Creep failure of 25Cr-35Ni centrifugally cast reformer tube

Ravindranath, Kanhirodan; Akbar, Abdulmuhsen; Al-Wakaa, Bader; Abdallah, Zak

Abstract

Cast 25Cr-35Ni alloys are extensively being used in the petrochemical and petroleum refining industries for high-temperature applications. A typical application of such alloys in the industry is in the manufacture of cast catalyst reformer tubes for the production of hydrogen. The cast 25Cr-35Ni catalyst reformer tubes possess the required mechanical properties, creep resistance, oxidation resistance, and high-temperature stability. Though reformer tubes are designed to give a service life of over 100,000 hours at temperatures beyond 900°C, there are incidents of failure due to creep damage, which is the predominant failure mechanism in reformer tubes. The paper discusses an investigation conducted on the premature failure of a 25Cr-35Ni reformer tube. The investigation involved microstructural assessments and the evaluation of mechanical properties. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the service-exposed reformer tube were also compared with a new tube. The investigation revealed that the failure of the tube was due to creep embrittlement. The creep embrittlement was due to the microstructural degradations that occurred as a result of overheating. Adherence to the design and operational parameters is critical in mitigating creep embrittlement failures.

• Online Publication Date: Nov 17, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 17, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 12, 2023
• Publisher: InTech
• Book Title: Failure Analysis - Structural Health Monitoring of Structure and Infrastructure Components [Working Title]
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108766
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10932409