A study on the failure of AISI 304 stainless steel tubes in a gas heater unit

This paper investigates a failure in convection section tubes of a gas heater unit in a petrochemical plant. Tubes are made of AISI 304 stainless steel. The failure is reported after 5 years of service at working temperature 500 °C. The failure is in the form of circumferential cracks in the vicinity of the weld. Various characterization...