THERMAL-POWER-PLANT CONDENSER-TUBE CORROSION ANALYSIS

The thermal-power-plant condenser tubes, conducting cooling seawater, experienced frequent leakages, prompting the hereby presented failure analysis. Visual inspection of the corroded/ruptured tube segments revealed that localized corrosion may be linked to seawater sediments and thick layers of corrosion products at the tube water side. Sediments were found along the tube bottom and thick corrosion products were found adjacent to the point of contact between the baffle plates and the exterior tube walls. Underdeposit corrosion, accelerated due to sulphate-reducing bacteria, was diagnosed based on the excess sulphur found at the pit bottom using EDX, the FT-IR spectrum indicating the presence of biofilm and SEM determining the featuring corrosion products based on the biofilm. It was proposed that the corrosion initiating deposits were linked to the condenser shutdown and startup periods. Results showed that pitting corrosion occurred under the influence of biofilm microorganisms tolerant to copper. The main goal of this research was achieved by defining a systematic procedure for avoiding a shutdown of the thermal power plant.