Page 36 - Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis

1 Introduction 29

corrosion, unexpected factors and utilities, etc. [5]. Few case studies describing fail-
ures happened in the past that have been listed in Table 2.1 for further reference.
The significant number of failures (38.2%) in the chemical industries was
related to the deficiencies in the process control. On the other hand, unforeseen

Table 2.1 Few Failure Case Studies Categorized with Respect to the
Possible Cause

Improper material selection and inferior properties
(a) Failure of stainless digester shafts in a paper production plant [6]
(b) Failure analysis of PSV spring in offshore gas production pipeline [7]
(c) Failure of crude oil heater tubes [8]
Process conditions and operational negligence

(a) Failure analysis of stress corrosion cracking in heat-exchanger tubes during start-up
operation [9]
(b) Failure in a high-pressure feeding line of an oil refinery due to hydrogen effect [10]
(c) Failure of a super heater tube [11]
(d) Analysis of ethylene cracking furnace tubes [12]
(e) Remaining life assessment of platforming reactor vessels [13]
(f) Failure analysis of heat-exchanger fluid vapor phase vent lines in a polyester plant [14]
(g) Failure investigation of heat-exchanger plates due to pitting corrosion [15]
Manufacturing faults
(a) Weld failures in sleeve reinforcements of pipelines [16]
(b) Fatigue failure of a boiler feed pump rotor shaft [17]
(c) Failure of a valve rod caused by improper heat treatment and metallurgy [18]
(d) Failure analysis of water pump shaft [19]
Deficient process design
(a) Erosion-corrosion of a stainless steel distillation column in food industry [20]
(b) Failure analysis of an electric arc furnace off-gas system [21]
(c) Materials testing of ruptured lead-lined tank and lead pipe [22]
(d) Corrosion failure analysis of spent caustic drainage line pipe [23]
Environmental degradation
(a) Failure of reformer tube of an ammonia plant [24]
(b) Failure analysis of the 304 stainless steel tube in a gas analyzer [25]
(c) Application of gray relational analysis for corrosion failure of oil tubes [26]
(d) Failure analysis and prevention in SCC and corrosion fatigue cases [27]
Maintenance-related issues
(a) Applications of maintenance optimization models: A review and analysis [28]
(b) Risk-based maintenance (RBM): A quantitative approach for maintenance/inspection
scheduling and planning [29]
Unexpected factors
(a) Failure analysis and safety evaluation of buried pipeline due to deflection of landslide
process [30]