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Design Study of a Superheater Header Subjected to Cyclic and High

Temperature Loading

Conference Paper · January 2007

DOI: 10.1115/CREEP2007-26070

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 Proceedings of CREEP8
Eighth International Conference on Creep and Fatigue at Elevated Temperatures
July 22-26, 2007, San Antonio, Texas
Proceedings of CREEP8
Eighth International Conference on Creep and Fatigue at Elevated Temperatures
July 22-26, 2007, San Antonio, Texas
CREEP2007-26070

PVP200726070
DESIGN STUDY OF A SUPERHEATER HEADER SUBJECTED TO
CYCLIC AND HIGH TEMPERATURE LOADING

Jinhua Shi
Serco Assurance
Rutherford House
Olympus Park, Quedgeley
Gloucester GL4 4NF
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1452 872522
Fax: +44 1452 872501
E-mail: Jinhua.Shi@sercoassurance.com

ABSTRACT
A typical superheater header in a power station is normally
subject to high pressure and high temperature loading. Due to
increasing fuel prices, many stations especially gas fired power
stations are operated cyclically to increase flexibility and to
reduce the running costs. Accordingly, new design of heat
recovery steam generators (HRSGs) has been required to
undertake cyclic operations.
For a base load superheater header, the design life is
dominated by material creep properties (time to rupture).
However, for a header subjected to two shift cyclic operating
conditions, fatigue damage could be increased significantly.
Therefore, creep-fatigue interaction should be considered.
In this paper, a creep-fatigue design life study of a typical
HRSG superheater header has been conducted under various
cyclic conditions. Creep stresses for the header are calculated
using a reverse design code method, and the creep damage is
then obtained based on the time to rupture data. Meanwhile,
fatigue calculations are carried out using the methodology
given in a new European boiler design code BS EN 12952.
The results of creep and fatigue damage obtained are
presented in a creep-fatigue interaction diagram shown in
ASME III Section NH (former N47 Case) for comparisons.
After a brief discussion of the results, a conclusion is drawn.
For a base load superheater header, the design life of the
header is dominated by material creep properties (time to
rupture), which can be found in PD 6525 [1] or ASME II Part
D [2]. However, for a header subjected to two shift cyclic
operating conditions, fatigue damage could be increased
significantly. Therefore, creep-fatigue interaction should be
considered, such as an interaction diagram specified in ASME
III Sub-section NH [3].
In this study, a creep-fatigue design life study of a typical
HRSG superheater header is conducted under various cyclic
conditions.
Firstly, creep stresses for the header are calculated using a
reverse design code method and accordingly the creep damage
can be obtained based on the time to rupture data detailed in PD
6525 [1].
Secondly, fatigue calculations are carried out using the
methodology given in a new European boiler design code BS
EN 12952-3 [4].
Thirdly, four design conditions have been investigated and
values of creep and fatigue damage obtained are presented in a
creep-fatigue interaction diagram shown in ASME III Sub-
section NH [3] for comparisons.
After a brief discussion of the results, a conclusion is
finally drawn.

1. INTRODUCTION 2. CREEP CALCULATION OF THE HEADER

For a power station boiler, a typical superheater header is
normally subject to high pressure and high temperature loading.
In the past, most power station boilers in the UK were
originally designed to undertake this constant high pressure and
high temperature loading named base load operation. Due to
increasing fuel prices, many stations, especially gas fired power
stations, have been operated cyclically to increase flexibility
and to reduce the running costs.
Many pressure vessel design codes, such as ASME I [5]
and EN 12952-3 [4], give details of a header design. In this
paper, creep stresses on the ligaments of the header are
calculated using a reverse design code method in which header
opening ligament efficiency, , has been included for multiple
openings as follows.

