Business Sense:Safety Precautions for Drycleaning Businesses Putting a Stop to Steam Kettle Failure Quick Actuating Closures Quick-Actuating Door Failures Real-Time Radioscopic Examination Recommendations For A Safe Boiler Room Recovering Boiler Systems After A Flood Rendering Plants Require Safety Residential Water Heater Safety School Boiler Maintenance Programs: How Safe Are The Children? Short-Term High Temperature Failures Steam Traps Affect Boiler Plant Efficiency Stress Corrosion Cracking of Steel in Liquefied Ammonia Service - A Recapitulation Suggested Daily Boiler Log Program Suggested Maintenance Log Program System Design, Specifications, Operation, and Inspection of Deaerators Tack Welding Temperature And Pressure Relief Valves Often Overlooked The Authorized Inspector's Responsibility for Dimensional Inspection The Effects of Erosion-Corrosion on Pow er Plant Piping The Forgotten Boiler That Suddenly Isn't The Trend of Boiler/Pressure Vessel Incidents: On the Decline? The Use of Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy in Clinical Hyberbaric Medicine Thermally Induced Stress Cycling (Thermal Shock) in Firetube Boilers Typical Improper Repairs of Safety Valves Wasted Superheat Converted to Hot, Sanitary Water Water Maintenance Essential to Prevent Boiler Scaling Water Still Flashes to Steam at 212 Welding Symbols: A Useful System or Undecipherable Hieroglyphics? What Should You Do Before Starting Boilers After Summer Lay-Up? Why? A Question for All Inspectors
Steel manufacturers will furnish material in either of the above conditions when so specified on the purchase order or as required by the material specification. As a cautionary note; alloyed steel mechanical properties are ultimately determined by the tempering process and if the materials are subsequently welded during fabrication, subsequent stress relieving temperature, if used, should not exceed that of the tempering process, otherwise mechanical properties of the material may be adversely affected. SOLUTION HEAT TREATMENT (solution annealing) While the Code sections state that heat treatment of austenitic stainless steel (P-8) is neither required nor prohibited, this refers to postweld stress relieving. There are certain processes to which this material may be subjected. These are performed almost exclusively by the material manufacturers due to the fact that temperature ranges and holding time are critical and require careful controls, otherwise damage to the material can result from either too high or too low a furnace temperature. Material manufacturers have the metallurgical staffs to determine requirements. In solution heat treatment the material is subjected to a high heat, around 2000oF, and rapidly cooled in liquid in order to achieve an evenly distributed solution of carbon and austenite in the metallurgical structure of the material. STABILIZING HEAT TREATMENT Everything said in the first paragraph under solution heat treatment also applies to stabilizing heat treatment. In the latter process the material is cooled slowly in order to bring as much carbon as possible out of solution and into evenly distributed concentrations apart from the austenite. Both solution heat treatment and stabilizing heat treatment are used to reduce susceptibility to intergranular stress corrosion and embrittlement also to increase high temperature creep strength. PREHEATING While most of us do not look upon preheating as a form of heat treatment, its use can contribute substantially in reducing hardness in all three constituents of a weldment; the parent metal, the weld metal deposit and the heat affected zone. As a weldment cools, it goes through various transformations in which molecules rearrange themselves. If cooling is rapid, this rearrangement is arrested resulting in entrapment of stresses and hardening of the material with coincident loss of ductility which is the highly desirable ability of the material to bend elastically, under stress. Preheating of the weldment area achieves better weld penetration and slows the cooling process, thus allowing added relief of stresses and reduced hardening of the materials. The ASME Code sections take cognizance of the foregoing, in some cases allowing exemption from postweld stress relieving PROVIDED preheating of a specified temperature is used. Here again, a word of caution is in order. Preheat, like any other heat treatment, must be carefully planned and used. Specific written procedures should be provided for each individual use. Misuse, such as light surface heating, can do more harm than good. A soaking heat and maintenance of interpass temperature throughout the weldment - and beyond, are recommended. In all cases, high chrome-moly steels should be preheated prior to welding and postweld stress relieved at around 1400oF. In summary, the authorized inspector (or ANI) is not assigned the duty of being an authority on metallurgy of all the various ferrous and nonferrous materials used in boiler, pressure vessel or piping system fabrication. The various Code sections do, however, require that results of heat treatment be made available to him for his review in order that he may assure himself that temperature readings and holding (soaking) time conform with Code requirements. Only a diligent study of Code requirements will enable him so make this decision. As previously mentioned, heat treatments which will confront the AI-ANI are for the most part preheating and postweld heat treatment, that is, stress relieving. Some points to remember: Post weld heat treatment is designed to return a metal as near as possible to its prefabrication state of yield, ultimate tensile and ductility. The rate of temperature rise, holding time at temperature and rate of cooling are vitally important. For this reason, furnace thermocouples must measure metal temperature, not furnace atmospheric temperature. Heat treatment of any type must be a planned, systematic action. Poorly performed heat treatment can result in far more harm to material than any good which may result. Test coupons must be subjected to the identical conditions as the vessel or part in order to obtain meaningful tensile and toughness (Charpy) test results. The foregoing is a short generalization. Specific requirements are found in ASME Section II "Material Specifications" and in the "Material Tables", of the various Code sections. Editor's note: Some ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requirements may have changed because of advances in material technology and/or actual experience. The reader is cautioned to refer to the latest edition and addenda of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for current requirements.
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