Find Condenser Tube Leaks with Ultrasound

By Allan Rienstra, SDT Ultrasound Solutions

Executive Summary
Power Generation facilities aim to run at maximum output during uptime and manage downtime such
that it has a minimal effect on efficiency.
Turbine efficiency is negatively impacted by tube leaks in the condenser. Leaks cause contamination
of pure water used for steam. When contaminant counts reach alarm states pressure must be lowered
reducing output. The turbine continues to run in a low capacity mode until the leaks are found and isolated.
Results Engineers must choose between:
• Treating the symptons with a system flush or
• Fixing the problem by finding leaking tubes and plugging them, thereby removing them from
service.
Often the system flush is chosen as a fast path to restoring optimal output in the shortest length of time.
However with ultrasound technology locating tube leaks is quick and safe. It`s now a clear choice to fix the
problem properly instead of applying a bandaid.
The benefits to use ultrasound include:
• Reduced time required to find leaking tubes.
• Worker safety is improved.
• Fewer personnel required reduces labour costs.
• Less coal is consumed, therefore less CO2 and less ash produced for a lighter environmental
impact.

Case Study – AB Brown Power Plant, Mt. Vernon, Indiana

Data and situational contributions by Bill Phipps, Production Manager, Vectren Corporation

Author’s Bio
Allan Rienstra is the President of SDT North America and Director of International
Business Development at SDT International. During his 25 years involved with
ultrasound he has helped thousands of companies create world-class ultrasound
programs. SDT’s clients are supported by a global team spanning 40 countries, 4
continents, and countless languages.
You may contact the author directly: [email protected]

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Introduction One method used to identify contamination

is to measure condensate samples for cation
Heat exchangers come in many shapes, sizes, and conductivity. Cation conductivity measures the
configurations. Their purpose; to efficiently transfer electrolytic conductivity of a water sample and
heat energy from one medium to another while reports it in micro Siemens per centimetre (uS/cm).
keeping those media separate.
Silica and sodium levels are monitored constantly.
Sometimes called “surface condensers”, these When they exceed acceptable levels (measured in
installations are used in a variety of industrial parts per billion (PPB)) it’s time for action. If not,
applications. We find them in refineries, water and silica deposits on the tube walls and creates scaling.
wastewater treatment facilities, food processing,
and power generation to name just a few. Corroded leaking tubes allow the two separated
media to merge. Contamination of highly pure
Shell and tube heat exchangers consist of a steam and water transfers downstream to other
bundle of steel tubes entombed in a shell. For the system components.
installation to perform effectively both bundle and
shell must be leak free. Formations on turbine blades, pump vanes
and valves diminishes their efficiency, creates
Two fluids of different temperature flow freely imbalance, and forces drive components to work
through and around the tubes. Separated by only harder just to maintain output.
the thinnest of steel, the transfer of heat energy
is completed without the mingling of a single
molecule.
Heat exchangers function under extreme high
pressures and temperatures; conditions which, over
time, contribute to failure modes that impact the
installation’s integrity. A common cause of failure
is corrosion. The corresponding effect is tube leaks.
In fact the bundles consist of thousands of tubes;
which provides excess capacity to accommodate
leaks. Corroded and leaking tubes only need be
plugged to effectively remove them from active
duty. The exchanger can continue to function so
long as a sufficient number of functional tubes
remain. The leaking ones are by-passed.

Figure 2 - Scaling Creates Vibration and Imbalance

Increased vibration levels accelerate component

deterioration. Originally, tube leaks were caused
by corrosion. Add in the juddering and jarring from
vibration and new leaks appear in the form of
cracked tubes.

Two Action Paths to Consider

Results Engineers have two paths of action
Figure 1 - Condensers May Consist of 1000s of Tubes
when silica and sodium level are high. With either
There are systems in place to notify operators choice, the station is forced to run at a lower output
of the increasing presence of tube leaks. Tube capacity for the duration of the maintenance.
corrosion can be attributed to increasing levels
of contaminants like sulfates, organic acids, and Simple action is non-intrusive and fast. It involves
chlorides. valving off one side of the condenser and flushing

