Technical Publications
Plastocor, Inc. has published many technical papers over the past three decades. Here is a select list of titles and abstracts. To request a full copy, please inquire at the email below. Be sure to include the title of the publication(s) you are interested in.
Prepared for: ASME Power Conference August 2013
Case Study of Full-Length Tube Coating and Condenser Life Extension
Abstract
In the Spring of 2012 a 1950’s vintage natural gas unit located on a lake in Texas encountered multiple condenser tube failures of its Admiralty Brass tubes. Due to time and cost restraints, the option of retubing was not chosen to prepare the unit for the summer run. Instead, the full-length of approximately 5,500 tubes were epoxy coated. This included 1,150 tubes which had been plugged as leakers, but were unplugged and coated using a special leak sealing method of applying the epoxy lining. The coating process was completed in 10 days and all but 55 tubes were sealed by the coating process. These tubes were plugged and the unit was put into service. The unit has been running successfully since the project was completed with no heat rate penalty. The circumstances leading up to this situation are discussed along with the details of the coating process
First Presented at: EPRI Condenser Conference 2011 (updated in 2012)
Recent Case Histories of Full-Length Condenser Tube Coating
Abstract
Coating the full length of tube interiors is emerging as a new tool to manage the performance and life span of main steam condensers. Coatings can provide a variety of benefits including arresting tube failure rates and returning plugged tubes to service. For brass alloy tubes, coatings can be used to reduce copper ion release. A new method of coating has been developed and applied to several condensers in North America over the past seven years. This method fills holes, pits or other defects with epoxy while applying a thin protective layer to the rest of the tube wall. The details of this method and these case histories are surveyed and operational results discussed.
First Presented at: EPRI Condenser Conference 2002
Six Case Histories of High Reliability Coatings and Condenser Corrosion Problems
Abstract
Corrosion, erosion, and mechanical forces have compromised the integrity of tubes, tubesheets, and tube-to-tubesheet joints in steam surface condensers and other shell and tube heat exchangers. Solutions include metallurgical re-engineering, cathodic protection, mechanical rework, corrosion inhibitors, and coatings. While the dependability of coatings has been a drawback, an extremely reliable coating approach has been developed. The integrity problems of condensers at six power stations in the United States are outlined. In each case a high reliability coatings system was successfully used. The elements of this approach are discussed.