Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd.

Maintenance & Inspection of a modern fertiliser plant :

The IFFCO Aonla way
Abstract
This article deals with various aspects of Inspection & Maintenance practices being followed at
IFFCO Aonla since inception. An effort has been made to give a glimpse of Inspection &
Condition monitoring techniques being practiced. Discussions about On-line & Off-line inspection
& condition monitoring methods along with their advantages have been covered. Few
unconventional inspection & condition monitoring techniques have also been highlighted in the
paper along with their scope of application in a modern fertiliser plant. Case studies about
Primary Reformer tubes temp. monitoring, Secondary Reformer failure and its Inspection &
Repair, Cracking in HT/LT Shift Converters outlet nozzle, Leak detection of BFW Preheaters by
SPM, Inspection & Maintenance of GV Towers & case studies about two rotary equipment having
High vibration problem due to resonance in MP Carbonate pump & due to Magnetism in Syn.Gas
Compressor have also been included in the article.
Inspection & maintenance practices discussed in the article & utilised in the case studies have
contributed directly or indirectly in enhancing the equipment life, avoiding catastrophic
breakdowns, reducing down time leading to higher productivity & profits. Contents of the article
may prove useful to all concerned.

Maintenance & Inspection of a modern fertiliser plant :

The IFFCO Aonla way
Introduction:
Inspection & Maintenance of a continuous process fertiliser plant has a very crucial role to play in
the present highly competitive scenario of Fertiliser industry. To run the plant with zero defects
has become an inevitable concept in order to achieve maximum productivity. This is possible, only
if the equipment is used to maximum of its efficiency without any break down. Inspection &
subsequent maintenance of plant equipment (Rotary & Static) has made it possible. State-of-the-art
NDT & condition monitoring techniques are available that can be used in an effective manner to
avoid the breakdown of an equipment or to predict any possible failure for taking timely
preventive action.
Major conventional NDT techniques that are effective for a fertiliser plant use are Dye Penetrant
Testing, ultrasonic testing, Eddy current testing, Radiography & Magnetic particle testing. Remote
field electromagnetic testing is also available which is a non-conventional yet very effective NDT
method that is used to inspect ferromagnetic tubes of heat exchangers. All these techniques find a
multiple use in a fertiliser plant & over a period of time they have been proved to be of immense
use to ensure the health of equipment in a fertiliser plant & thus contributing appreciably in
enhancing the reliability of uninterrupted operation.
In addition, various condition monitoring techniques are used to detect the defects/ abnormalities
during the operation of an equipment / rotary machine. Vibration monitoring, Bearing condition
monitoring & Infrared Thermography/Thermometry are the prominent techniques for the condition
monitoring of various plant equipment / rotary machines. These techniques find their use on a very
broad spectrum in any continuous process fertiliser plant.

Overview of Inspection & maintenance activities at IFFCO Aonla :

The utility of all the inspection techniques as mentioned above depend on the way one uses them.
Off & on it is possible to use above-mentioned NDT / condition monitoring techniques in an
innovative way for typical inspection applications. At IFFCO Aonla, inspection of plant is carried
out in two ways,
On-Line Inspections.
Off Line Inspections that are carried out during plant shut downs.

On-Line Inspections: On-line vibration monitoring system for high speed critical rotary machines using Bently Nevada
DM-2000.
Casing vibration measurements of rotary equipment using ENTEK IRD Data-Pac 1500 vibration
data collector & IRD 880 Vibration Analyser cum balancer.
Overall vibration & Sound level measurement using ENTEK IRD 308 Vibration cum Sound level
meter.
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 SPM A-2011 & SPM T-2000 Shock Pulse Meter for Condition Monitoring of Anti Friction
Bearings.
Primary Reformer tube skin temperature measurement using MIKRON Infrared Thermometer
M90-D.
Infrared thermal imaging of various furnaces/ hot equipment using Thermovision THV-870
Infrared Thermography instrument.
Leak detection using SPM Shock Pulse Meters.
In-situ alloy analysis of various alloys using Alloy Analyser based on X-ray fluorescence.
On-line steam trap management using Trap monitoring system.
Lube oil analysis.
OFF LINE INSPECTIONS: Off-Line inspections are carried out during shutdowns. Normally
the opportunity available to inspect important vessels thoroughly during shutdowns is not available
otherwise. Therefore all possible efforts are made to carry out the thorough inspections of piping,
vessels, furnaces & boilers etc. Emphasis is given to the visual inspection of the vessels using
boroscope, magnifying glasses etc. wherever required, which is supported by a suitable NDT
technique viz. DPT, MPT, UT, Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement, ECT, Hardness check, Ferrite
Measurement, Radiography and In- situ Metallography etc. Any abnormality found in the vessels
is immediately reported & necessary maintenance is initiated.

Schedules for thickness measurement of critical piping have been made in consultation with
Production Deptt. Thickness of piping as per the predefined list is measured in every shut down on
specified locations. Condition of piping is assessed & any thinning observed in the piping is
suitably repaired or replaced. A record of thickness readings is maintained for five years.

