Development of fireside waterwall corrosion correlations using pilot-scale test furnace

Fireside waterwall wastage in a pulverized coal-fired boiler was investigated and the relevant rate correlations were developed for three corrosion mechanisms: gas-phase attack by reduced sulfur species, chlorine-based attack, and unoxidized fuel deposition. Rate correlations were based on the published data and the experiments at a pilot-scale test furnace. The parameters of the correlations include local flue gas composition, flue gas temperature, metal surface temperature, deposition, deposit characteristics, and heat flux. Validation work performed using the same furnace and the different operating conditions provided good agreement between predictions and measurements. The correlations in conjunction with computational fluid dynamics simulation are expected to provide a predictive tool that can optimize the furnace operating conditions to reduce fireside waterwall wastage.