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Hydrogen-induced cracking of a stainless-steel dryer support component in a petrochemical plant

  • Anwar Ul-Hamid*
  • , Hani M. Tawancy
  • , Said S. Al-Jaroudi
  • , Abdul Rashid I. Mohammed
  • , Nureddin M. Abbas
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle

Abstract

Vinyl-chloride monomer and poly-vinyl chloride are extensively used as raw materials by the plastic industry. Petrochemical plants that produce these raw materials are often highly structured units employing a wide variety of engineering materials in their construction and design. The selection of a particular material is based on the performance of a component required under specific conditions. This paper describes the materials' evaluation of a dryer support component used in the drying unit of a PVC plant. The component was made of 304-type stainless steel and was fractured after a relatively-short period of service. Various techniques used for materials analysis included scanning-electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction. The dryer support appeared to fail by hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC). Based upon the results obtained, it was recommended to use an alloy more resistant to hydrogen-induced cracking such as the 309-type stainless steel.

Original languageEnglish
Pages131-135
Number of pages5
Volume52
No4
Specialist publicationCorrosion Prevention and Control
StatePublished - Dec 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Metals and Alloys

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