SRPs Experience with P91 Piping

Mike Rutledge
August 10, 2009
John Alice, Metallurgist

SRP (Salt River Project)

Supplier of Water & Power to Phoenix, AZ

Summer Load 2009, ~6500 MW

Resource Mix with P91:

1 Coal Plant, 400MW
(scheduled to go commercial Dec. 09)

3 Combined Cycle Plants

Desert Basin, 2X1, 600 MW
Kyrene, 1X1, 250 MW
Santan, 2X1 & 1X1, 860 MW

Inspection Locations
Shop and Field welds
Fittings
Terminal points such as

header
connections, valve connections, turbine
connections
Dissimilar metal welds (P91 to P22 and
Cr-Mo-V)
Areas of personnel traffic
As part of our HEP Inspection Program

Inspection Methods for P91

Wet Fluorescent Magnetic Particle
Shear wave ultrasonics and radiography of
indications
Hardness
Surface replication at dissimilar metal
welds (DMWs) and soft areas

First P91 Inspection at SRP Desert Basin in March 2006

Desert Basin began operation in 2001
SRP purchased in 2003 from Reliant
2 SW 501FD2 CTs
2 NEM HRSGs
1 GE steam turbine
AE Black and Veatch/Zachary

March 2006

Main steam induction bend and reducer

leading into north CMSV was unusually soft
(140s HB).

March 2006 Summary

Three MS induction bends - soft
One MS reducer -soft
Four sections of HRH pipe - soft

October 2006
Replaced north soft main steam bend.
(Rechecked north main steam induction
bend during the Summer of 2006. Found no
change.)
Rechecked the south main steam bend.
Confirmed still acceptable.
Checked more main steam induction bends
& other P91 pipe.

October 2006

Found two
more soft
main steam
induction
bends (140s
HB).

October 2006

Found four
sections of
hot reheat
pipe to be
soft
(150s HB)

April 2007
HRH induction bend had mid-span soft
areas
HRH induction bend low hardness at
welds
One of these welds had 3 -1 long linear indications
Ultimately determined to have significant subsurface
depth
Welds ground out and redone

March 2008

The section of pipe upstream of the Unit 1 main

isolation valve was soft, including the drip leg.

March 2008

The pressure equalization valves (F22) connected to the main steam isolation valve (C12A)
contained stainless steel piping and fittings (316/316L), which is undesirable in cycling service.

March 2008

These two soft main steam induction bends found during the October 2006
inspection were replaced.

October 2008
Three

hard welds (>300HB) were found in the

10 diameter piping leading into the HP steam
turbine bypass valves. They were PWHTd to
reduce the hardness to <280HB.

October 2008

Cracks were found at the toe of the saddle

weld connecting the trunnion to the main
steam pipe all around the weld on the pipe
side. This condition was found at both units.

October 2008

One soft MS induction bend was found, about

140-180 HB.

October 2008

Damage caused by alignment/

fit-up lugs.

October 2008

HP bypass
valve

A section of small diameter pipe that appeared to serve no purpose was found. In addition, it was P22 and
determined to have inadequate wall thickness. It was removed. The penetrations were replaced with RT plugs.

November 2008
HOT

REHEAT
MAIN ISOLATION
VALVE LEAK
The crack was at
the 6 oclock
position and
extended from the
weld into the base
metal of the
pressure equalizer
piping.

Kyrene Unit 7 in May 2006

K7

began operation in late 2002

1 GE 7FA+e CT
1 Alstom HRSG
1 GE steam turbine
AE Stanley Consultants
TIC on site welding

May 2006

Four small elbows at the outlet of the HP

Superheat were soft (140s HB).

400X

May 2006

Hot reheat transition

piece from Alstom
(P22) to Stanley
(P91) was seam
welded P91.

B9-DMW

May 2006

A reducer, pup piece and

elbow of the main steam
piping was soft (140s HB).

400X

May 2006

Main steam transition piece welded to

MSSV was seam welded P91.

400X

May 2006

Cracked 18x14 weldolet of the hot

reheat system. Mechanism was creep
cavitation in the Type IV zone.

May 2007
HP Steam Bypass Valve

P22

P91

Outlet Weld is a B9 DMW (P91-P22)

May 2007
HP Steam Bypass Valve
Internal videoprobe inspection of outlet weld revealed thermal
fatigue cracks along the downstream weld toe.

Downstream-P22

Downstream-P22

October 2007
HP Steam Bypass Valve

P22

P91

Flow
Outlet weld

Outlet Weld is a B9 DMW (P91-P22)

October 2007
HP Steam Bypass Valve -replaced
Upstream counterbore-P91

Downstream-P22

Internal videoprobe inspection of

outlet weld revealed thermal
fatigue cracks along counterbore
and weld toe.

October 2007
HP Steam Bypass Valve -replaced

Mounted section from 6 oclock

position

Mounted section from 12 oclock

position

October 2007

Hot Reheat Transition Piece Piping

The plate was

verified to be
Grade 91
material, but
the weld metal
was straight
9Cr 1Mo (no
V or Nb).

HRSG P22 pipe

B9-DMW

October 2007

Main Steam Transition Piece Piping

The plate was

verified to be
Grade 91
material, but
the weld metal
was straight
9Cr 1Mo (no
V or Nb).

