Failure analysis and life prediction of a set of extra high pressure heat exchangers containing defects

Abstract

Random sampling for inspection has been applied to an extra-high pressure heat-exchanger. It was found a large number of etching pits and cracks were in existence on the outside surface of the extra-high pressure inner pipe of the double-pipe heat exchanger. These threaten safety in production and constitute a hidden peril for the plant. Failure analysis and life prediction in this work provide proposals for guaranteeing safety. They have been adopted by the plant and have given a significant economic benefit.