1 Copyright © 2007 by ASME

 calculated stress range is elastic, partly plastic or fully plastic.
ς ⋅P⋅R
σ= (1)
The details of this refinement are also given in [4].
t1 ⋅ η A permissible stress range with a known number of load
cycles can be obtained from Figure 1 [4]. As the mean values of
the stress range shown in Figure 1 have been derived from
where, experimental data, they do not include safety factors. For the
P – Design pressure, MPa; determination of the permissible stress range a stress safety
R – Mean radius of shell, mm; factor of Ss = 1.5 shall be used, and as a load-cycle safety factor
t1 – Minimum wall thickness of shell, mm; SL = 10 shall be used as specified in [4].
– Creep stress factor. After the refined cyclic stress range, frange, is calculated, the
numbers of load cycles including the stress safety factor and the
The time to rupture is calculated using Equation (2) load-cycle safety factor can be obtained from Equations (3) and
below: (4) below:
log t − log ta
P(σ ) = a + b(log σ ) + c(log σ ) 2 + d (log σ ) 3 + e(log σ ) 4 = 1 / 0.547
(T − Ta ) r
173150 − 0.8 × Rm
(2) N as = (3)
f 2 as − 0.8 × Rm
where,
P( ) is the creep rupture parameter;

T is the temperature (in K);

t is the time to rupture (in h);
is the stress (in MPa); 1 / 0.547

173150 − 0.8 × Rm

a to e are constants taken from PD 6525 [1] for 2¼CrMo steel

N aL = (4)
as follows: f 2 aL − 0.8 × Rm
a = -1.386920571;
b = 2.832926035;
c = -2.196207523; where,
d = 0.7565333843;
e = -0.09841170162; f 2 as = S s f range (5)
r = 1;
Ta = 610;
log(ta) = 10.395759583. f 2 aL = f range (6)

Rm – Material tensile strength at room temperature;

3. FATIGUE CALCULATION OF THE HEADER frange – Cyclic stress range, MPa.
A fatigue assessment methodology has been given in a new Finally, the allowable number of load cycles for crack
European boiler design code BS EN 12952-3 [4]. The detailed initiation, NA, can be obtained as Equation (7) below:
application of the code has been demonstrated by Shi et al [6].
A brief introduction of the methodology is given below.
For a complete load cycle which includes a period of N aL
steady state, shutdown, start-up and a further period of steady N A = min N as , (7)
state, the effects of pressure and temperature on the header can SL
be examined. During thermal transient events, temperature
differences between the header and branch can be obtained
either by deriving the temperature difference between the
branch and the main shell or by using the steam temperature
4. HEADER GEOMETRY, MATERIAL PROPERTIES &
ramp rate.
Under purely pressure loading it is reasonable to assume DESIGN CONDITIONS
that for a cylinder to cylinder intersection the most highly A typical Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG)
superheater header is shown in Figure 2. The details of the
stressed area and the location most likely to experience fatigue
damage is the inner surface crotch corner and this is applied in header are as follows:
[4]. In the case of temperature loading, it is again assumed in External diameter of the header: 408.6 mm;
[4] that the highest stressed area is located at the inner surface Header wall thickness: 35 mm;
crotch corner, coincident with point of maximum pressure Outer diameter of the tube: 57 mm;
stress. Tube wall thickness: 4.57 mm.
Opening ligament efficiency: 0.59
The stresses at the crotch corner are tri-directional. The
three principal stresses at the crotch corner can be determined.
The material of the header and tubes is SA335-P22.
The detailed stress range calculations are given in [4].
Material tensile properties are extracted from ASME Section II
The calculated cyclic stress ranges can then be further
Part D [2] as tabulated in Table 1. Creep properties for
refined using a series of equations depending on whether the
2¼CrMo steel presented in Section 2 are used in this study.

