WATER TREATMENT

Taming Condenser Tube Leaks,

Part II
In Part I of this two-part report we examined the various chemical forces at
work in condenser tube leaks, the steam plant components placed at risk,
and the suite of instrumentation most capable of providing early warning
of a leak. Assuming you were able to repair the leak and quickly resume
operation, the next step is to identify the damage mechanisms that caused
the problem so you can minimize future leaks.
By David G. Daniels, Mechanical & Materials Engineering

C
ondenser tube leaks are caused by cor-
rosion or damage mechanisms that
Corrosion and pitting resistance of various stainless steel alloys. Source:
J.C. Tverberg, “Performance of Superferritic Stainless Steels in High Chloride Waters,” present-
affect the entire condenser. Those ed at Condenser Technology: Seminar and Conference, EPRI, Palo Alto, Calif., 2002
mechanisms will continue to cause additional
leaks until the root cause(s) of the failures are Alloy UNS number PREN CCCT Max. chloride (ppm)
identified and changes are made to materials,
Type 439 S43035 18 <–2C (28F) 100
water treatment, or plant operations to elimi-
nate them. This article describes some of the Type 304L S30403 19 <–2C (28F) 100
more common condenser tube failure mecha- Type 316L S31603 24 <–2C (28F) 500
nisms and provides a brief discussion of how
they might be prevented. Type 317L S31703 28 2C (36F) 1,000
The first step is to obtain a sample of the Type 317LM S31725 32 16C (61F) 2,500
tube that failed for metallurgical examina-
Type 317LMN S31726 33 20C (68F) 5,000
tion to determine the failure mode. Nonde-
structive evaluation (NDE) techniques, such Type 2205 S32205 34 24C (75F) 7,500
as eddy current testing, may be needed to AL-6XN N08367 45 45C (113F) 18,000
provide an indication of the scope of the
damage, but they cannot pinpoint a failure SEA-CURE S44660 46 52C (125F) 20,000+
mechanism. Together, metallurgical testing
plus some type of NDE can lead you to the lists stainless steel materials with their Pit- tance to microbiologically influenced corro-
root cause of the failure. ting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN) sion (MIC) caused by the toxicity of copper
and Critical Crevice Corrosion Temperature ions to many living species. However, this
Condenser Tube Materials (CCCT). The maximum chloride value is the same toxicity may create a problem if the
Common condenser tube materials include value below which chloride crevice corrosion plant’s cooling water discharge is returned to
various grades of copper brasses such as ad- will not occur. a public waterway. In such cases, a plant may
miralty brass, 90:10 copper-nickel (Cu-Ni), The standardized testing conditions under be required to maintain the copper concentra-
and 70:30 Cu-Ni. In copper alloy condens- which these values were developed are much tion of the discharged cooling water below
ers, it is not uncommon to find higher-grade worse than conditions normally experienced very low levels.
materials, such as stainless steel tubes, used using traditional sources of cooling water. Often, when retubing an existing con-
in the air removal section. The best approach is to use this informa- denser, the material selection may be limited
Series 300 stainless steel alloys, such as tion as a comparison of the relative corro- due to the lower heat transfer coefficients of
304 and 316L, are now fairly common in new sion resistance of one alloy against another, stainless steel and titanium alloys compared
construction in both freshwater and seawater not to set limits for cooling water chemistry. with copper alloys. Titanium alloys, though
applications. Higher-grade duplex stainless Not shown in the table are titanium alloys typically considered immune to corrosion
steels, such as AL6XN and 6 Mo stainless that are also used in seawater applications from the cooling water side, have failed due
steel alloys, may also be used. Superferritic or when the cooling water supply is high in to impingement from saturated steam dump
stainless steel, such as Sea-Cure, has also chlorides. lines in the condenser. They can also suffer
been used for cooling water where high lev- Each of these materials has its advantages from failures if steel tools scratch and pen-
els of chloride are present. These improved and disadvantages. As noted above, certain etrate the protective titanium oxide layer.
materials are required when using brackish stainless steel alloys are more resistant to
and other alternative water sources. chloride pitting and corrosion than other al- Common Condenser Tube
The duplex and superferritic stainless loys. Copper alloys, such as 90:10 and 70:30, Failure Mechanisms
steels are far more resistant to stress corrosion though often discounted due to their lower In our experience, the most common causes
cracking than the Series 300 alloys. The table resistance to erosion, have a natural resis- of condenser tube failure are related to ero-

