Boiler breakdowns cause 3% loss in power generation

Paresh Haribhakti, MD, TCR Advanced Engineering, in his just-launched book 'Failure Investigation of Boiler Tubes,' highlights 36 types of boiler failures that result into losses worth crores of rupees to the plants

New Delhi: Boiler tube failures at various industrial plants cause up to three per cent loss of electricity generated at such units, according to an industry executive. There are 36 types of boiler failures that result into losses worth crores to the plants, Paresh Haribhakti, Managing Director (MD), TCR Advanced Engineering, said at the launch of 'Failure Investigation of Boiler Tubes' book here.

"There are 36 types of boiler failures that occur in the industrial units," Haribhakti told reporters. A boilers is used to produce steam which is further used to generate electricity. The reasons for the failures and measures to tackle the faults besides ways to maintain the critical part of an industrial unit have been compiled in the book which has been published by US-based American Society for Metals (ASM), he said. The book is available across 140 countries through both offline and online platforms, the MD, who is one of the authors of the book, said. Corrosion is one of the main reasons for the failure of the boiler tubes and it takes around four days from identifying the problem to fixing the same, he said.

"The boiler takes at least 12 hours to cool down, then the tube is replaced, and after checking all parameters, it is ready for use. The entire process causes loss aggregating to crores," Haribhakti explained. Big industrial players need to keep a vigil on the boilers as the country has embarked on capacity addition missions across various industries like steel, energy generation among others, he said. TCR Advanced Engineering is part of TCR Engineering Services which is into lifetime assessment of boiler tubes, while the parent firm undertakes quality testing of industrial assets used in various projects across sectors.