2 Copyright © 2007 by ASME

Material physical properties used in the calculations are given
in [4], shown in Table 2.
Four design load cases have been investigated in this study
and they are tabulated in Table 3. The detailed design
conditions are described in the following:
Design-a: The design pressure and temperature for the
header are 11 MPa and 510˚C respectively. The design creep
life is 200,000 hours and the number of cold start/shutdown
cycles is 100 with a ramp rate of 10˚C/min. This is assumed to
be designed to a base load operation.
Design-b: The design pressure and temperature for the
header are again 11 MPa and 510˚C respectively. The design
creep life is 200,000 hours and the number of cold
start/shutdown cycles of 2000 is assumed for this case
according to Reference [4] with a ramp rate of 10˚C/min. This
is assumed to be designed to a cyclic operation.
Design-c: The design pressure and temperature for the
header are 10 MPa and 500˚C respectively. The time to rupture
and the number of cold start/shutdown cycles at end of header
life are assumed to be 200,000 hours and 2000 cycles with a
ramp rate of 10˚C/min
Design-d: The design pressure and temperature for the
header are again 10 MPa and 500˚C respectively. The time to
rupture and the number of cold start/shutdown cycles at end of
header life are assumed to be 200,000 hours and 2000 cycles.
The ramp rate during start ups is assumed to be 12˚C/min, but
during shutdowns it remains 10˚C/min.
5. CREEP-FATIGUE LIFE OF THE HEADER
5.1 Design-a
The fatigue damage and creep damage obtained for this
case at end of design life are 0.0059 and 0.326. The results are
also presented in Figure 3. It can be seen that the accumulated
creep-fatigue damage is well within the limit.
The allowable fatigue and creep limits calculated are
presented in Table 4. It can be seen that the allowable number
of cycles for crack to initiate in the header is 271 and the
allowable time to rupture is 542272 hours.
5.2 Design-b
For Design-b, the damage fractions calculated are 0.118 for
fatigue and 0.326 for creep and are also shown in Figure 3. It
can be seen that the accumulated creep and fatigue damage is
outside the allowable envelope.
The allowable fatigue and creep limits calculated are
presented in Table 4. It can be seen that the allowable number
of cycles for crack to initiate in the header is 1684 and the
allowable time to rupture is 168429 hours.
5.3 Design-c
The fatigue damage and creep damage obtained for this
case are 0.079 and 0.132 respectively and also presented in
Figure 3. It can be seen that the accumulated creep-fatigue
damage is within the allowable envelope.
Again, the allowable fatigue and creep life limits are
presented in Table 4. It is seen that the allowable number of
cycles for crack to initiate in the header is 2813 and the
allowable time to rupture is 281346 hours.
5.4 Design-d
For Design-d, the fatigue damage and creep damage
obtained for this case are 0.145 and 0.132 respectively and also
presented in Figure 3. It can be seen that the accumulated
creep-fatigue damage is outside the allowable envelope.
Again, the allowable fatigue and creep life limits are
presented in Table 4. It is seen that the allowable number of
cycles for crack to initiate in the header is 1803 and the
allowable time to rupture is 180263 hours.
6. DISCUSSION
Design study results for the four design cases are presented
in the previous section. It can be seen that the design lives for
two design conditions, Design-a and Design-c, are within the
ASME III limit and that the design lives for other two
conditions, Design-b and Design-d, are outside the allowable
envelope.
The design case of Design-a is for a base load operation.
As very low fatigue damage can be obtained, the life usage
factor at end of the design life is only 0.369. That means that
the allowable header life is 2.71 times the design one.
The case of Design-b is intended for a cyclic operation. As
a large number of design cold start/shutdown cycles, 2000, is
introduced, fatigue damaged has increased by a factor of 20
comparing to the Design-a case. Accordingly, the life usage
factor at end of the design life is 1.19. In order to design the
header within the ASME III limit, the design life will be
reduced to 168,429 hours and 1684 cold start/shutdown cycles
under the same design conditions.
For Design-c, the design life of the header is within the
ASME III limit and the life usage factor at end of the design
life is 0.711. Comparing to Design-b, it can be seen that the
design pressure and temperature for this case are only 1 MPa
and 10˚C lower than Design-b, however the fatigue damage has
reduced by 50% and more interestingly the creep damage has
lowered by a factor of 2.5. It is shown that the 10˚C change in
the design temperature is a big step as this does affect creep
properties significantly and hence the header life.
The effects of ramp rates can be seen from a comparison
between Design-c and Design-d. It can be seen that the higher
ramp rate, the higher fatigue damage due to the larger thermal
stress induced. A 2˚C/min increase to the ramp rate for the start
ups only has enhanced fatigue damage by 84%, therefore, the
header design life has been shortened by 56%.
It is beneficial to the power station owners if a higher ramp
rate can be introduced during the start-up and shutdown cycles
to produce more electricity. However, it should be noted that a
higher ramp rate will result in a higher thermal stress,
subsequently higher fatigue damage to the header and a shorter
life of the header.
This study has used a combination of two design codes, BS
EN12952 and ASME III. It is intended to carry out a further
study on the header by using R5 [7], an assessment procedure
3 Copyright © 2007 by ASME
for the high temperature response of structures. A comparison
of two sets of results will be conducted.
7. CONCLUSIONS
A design study of a superheater header subjected to cyclic
and high temperature loading has been carried out. Four design
cases have been investigated in this paper. It can be concluded
from the discussion described above that a design study is
necessary to optimize the design pressure, design temperature
and start-up/shutdown parameters of the header.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper is published by permission of Serco Assurance.
REFERENCES
1. BSI. PD 6525: Part 1: 1990, Elevated temperature
properties for steels for pressure purposes. Part 1. Stress rapture
properties.
2. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section II, Part
D, Materials Properties, 2004.
3. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III,
Division 1 - NH, 2004.
4. BSI, BS EN 12952-3:2001, Water-tube boilers and
auxiliary installations – Part 3: Design and calculation of
pressure parts. 28 May 2002.
5. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Design Code, Section
I. Rules for Construction of Power Boilers. 2004.
6. J Shi, W Bell & A Laird. Fatigue Life Assessment of
Boiler Components under Cyclic Operating Conditions.
PVP2006-ICPVT11-94065, July 2006.
7. British Energy Generation Ltd., Assessment Procedure
for the High Temperature Response of Structures, R5 Issue 3,
July 2003.