NDT of all critical piping joints of process gas, all the connected nozzles of process vessels viz.
HDS reactors, ZNO absorbers, HT Shift Converter, LT Shift Converter, Methanator etc. using
DPT, MPT, UT, RT methods. Inspection of vessels includes the inlet/outlet nozzles, Manholes &
hand holes welding joints, Welding joints of dished ends etc. Hardness of these vessels &
connected piping is also checked using Equotip Method.

Welding joints of Drains, Vents & tapings of critical PG / SG lines are inspected using DPT.
Welding defects (Porosities/ Pinholes etc.) & in-service defects (Cracks) of these welding joints
are identified & suitable repairs are carried out by welding & grinding. This exercise facilitates to
avoid untimely breakdowns.

Vessel inspection, which includes inspection of all the columns/ pressure vessels/tanks in
Ammonia plant, Urea plants & Utilities plants SGPG viz. HP/LP GV Regenrators, GV Absorber,
Urea Reactors, H.P.Regenerators, L.P.Regenerators, G.V.Absorbers, CO2 stripper, Steam Drums,
Drain Separators, Primary Reformer, Secondary Reformer, Drain Separators, HDS Reactors, ZNO
Absorbers, HTS Converter, LTS Converter, Methanator, Urea reactors, Urea strippers, MP/LP
Decomposer HP Carbamate Condenser, Carbamate Separators etc.

Apart from above, regular inspections of Primary reformer tubes are carried out using Automatic
Ultrasonic Scanning system with immersion probes. Creep of the tubes is also measured which is
considered to be an effective tool to establish the Residual lifetime of primary reformer tubes.

Eddy current inspection of Titanium tubes of Urea Strippers, Tubes of Carbamate Condenser
(Matl. 25-22-2 2RE-69), Tubes of MP Decomposer (Matl. SS 316 LN) is carried out in Urea
plants & eddy current inspection of the tubes of Re boilers in Ammonia Plant. Also inspection of
ferromagnetic tubes of RG boiler has been carried out using Remote Field Electromagnetic
Technique (RFET). Wall loss up to an accuracy of 0.1 mm thickness can be measured. Cracks,
Pittings, through holes in the tubes can be identified using these techniques.
Eddy current testing of the tubes of critical heat exchangers is carried out on a regular basis to
establish the condition of tubes after rendering few years of service. Tubes found with a wall loss
more than the specified are plugged thus saving a possible break down due to the tube leakage in
future.

In-situ Metallography is also proven technique is used to find out the metallurgical damages and
degradation of various vulnerable equipment parts subjected to high pressure, temperature and
corrosive chemical attacks. The study of microstructure of the affected area gives an idea of safe
residual life of the equipment and modifications / remedial actions to be taken for replacement /
repair of the component with improved design. The examples of such examination are primary
reformer tubes, fired super heaters and boiler tubes, pipe lines, pressure vessels and their weld
joints subjected to hydrogen service.

Unconventional inspection techniques:

(a) Gamma Ray Scanning of Process Columns:
Sealed radiographic source applications are used to scan a process column (CO2 Absorbers, GV
Regenrators, Urea reactors etc.) without taking a shutdown, the position and condition of the
internals can be determined by using gamma ray scanning sources & detector system. This can
save unnecessary downtimes & related costs & can give a way out for an advanced planning to
take corrective action during a planned shut down.
This technique has been used in some of the process industry successfully but in the process of
making a place in the fertiliser industry.
(b) Radio Isotope Tracer technology: This technology incorporates the use of radioactive
tracers. The radiotracers are in liquid form & can be injected to any process system (e.g. Process
columns, Heat exchangers etc.) & radioemission coming out from them may be analysed from
outside the vessels, columns & heat exchangers etc.. This technology finds its use in the following
areas:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Study of residence time distribution in process vessels.

