A 13% Chromium stainless steel welded compressor failed by sulfide-stress cracking (SSC) even though it had been heat treated and tested to the requirements of NACE MR0175 and contained no evidence of prior defects. The impeller was in the first stage of a hydrogen recycle compressor in a gas oil hydrocracker and failed under normal operating conditions. The failure was attributed to a combination of the high operating stresses inherent in the design of centrifugal compressors, a highly aggressive environment containing ammonium chloride salts and the heat treatment used by the fabricator, which produced a coarse-grained microstructure.

Subject
Materials, Microstructure, Fracture surfaces, Stress, Mechanical failure, Tensile strength, Steel, Deposit corrosion, Stainless steel, Fracture, Cracks, Heat treatment, Yield strength
© 2000 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2000
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.