Fireside corrosion and steamside oxidation of 9-12% Cr martensitic steels exposed for long term testing

To obtain long term corrosion and steam oxidation data for the 9-12%Cr ferritic steels, test tube sections have been exposed in Amager 3 and Avedore 1 coal fired power plants in Denmark (formerly run by ENERGI E2). Thus direct comparisons can be made for T91 and T92 for the 9% Cr steels and X20CrMoV121 and HCM12 for the 12% Cr steels.

The test tubes were welded in as part of the existing final superheaters in actual plants and exposure has been conducted over a ten year period (1994-2005). Compared to the older steel types, T92 and HCM12 utilise tungsten to improve their creep strength. From Avedore I testing, T91 and T92 can be compared for exposure times up to similar to 48 000 h exposure.

From Amager 3 testing, X20, HCM12 and T92 were tested; T92 has been exposed for up to 31 000 h and X20 and HCM12 have had 84 500 h exposure. Tube sections were removed for various exposure durations such that steamside oxidation and fireside corrosion could be investigated with respect to exposure time.

The fireside corrosion rate was assessed by oxide thickness and in some cases residual metal thickness. The growth of steamside oxide was assessed by inner oxide thickness. The microstructure and chromium content of the corroded layers has been investigated using light optical and scanning electron microscopy.

The fireside corrosion rate for the T92 and HCM12 steels are comparable to those of T91, however X20CrMoV121 has a higher fireside corrosion rate after the longest exposure time. For steamside oxidation, it was HCM12 that revealed high oxidation rates after the longest exposure time.