Page 75 - Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis

CHAPTER

Creep damage of high

alloyed reformer tubes 4

†
Eugenio Guglielmino*, Rosanna Pino*, Chiara Servetto , Andrea Sili*
Department of Electronic Engineering, Chemistry and Industrial Engineering,
University of Messina, Messina, Italy*
IIS Service Srl, Genova, Italy †

CHAPTER OUTLINE
1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 69
1.1 Chemical Composition and Microstructural Features of Reformer Tube ...71
1.2 Prediction of Creep Life by Means of the Larson-Miller Parameter ..........73
1.3 A Procedure for Nondestructive Testing on Reformer Tubes ...................75
2 Case History ...................................................................................................... 77
2.1 Experimental Methods ........................................................................78
2.1.1 LOTIS Measurements ................................................................78
2.1.2 Metallographic Examinations and Mechanical Tests ......................78
2.2 Results of the Experimental Investigations ...........................................80
2.2.1 Internal Diameter Measurements and Hardness Tests ...................80
2.2.2 Metallurgical Analysis—Optical Microscopy Observations ...............80
2.2.3 Metallurgical Analysis—SEM Observations ...................................83
2.2.4 Creep Test and Residual Life Prediction ......................................85
3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 89
References .............................................................................................................. 89

1 INTRODUCTION
Creep-resistant tubes are used in a large number of industrial fields, but their
main application is in petrochemical industry for hydrogen production by steam
reforming [1].
This process takes place in furnaces, where a mixture of hydrocarbon and steam
flows through hundreds of vertical tubes. Here, a Ni-based catalyst activates the
endothermic reaction that transforms reagents into molecular hydrogen and carbon
monoxide.
ð
C n H m + nH 2 O ! nCO + n +1=2mÞH 2 (4.1)

Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis With Case Studies from the Chemicals, Concrete, and Power Industries. 69
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100116-5.00004-1
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