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 WATER TREATMENT
sion, corrosion, or some form of mechani- mechanisms in condenser tubing is micro-
cal damage. The following discussion is biologically influenced corrosion (Figure 1. Cratered brass. Admiralty brass tubing
meant to guide your initial examination of 3). It is far too common in stainless steel that carries the cooling water in a condenser
can erode because of excessive water veloci-
the failed tubes and to help you close in on tubing and less common, but still possible,
ties or because the water is contaminated.
the root cause. in copper alloy tubing. A very few cases of Courtesy: M&M Engineering
Erosion. Cooling water erosion of con- corrosion in titanium tubes have even been
denser tubes occurs in areas of high turbu- ascribed to MIC.
lence and velocity such as in the first few Stainless steel condenser tubing is protect-
inches of the inlet to the condenser tube, or ed from corrosion by a thin layer of metal ox-
in areas where there is an anomaly in the ide. When a biofilm forms over the tube, the
tube, such as a deposit or foreign object that chemistry between the biofilm and the con-
the water must flow around. Figure 1 shows denser tube often becomes corrosive to the
the latter case. oxide layer and underlying metal. The more
Erosion is worse during periods of high well-established, thick, and microbiologi-
flow rates or when sand, fly ash, or other cally diverse the biofilm is, the more likely it
abrasive materials are entrained in the wa- is that MIC can form underneath it.
ter. High localized flow rates can occur In nearly any water-containing system—
when the tube sheet is partially blocked by and certainly in cooling towers and once- 2. Leaky titanium tubes. Wet steam
debris. Copper-nickel alloys have twice the through cooling applications—biofilms caused the erosion of these titanium con-
resistance to erosion of admiralty brass. But cannot be eliminated; they can only be con- denser tubes. Courtesy: M&M Engineering
there is at least an order of magnitude dif- trolled. (See “Biofouling Control Options for
ference between copper-nickel alloys and Cooling Systems,” September 2007 in our
stainless steel or titanium alloys. Erosion online archives at www.powermag.com.)
can also affect the tube sheet and create The most common control strategy for
leaks in the crevice between the tube and biofilm in cooling water is the use of bleach
tube sheet. to produce hypochlorous acid, an effective
Erosion can also occur from the steam biocide. In some cases the bleach is com-
side. Emergency dump lines or drain head- bined with sodium bromide to produce hy-
ers can impinge on the condenser tubing pobromous acid, which is a better biocide in
below in a very localized area. In one case, alkaline pH cooling water. In cooling tow-
the proximity of a reheater dump header ers, the effectiveness of bleach or bleach/
caused a high-velocity water and steam bromide can be enhanced with biodisper-
mixture to impinge on the top row of a con- sants. Bleach or bleach/bromide, applied
denser with titanium tubes (Figure 2). The properly and consistently, will typically 3. MIC damage. This stainless steel
plant is seawater-cooled, and the resulting provide adequate control of biofilms and condenser tubing was attacked by microbio-
tube leak caused massive contamination of minimize MIC. logically influenced corrosion (MIC). Courtesy:
the turbine requiring an extended outage to Mechanical cleaning, whether with brush- M&M Engineering
clean and inspect the turbine and associ- es, scrapers, foam balls, or high-pressure
ated valves and piping. Erosion of support water lancing, is the only cleaning technique
plates may also increase the propensity for that can effectively remove all biofilm in a
vibration damage. condenser tube. Units that regularly use one
Erosion on the waterside can be minimized or more of these mechanical cleaning meth-
by keeping the tube sheet and tubes clean and ods are far less likely to see condenser tube
free of debris and operating the cooling water failures due to MIC or other issues with bio-
flow rates within the design range. Regular film, regardless of the biocide program that
inspection can detect waterside erosion. Tube is in use.
inserts, both metal and plastic, have been Titanium tubes have a very tenacious and
used to protect the first few inches of the con- chemically inert passivation layer that pro-
denser tube from further erosion and leaks. tects them from nearly all corrosion mech-
Care should be taken when using very high anisms. It is very difficult to accumulate
pressure cleaning equipment on condenser enough of the right kind of bacteria in a con-
tubes. Excessive pressure or inexperienced ventional power plant cooling system to cre- 4. Groovy tubes. Too much ammonia in
operators can damage tubes and create more ate an environment that would be corrosive to the cooling water caused grooving on both
problems than they solve. titanium oxide. However, titanium tubes are sides of a condenser tube support. Courtesy:
Regular and careful visual inspection of still subject to biofilm accumulations that can Andy Howell, Xcel Energy
the steam side of the condenser should lo- slow the flow through a condenser and cause
cate areas where steam erosion is occurring. problems in the cooling tower when biofilm
Steam/water shields can then be installed to accumulates on the fill.
deflect impingement, or the affected tubes Steamside Corrosion. Corrosion is also
can be plugged or replaced with a more ero- often found on the steamside of a condenser
sion-resistant alloy. tube. Admiralty brass tubing is susceptible
Waterside Corrosion. One of the most to both ammonia grooving and ammonia-
common cooling water–side corrosion induced stress corrosion cracking.

