Erosion of heat exchangers due to sootblowing

The erosion rate of convection surfaces is crucial for boiler reliability. This paper presents the impact of the action of a sootblowing stream (steam and air) jet on the sustainability of tubes. The model investigations described here compared the erosion rates of a tube bank while turning on or off an additional jet stream of compressed air that simulates the operation of a sootblower. This paper presents calculations for the erosion loss of a heat exchanger built in the actual object.

Failure analysis of solenoid valve components

Valve had failed as a result of particles of material becoming trapped between the valve seat recess and the valve seat ball, leading to erosion of the valve seat recess, valve seat ball and the valve operating pin; this allowed hydraulic fluid to flow when the valve was nominally in the de-energised position.The material of construction of the valve seats was not compliant with engineering drawings.The investigation demonstrated the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of hydraulic systems and of the need to control the materials of manufacture in safety critical applications.

Read more at : Failure analysis of solenoid valve components from a hydraulic roof support.