How do I know if my boiler tube is leaking?

How do I know if my boiler tube is leaking?

For detecting boiler tube leaks, plant operating engineers constantly monitor boiler furnace vacuum, which is maintained between a -10 to -20 mm water column, feed water flow to the boiler drum from the feed pump, which must not abruptly increase, the de-aerator level, the quantity of makeup water, and hissing sounds …

What causes failure of boiler tube?

Failure of boiler tubes is a very common phenomenon in a power plant. There are many reasons for boiler tube failures such as pitting, stress corrosion cracking, stress rupture, creep, erosion, and thermal fatigue [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. The failed boiler tube in this investigation is made from 20G steel.

Can a boiler work without pressure?

When your boiler has no pressure, for safety it will shut down. The lack of pressure is only a problem in pressurised systems and theses include System and Combination boilers which work on a sealed heating circuit.

Why is my furnace pressure negative?

Furnace draft, or negative pres- sure, is created in fuel-fired furnaces when high temperature gases are discharged at a level higher than the furnace open- ings. This is commonly known as the chimney effect. This negative pressure causes ambient air to leak into the furnace.

What is the basic reason for boiler tube leakage with fish mouth type opening in boiler tube failure?

While leaks can occur for any number of reasons, the main causes of boiler tube leaks are tube corrosion, unified unit corrosion, scale, thermal shock, and improper boiler water treatment (post-installation). Preventing boiler tube leaks and failures starts with understanding why they happen in the first place.

What is the effect of silica in boiler when tube leak occurs?

Silica is the only boiler water salt which vaporizes at pressures below 2400 psig. It can vaporize at pressures as low as 400 psig. This has caused deposition problems in numerous turbines. The solubility of silica in steam increases with increased temperature: silica becomes more soluble as steam is superheated.

How long do boiler tubes last?

With proper maintenance, they are expected to last at least 15 years or longer.

What are the possible defects which may occur in a boiler?

Major problems occurring in the boilers are agglomeration, high temperature corrosion, slagging, fouling, caustic embrittlement and fatigue failure.

Does bleeding radiators affect boiler pressure?

If you bled your radiators recently, you may have lost some pressure. That’s because, when you bleed a radiator, air is released, which lowers the pressure in your boiler system.

What happens if no pressure in boiler?

Boiler pressure is incredibly important because it helps to keep the water in your home warm. If the pressure on your boiler is too low, then your central heating may not work, and if it’s too high, then it will be under too much strain and could also be prevented from working.

How does boiler create negative pressure?

Negative pressure -When the pressure in combustion area of the boiler is less than atmospheric pressure. This is achieved in balanced draft boilers by using Forced draft fans to force air into boiler (pressuring it)and Induced draft fans to remove air from the boilers to create negative pressure.

What is boiler furnace pressure?

Boiler furnace pressure is the negative draft maintained by the induced draft fan to ensure the proper flue gas flow throughout its path. Negative pressure in boiler furnace also restrict the flow of flame and flue gas from furnace to atmosphere.

What happens when a tube fails in a high pressure boiler?

All high pressure boilers commissioned and put into operation go through a stabilization period, during which some teething problems occur, including a few tube failures. Tube failures are classified as in-service failures in boilers.

Boiler furnace pressure is the negative draft maintained by the induced draft fan to ensure the proper flue gas flow throughout its path. Negative pressure in boiler furnace also restrict the flow of flame and flue gas from furnace to atmosphere. PS- there​ are few packaged boiler also available in which positive draft is maintained.

Can a boiler be protected from a furnace explosion?

There are also alarms and trips provided for furnace pressure to alert the operator and also to protect the boiler from very high pressure surges. In the case of furnace explosion, if the explosion process is triggered then the boiler cannot be protected by any of these devices.

How does a present day boiler work?

Present day boilers have online monitoring of furnace pressure and are controlled on auto. There are also alarms and trips provided for furnace pressure to alert the operator and also to protect the boiler from very high pressure surges.