Ammonia corrosion analysis of copper tubes and experimental research on non-copper improvement for heat exchanger in power plant

Ammonia corrosion in copper tube will affect the safety of boiler running in power plant. Therefore, no copper in heating system has become a technical orientation in heat exchanger reconstruction, This paper analyzes the condition and mechanism of ammonia corrosion occurring in copper tube used in coal-fired power plants. Using a general steam condensation testing equipment only for horizontal single tube, with water vapor and water as working fluid, on two types of steel tube with 2-side enhancement heat transfer, namely, a spirally fluted tube and a ratchet tube with internal spiral groove （RISG tube） which was developed recently, a set of experimental tests are conducted to investigate the characteristics of heat transfer and hydromeehanics. In order to compare easily, both one copper smooth tube and one steel smooth tube are also used in the experiment. The experimental results, which get from single horizontal tube, show that the overall heat transfer coefficient of steel spirally fluted tube are improved by 10%o to 17%, and that of the steel RISG tube（22%-28%） is better than steel spirally fluted tube, its flow resistance coefficient is only increased by 22% to 66% when compared with smooth tube. Based on a lot of experimental data, the steel spirally fluted tube and the steel RISG tube were applied in a low pressure preheater and an oil-cooler of some or other power plant respectively. The field testing results showed that their heat transfer coefficient with each types of enhancement heat transfer tubes were improved by 2.5% and 21%-45% comparing with copper smooth tube heat exchangers. Both basic and field experiment indicates that the steel tube with 2-side enhancement heat transfer is an ideal choice for heat exchanger reconstruction in no copper issue in power plants.

Experimental and finite element analyses on the corrosion of underground pipelines

Underground pipelines, on which a city relies for survival and development, have become an important part of lifeline engineering. Underground pipelines are utilized for conveying liquid, gas or loose solid, pipeline leakage and damage occasionally resulting from corrosion. Corrosion monitoring of underground pipelines is aimed at ensuring their normal operation and preventing loss of life and property. In this paper, a new method to monitor corrosion of pipelines has been proposed to solve the mentioned problem. Under the influence of internal pressure and corrosion, the pipeline wall becomes thinner and the circumferential deformation increases. The method is to indirectly investigate pipeline corrosion by monitoring the circumferential deformation. Numerical simulation confirms that the circumferential strain curve of the pipeline wall measured by using the proposed method to describe the corrosion is feasible. The proposed method provides a new way for real-time and long-term monitoring and management of underground pipelines.