February 2007
Hot Reheat Steam Bypass Valve

February 2007
Hot Reheat Steam Bypass Valve

Santan Units in December 2006

Santan new units began operation in
2005.
3 GE 7FA+e CTs
3 Alstom HRSGs
2 GE steam turbine
AE - Sargent & Lundy

December 2006

High Press Superheat one tee soft only on west side,

three elbows marginally soft.

December 2006

Reheat Steam two center tees soft.

400X

December 2006

Two main steam elbows soft.

Elbow microstructure, 400X

December 2006

One weld soft on one side suggests problems during

PWHT.

October 2007
4 MS fittings;
1 elbow, 2 tees, 1 reducer - soft

MS Flow element leak.

DMW issue.
Repaired and ultimately replaced.

October 2007

Unit 5A flow element

September 2007

The discolored (overcooked) fitting just below the HP turbine shell was found to be hard, which suggests it
was heated to above the lower critical temperature during postweld heat treatment.

September 2007

Inconel weld
P91
Inconel weld
316HSS

P91

The flow element consists of an unusual combination of materials, that is, P91 welded
to 316HSS using Inconel filler.

September 2007

The LP steam bypass valve outlet weld showed some erosion from the attemperator spray and
some crack like linear indications along the counterbore and upstream weld toe.

September 2007

The hot reheat steam bypass valve was replaced because of thermal
fatigue cracking in the outlet weld.

May 2008
HP/MS; 2 spool pieces, 2 elbows, 1 tee soft

May 2008

Inconel

Inconel

P91

P91

316SS
P91

Main steam flow element

(316SS) joined to P91 with
Inconel.

May 2008
HR Bypass Valve

Crack on the OD at the

weld toe

May 2008
HR Bypass Valve Samples

April 2008

The non-return valves are large castings and were found to

have low hardness, less than 170HB. The microstructure is
not typical of a casting.
Typical microstructure, 400X

April 2008

The two short pup pieces just downstream of

the non-return valve at Unit 5A were very soft,
on the east side.
The microstructure
consisted of ferrite and carbides.
Typical microstructure, 400X

April 2008

The hardness of the stop valves was non-uniform

and ranged from 150 210HB. The microstructure
exhibited undesirable features, including some
delta ferrite.
Typical microstructure, 400X

April 2008

The main steam elbows at Unit 5B

between welds W5 and W6 and welds W9
and W10 were soft, less than 160HB, on
the
north
side
only.
Their
microstructures were consistent with
degraded material.
For the common piping leading to the
turbine, the large tee between welds W12
and W13 was found to be soft, less than
175HB, on the east side only.

SRP Outage Summaries

2006-2009
11 Outages
68 Findings (soft, weld metal issue, crack, etc.)
16 Repair/Replace Actions Needed

AVERAGES
+6 Findings per Outage
~1.5 Repair/Replace Actions Needed

Unresolved Issues

Hardness Testing suitable devices, surface prep, what

locations, how many readings ?? Some kind of protocol is
needed. What do we do with components with marginal
hardness ? Soft areas ??
Surface replication good enough ?? different methods or
techniques?
Scoop samples ? Boat samples ? Devices ??
What is the expected lives of anomalous microstructures ?
What properties do we assume for expected life
estimates ??
Should we hold the piping suppliers responsible for the
replacement of soft pipe ?? Or, should we require them to
prove that the component is fit for long term service by
analysis ??
Etc.

Specific Concerns
Fittings such as, elbows, tees, wyes, laterals, and reducers
may not be heat treated properly and may not meet the
ASME/ASTM requirements. There are no Code Police.
Welds can be pwhtd improperly.
Large Weld-o-lets can be susceptible to Type IV cracking.
ASTMs do not have any minimum hardness limits. Codes
are not enough!
Spool piece drawings needed to locate shop welds and any
seam welded fittings...these are sometimes hard to come
by.
Steam turbine bypass valves are particularly vulnerable to
thermal fatigue cracking. Retrofitting with a liner is
required for reliable operation.
Etc.

Actions

P91 requires close surveillance during all phases of

fabrication and construction to avoid problems. QC
of all new materials is critical. Dont trust the supplier.
Component suppliers and fabricators must
themselves possess, or must have access to detailed
metallurgical expertise and experience to deal
effectively with these materials.
Anomalous microstructures can be very difficult to
interpret. Atlas of microstructures is needed and
correlated with hardness.
Detailed purchasing specifications need to be
developed and followed.
Etc.

P-91 Remediation

If theres an issue:
Can you leave it alone?
Can you remove/replace now or later?

P-91 Remediation

How do you answer these questions?

Stress/creep life analysis
Hanger inspection/evaluation
Material availability

P-91 Remediation

Long Term?
Maintain a diligent inspection program
Industry Forums
EPRI/SI
Life Management of Creep Strength Enhanced
Ferritic Steels-Solutions for the Performance of
Grade P-91 Steel (CSEF)
Material Integrity
Life Management
Kicked off 11/07

Finally

Are we inspecting enough before a failure

occurs ??

Long term performance and experience with P91

in power plant service needs to be shared.

Remember:
Code compliant is not necessarily good
enough.

Monitor, monitor, monitor!!!