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POWER October 2010
 WATER TREATMENT
Ammonia grooving occurs when ammo-
nia added for pH control of the feedwater 5. Admiralty attacked. Excess ammonia in the cooling water can also cause stress corro-
and carbon dioxide and oxygen from air sion cracking of admiralty brass tubing. Courtesy: Andy Howell, Xcel Energy
in-leakage condense with the steam, run
down the inside of the tube sheet or other
support, and cause corrosion in the crevice
between the tube and tube sheet (Figure 4).
Although the focus is often on reducing
ammonia (and therefore the pH of the feed-
water), the real culprit is the air in-leakage,
which brings in the carbon dioxide and
oxygen. Both carbon dioxide and oxygen
are essential to the corrosion process. This
is why the air removal sections of admi-
ralty condensers often contain stainless
steel tubes.
Carbon dioxide also lowers the pH of the
condensate, requiring additional ammonia
feed to maintain the desired pH in the feed-
water, producing higher ammonia levels in
the condensate. High levels of ammonia can
also cause stress corrosion cracking in admi-
ralty brass (Figure 5).
Susceptibility to ammonia grooving and
ammonia-induced stress corrosion cracking
drops dramatically as the amount of nickel in Series 300 stainless steel alloys are sus- ice or wet/dry conditions) would normally
the alloy increases. Even a 90:10 Cu-Ni alloy ceptible to chloride-induced stress corrosion be required to create chloride-induced stress
provides far more protection against these cracking, though a serious contamination corrosion cracking on the steam side of a
forms of corrosion. event and a concentration mechanism (crev- condenser tube.

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October 2010 POWER www.powermag.com 65
 WATER TREATMENT
and create a black magnesium oxide coat- fish or clams) can be problematic for units
6. Frozen solid. This titanium condenser ing. This coating can create an uneven using cooling water from lakes, rivers, or
tube failed when water left in the tube froze. deposit layer that is more noble than the seawater. A small tear in a screen can re-
Courtesy: Andy Howell, Xcel Energy stainless steel, making it the anode and sult in a large accumulation of debris on
thus causing pitting corrosion. the tube sheet that can plug a significant
number of the condenser tubes, forcing
Other Failure Modes the remaining water through the remaining
Mechanical vibration can result in cata- tubes at higher velocities. The plugged or
strophic condenser tube failures or leaks partially plugged tubes can develop cal-
that are very difficult to find because they cium carbonate deposits and silt accumula-
open and close depending on steam condi- tions due to slower flows. These deposits
tions. The number of tube failures due to can then become havens for microbiologi-
vibration may increase suddenly after a cally influenced corrosion.
turbine upgrade that uses more steam or Freeze protection is also important for
creates a different set of harmonic vibra- any condenser where temperatures drop
tions in the condenser. below freezing or any using cooling water
When considering a turbine upgrade, it is that can freeze. Some water boxes may not
Stainless steel alloys are also suscep- good to examine the condenser design to en- drain completely, particularly if the drain
tible to enoblement corrosion. This form of sure that the changed steam flow rate doesn’t is partially blocked or rusted shut. Figure
corrosion results from the combined action create areas of mid-span collisions, fretting, 6 shows a titanium tube that failed due to
of manganese in the water source, bacteria, or fatigue in the condenser tubes. Regular vi- freezing temperatures. ■
and the action of bleach or chlorine. Man- sual inspection of tube supports, NDE, and Special thanks to Ray Post of ChemTreat
ganese can be found in seawater, lakes, and modeling of the condenser with computa- and Andy Howell of Xcel Energy for their
rivers. In freshwater sources, the levels of tional fluid dynamics analysis are all tools contributions to this article.
manganese can spike seasonally with lake that can be used to determine the potential —David G. Daniels (david_daniels@
turnover or spring runoff. Bacteria in bio- for failures due to vibration. mmengineering.com) is a principal of
films on the surface of the condenser tubes Plugging of the tube sheet with debris M&M Engineering and a POWER
can collect and precipitate the manganese and macro-biological fouling (such as from contributing editor.

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