Failure Analysis of Authentic Stainless Steel Tubes in a Vertical Fixed Shell–Tube Heat Exchanger

The vertical fixed shell–tube heat exchanger failed to work in one chemical plant, and the leakage of the heat exchanger tubes were found after the examination. To figure out the failure mechanism of the tubes, a series of investigations were performed including the specification verification, the visual examination, the analysis of the chemical composition, metallographic, scale layer composition, and the work fluid examination. The pits and...