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Page 3 Find Condenser Tube Leaks with Ultrasound
Allan Rienstra • 07/23/15

the system. Acceptable sodium and silica levels are Case Study – AB Brown Power Plant,
quickly restored and the generator unit is back to Mt. Vernon, Indiana
full capacity fast.
Bill Phipps is Production Manager at the AB Brown
In human terms, it’s a detox. A detox is temporary. Power Plant in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Located on the
It treats the symptoms, but doesn’t address the northern bank of the Ohio River, AB Brown is a four-
problem. In the human example, bad diet and unit, 700MW power generating facility.
lifestyle is the culprit. In the condenser example its
leaking tubes.
Flushing the tubes has environmental
consequences. Old water must be disposed and
replaced with new. The unit runs at reduced power,
burning more coal, while producing less megawatts.
The leaks haven’t been repaired. Levels of sodium
and silica will rise again. Another flush will be
necessary soon.
The other action choice is to identify the leaking
tubes and plug them; effectively removing the
leakers from service. This is the better solution
because it treats the cause. But it too carries a
downside. Figure 4 - AB Brown Power Plant, Indiana
Two of the units are coal fired and the other
two are gas. The coal units depend on leak-free
condensers to operate efficiently. Water from the
cooling tower passes through the inside of the
tubes. Steam exhausted by the turbine passes over
the tubes and is transformed back into condensate
as ultrapure water. The water is returned to the
boiler and converted back to steam.
The steam side of the tubes maintains 27 inHg
(inches of mercury) vacuum. Any tube leak allows
the water from the cooling tower to pass through
and foul the ultrapure water with sodium and
silica. Condenser tube leaks increase the silica and
sodium counts in the boiler water and steam. Once
the silica and sodium in the boiler water reach 750
ppb they are forced to lower pressure on the Unit
Figure 3 - Leaking Tubes are Plugged Out of Service and lose Megawatt production.
Looking for leaks can be unpredictably more time
consuming than a system flush. Depending on the January 2015 – Silica and Sodium
tools used for leak detection, you can be looking at Levels are Rising
a few hours, a day, or even longer. This needs to be
communicated clearly so enough time is budgeted The next image shows a graph trending higher
to do the job properly. silica and sodium levels in the cooling tower water
on Unit One. The presence of contaminants is below
Safety is an issue always. Inspectors are exposed
the 750 ppb threshold but it puts Phipps’ team on
to confined spaces and high levels of heat and
humidity. The condenser is at or near operating notice.
temperature. They must work in teams; never On 01/14/2015 his team isolated and drained the
alone. Personal hydration is paramount. half of the condenser (Unit 1, 216) with the leak.

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Find Condenser Tube Leaks with Ultrasound Page 4
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The green line represents the sodium levels and it immediately dropped, however it takes a while for
the silica levels to respond to the flush. The red line shows the gradual drop in silica. These levels will
eventually rise again unless the tube leaks are found and isolated.
Rising sodium and silica levels in Unit 1 indicate small tube leaks. After the condenser was flushed on
01/14/2015 normal levels were restored... for now.

Figure 5 - Gradual increases in Sodiam (Green) and Silica (Red) indicate leaking tubes.
Meanwhile, sensors also indicated high levels of that the Unit was offline and the condenser tube
sodium and silica in Unit 2. With valves they isolated side was filled with water and dye. Just look at the
and drained the half
of the condenser with
the leak. See the next
graphic.
They knew they had
a tube leak in Unit 2’s
condenser. During a
planned outage they
did a dye hydro on
it to locate the tube
leak. This graph of
Unit 2 shows the
difference in the silica
and the sodium when
a tube leak is present.
Disregard the area
between 1/9 and 1/12
as this was the area
Figure 6 - Spike above 1000ppb in Unit 2 is a leak that needs immediate attention

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Page 5 Find Condenser Tube Leaks with Ultrasound
Allan Rienstra • 07/23/15

