• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.132-137
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• 2008

A failure analysis of ammonia converter which suffered hydrogen attack in two years since its initial operating time was presented. It is constructed from 2.25 Cr.1 Mo steel. Analysis showed that the failure on closing seam weld joint was due to local improper post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Improper PWHT can introduce high residual stresses in thick-walled pressure vessel. High residual stress level in weld joint is very prone to hydrogen attack for any components which are operating in hydrogen gas environment. The repair procedures based on the principle to decrease the residual stress then proposed. The repair was controlled very carefully by applying several nondestructive tests in the each stage of repair. To assure the successful of the proposed repair, after one year since repair time, high temperature ultrasonic and TOFD methods were applied on-stream to this equipment in order to evaluate its post repair condition. The two methods showed good results on the repaired area.