Design Case Pressure Temperature Cold Start Creep Life Ramp Rate (°C/min)
MPa °C Cycles Hours Start-up Shutdown
Design-a 11 510 100 200,000 10 10
Design-b 11 510 2000 200,000 10 10
Design-c 10 500 2000 200,000 10 10
Design-d 10 500 2000 200,000 12 10

TABLE 1: DESIGN CASES AND CONDITIONS

Temperature, °C 20 100 200 300 400 500 600

Yield Strength, MPa 206.8 192.4 185.6 185.5 184.7 173.0 146.4
Tensile Strength, MPa 413.7

TABLE 2: MATERIAL TENSILE PROPERTIES

Coefficient of Thermal
Temperature Modulus of Elasticity Expansion Thermal Conductivity Heat Capacity
°C MPa 10-6/K W/mK J/(kgK)
20 212000 - 37.0 -
100 206000 11.9 37.4 479
200 198000 12.6 37.2 499
300 191000 13.1 36.5 517
400 183000 13.7 35.0 536
500 174000 14.1 33.2 558
600 165000 14.4 31.0 587

TABLE 3: MATERIAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

4 Copyright © 2007 by ASME

 Fatigue Creep Allowable Allowable Creep
Design Case Fatigue Damage Creep Damage Limit Limit Fatigue Cycles Hours
Design-a 0.0059 0.326 0.016 0.883 271 542272
Design-b 0.118 0.326 0.099 0.274 1684 168429
Design-c 0.079 0.132 0.111 0.185 2813 281346
Design-d 0.145 0.132 0.13 0.119 1803 180263

TABLE 4: CREEP-FATIGUE LIFE OF THE HEADER

FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF CYCLES FOR CRACK INITIATION

5 Copyright © 2007 by ASME

 thermocouple on header

thermocouple on tube
FIGURE 2: GEOMETRY OF THE HEADER

Creep-Fatigue Interaction Diagram

Limit
0.9

Design-a
0.8

Design-b
0.7

Design-c
0.6
Creep Damage

Design-d
0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Fatigue Damage

FIGURE 3: CREEP-FATIGUE LIFE OF THE HEADER

6 Copyright © 2007 by ASME

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