difference in the “pink” (Silica) amplitude before detected a leak. However when he waived the
and after. SDT270’s airborne sensor in the area where the
A significant tube leak on Unit 2 caused reduction tube leaks were known to exist, he started hearing
in output. The Unit was shut down on 1/10 and noise. As he continued scanning over the tubes that
1/11 for a dye test. Leaks were found and isolated. were leaking he could hear a “psssst” then nothing
Silica levels restored to normal by 1/13 and 1/14. as he moved away from the tube. He then put the
precision tip on and started checking each individual
Phipps and his team are experienced at battling tube in about a 5 tube by 5 tube area. He said when
condenser tube leaks. he checked the leaking tubes – he actually had to
“We usually helium leak test for Condenser Tube turn the sensitivity down on the SDT Unit.”
Leaks.” Says Phipps. “The water side (inside) of the “In all – he scanned approximately 18,000 tubes
tubes are drained – the outside of the tubes (Shell) is in 30 minutes with the SDT270 compared to a
under vacuum. The helium detector inlet is inserted whole day with Helium Tracer Gas. The SDT270 Unit
into the vacuum pump exhaust. Helium is sprayed narrowed the leak(s) down to a small area.”
around on the water side of the tubes. We have a
box fabricated that allows us to narrow the area “It is the Results Engineer’s opinion that we
of a condenser tube leak down so that we shoot should use the SDT Unit for finding Condenser Tube
areas of the tube sheet instead of shooting each leaks in that
individual tube. Once the general area is located, 1. He believes smaller leaks can be identified
then individual tubes have helium shot in them. with the SDT270 Unit where they cannot be
“We had helium leak checked this half of the detected with helium
condenser 3 times, but determined that the leak 2. He knows that he can find the leaks faster
was so small we could not find it. It requires half with the SDT270 Unit using the scanning
of the condenser to be taken out of service to leak method first.
check. This has a negative effect on heat rate, as 3. It will be cheaper in that Helium Gas will
well as during the summer months – Generator not have to be purchased
Output due to the backpressure created on the low
pressure turbine.” 4. It will also return the Unit to full load
capacity faster by reducing significantly the
“We have the equipment and trained personnel time that it takes to find leaks.”
to perform the Helium leak check. Since none of us
had ever “heard” a condenser tube leak using the “He may still use the helium to verify the leak,
Ultrasound equipment, and when the leak increased but the SDT Unit will be the first tool used. His
to a point that we thought we could locate it, the confidence in the ultrasound has grown with each
half of the condenser was again isolated.” inspection. He states, “If you can’t find it with the
SDT270 Unit, you will not find it with the helium.”
“A helium leak check was then performed and
the two leaking tubes identified using Helium. I had
instructed the Results Engineer and Maintenance
crew that if they could find the tube leak using
helium, I then wanted them to use the SDT270 unit
to “listen” to what a tube leak sounded like. When
performing a Helium Leak Check the time involved
is at least a day per condenser half. We hoped to
reduce that time using the ultrasound.”
“Once the two tubes were identified – the Results
Engineer took the SDT270 Unit into the Condenser.
He started in an area that the helium had not
identified a leak. He did not use the precision
tip but just “scanned” the area. He said he heard
nothing in the areas where the helium had not Figure 7 - Finding Tube Leaks with SDT Ultrasound

SDT North America ● 1532 Ontario St ● Cobourg, Ontario Canada ● K9A 4J7
1-800-667-5325 ● (905) 377-1313 ● www.sdthearmore.com ● [email protected]
Find Condenser Tube Leaks with Ultrasound Page 6
Allan Rienstra • 07/23/15

“There was a time when Phipps used a contractor to helium leak check
condensers. This came with an average cost of about $10,000 per visit so they
purchased the helium leak check equipment and trained their own operators.”
“The ultrasound equipment from SDT is more than justified on this cost savings
alone. And since investing in ultrasound they added additional attachments and
purchased a software upgrade for the SDT270. “We will expand the program in
the hopes of identifying air leaks, valves leaking through, bearing lubrication and
other issues that are in the capability of the SDT Unit,” states Phipps.

April 2015 – Furthering Their Confidence in SDT

In May I revisited with Bill Phipps to check on his progress. He was pleased to
share his new success. On April 13th, 2015 another leak was reported. Figure 8 - SDT270 is the most sensitive
ultrasound instrument in its class
Silica levels spiked in the cooling tower blowdown water at 3:15pm. Looking at the graphic below, the
control room was alerted when blowdown silica spiked to 1000 ppb (parts per billion).
This graphic points out
the source of the spike too.
Unit2_226 tells them which
side of the condenser to valve
out. The turbine can keep
running, albeit at reduced
capacity, while the ultrasound
team heads in to find the leak.
The SDT270 ultrasound
equipment was used to
rapidly identify the tubes
and the area. The leak was
massive and required the
plugging of 39 tubes. As a
secondary check, and to
follow procedure, the leaking
tubes were then verified with
Helium.
Figure 9 - Blowdown silica spiked to 1000ppb; 39 tubes were plugged from service
As Phipps’ team continues to have
success with ultrasound he expects they will fully eliminate the helium verification altogether.

Summary
Most reliability departments recognize the significant versatility of Ultrasound as an asset condition
management technology. For those pursuing world-class reliability standards, implementing ultrasound
testing for all its virtues is a necessity.
The case study shared with us by Mr. Phipps at AB Brown is another fine example. Clever, out of the box
thinking makes ultrasound testing indispensable.
There is no shortage of reasons to invest in an ultrasound program. Use it for on-condition lubrication,
compressed air leak management, steam trap testing, vacuum leak detection, low speed bearing and
gearbox analysis, valve passing, electrical inspections, or finding tube leaks in condensers. Just use it.
Visit SDT North America (www.sdthearmore.com) to hear more interesting ways to put your ultrasound
technology to use.

SDT North America ● 1532 Ontario St ● Cobourg, Ontario Canada ● K9A 4J7
1-800-667-5325 ● (905) 377-1313 ● www.sdthearmore.com ● [email protected]