Overview of Boiler Tubes

Boiler Tubes are metal tubes located inside of boilers that heat water in order to produce steam. There are two major types of tube boilers: water-tube boilers and fire-tube boilers.

In water-tube boilers, water circulates inside the tubes and is heated externally by hot gases generated by the furnace. With fire-tube boilers, hot gas passes through one or many tubes, which through thermal conduction, heats the water surrounding them. Boiler tubes are susceptible to certain damage mechanisms, including:

• boiler feed water corrosion,
• graphitization,
• thermal fatigue, and
• corrosion fatigue.

In order to help prevent boiler tube failures, in 1985 the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed the model for a Boiler Tube Failure Reduction (BTFR) Program. The implementation of this program has greatly reduced the costs associated with failures.

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