Study of residence time in a heat exchanger to ensure efficient heat transfer.
Flow rate measurements if flow meters are not installed.
Environmental pollution investigations.
Leak detection & blockage of underground pipelines.
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(c) Acoustic Emission Technology : AE technique is a recent NDT method to detect and
evaluate active defects in solid materials or structures which generate elastic waves under stressed
condition. The AE signals provide valuable information about the flaws as each AE signal is
unique in terms of signal parameters viz. amplitude of signal waveform and its energy level, the
rising time and duration time. These parameters gradually change through the three prominent
stages ( AE Sources) of development of a flaw i.e. formation/origination, diffusion and rupture.
Thus in the different stages of the rupturing process of the flaw the characteristics of the AE signal
are different and by recognizing the distinctive pattern of AE signals experts can determine the
type and severity of the defect.
Thus when a material is subjected to stresses the vulnerable areas releases a series of short impulse
energy bursts in the form of transient elastic stress waves. The energy bursts so emitted travel as
surface wave front and are picked up from the surface of the material by the highly sensitive
electromechanical transducers having piezo-electric crystal, which are placed on the material
surface. The wave thus picked up is converted into electrical signal which on appropriate
processing and analysis can reveal valuable information about the source causing the AE energy
release.
The main components of an AE monitoring and analysis system are the transducers, the signal
amplifier with band pass filter, signal conditioning & processing system and the data collection &
display system. The general range of AE signals is between 100KHz to few MHz. since the signal
undergoes considerable attenuation before reaching the transducer. The pre-amplifier amplifies the
signal from a few microvolts to few hundred milivolts and has a gain of 40dB to 60 dB. The
bandpass filter is suitably chosen depending upon the environmental or ambient noise levels in
order to set threshold signal voltage in the instrument to eliminate low amplitude noise from the
AE signal. An AE signal is detected only if the signal amplitude is above the set threshold.
Subsequently the signal is further amplified in the signal conditioner unit and digitized in the
processing unit before being fed to data collection & display system CRO for interpretation.
In a chemical industry AE technique is used for non destructive testing of pressure vessels, storage
tanks, pipe lines and weld joints etc. for quality assurance during hydro or pneumatic test, periodic
evaluation of vessels & piping after passage of service life and continuous on line monitoring of
critical vessels.
The AE technique has great potential of locating dynamic flaw and evaluating its dynamic activity.
AE sources include various mechanisms of deformation and fracture in metals & composites viz,
dislocation, plastic deformation & yielding, phase- transformation, fracture of inclusions,
microcrack initiation & propagation, fatigue cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, stress corrosion
cracking, relative grain movement and rubbing of fractured surfaces etc, can very well be detected
and analyzed by the experts in the AE field for future corrective actions. Thereby untimely and
expensive plant shutdowns can be avoided and catastrophic failures can also be prevented.

(d) High Temperature Ultrasonic testing : Normally Ultrasonic testing is done on the
weldments under room temperature conditions, which limits the use of this useful NDT technique.
High temperature ultrasonic testing is a possible solution to this problem. Several times, the
requirement is to test a component on-line to establish the integrity of the parent metal or
weldment during service at high temperatures. In such cases, this equipment needs to be tested by
some NDT method that is effective at a temperature higher than the room temperature. High
temperature ultrasonic testing provides a solution for it. At IFFCO Aonla, a breakdown took place
in the secondary reformer R-1203 due to the failure of welding joint of the conical portion of
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secondary reformer. The same was repaired along with other defect locations. For carrying out any
normal NDT on this equipment, a shut down shall be required, which will cause the production
loss. Therefore, to establish the condition of weldments of secondary reformer, around six months
after the plant was restarted, IFFCO Aonla has planned to carry out the Hot ultrasonic scanning of
repaired welding joints with the help of High temperature ultrasonic scanning.
This testing shall be done at around 180 deg.C surface temperature. High temperature ultrasonic
testing incorporates the use of special high temperature probes & a couplant that can withstand
high test surface temperatures. This technique can be useful in a continuous process fertiliser plant
to scan the surfaces/ weldments of critical equipment like Ammonia converter, Syn. loop boiler,
HTS /LTS converter, Methanator etc. on-line without having a shutdown.

Advantages of On-Line inspections: Online inspection & maintenance techniques can be divided into two broad categories firstly
monitoring technique, which indicate that changes are occurring within equipment & secondly
techniques that can be applied to repair equipment that can not be isolated without loss of
production.
Online inspections facilitate the user to initiate suitable preventive action, firstly to prolong the
plant operation with online corrective actions & secondly to keep the break downs away to the
maximum duration possible.
Online inspections provide us the guidelines for the inspections to be carried out during
shutdowns. These inspections help user to take decision whether a shut down is to be taken
immediately to avoid any catastrophe or plant could sustain the abnormalities for a specified
duration. At the same time it helps to decide the severity of damage or the extent of work involved
for repairs during shut down thus facilitating the planning of repairs involved in minimum cost.

Advantages of Off-Line inspections :

Off- line inspection facilitates thorough inspection and testing of those equipment which can not
be inspected on-line.
In general off-line inspection is carried out for static equipment such as tanks, pressure vessels &
their internals, pipe lines and their weld joints, Furnaces, Steam super heaters & boilers, which are
at high temperature during plant operation.
Also rotary machines parts such as crank shafts, rotors, diaphragms, internal surface of casings,
different parts of thrust & journal bearings etc. can be inspected for their healthiness and
elimination of any residual magnetism on them, during off-line inspection only.
Off-line inspection permits use of various conventional non destructive testing techniques viz.
visual / boroscopic inspection, DPT, MPT, UT,& RT etc. to assess the condition of the equipment.
Thus Off line inspection helps in substantiating findings of on-line inspection and thereby taking
precise action for repair and modifications leading to avoidance of total breakdown with resultant
secondary damages.
Based on definite findings of the off-line inspection the safe residual life of the equipment can be
predicted. Thus safe and reliable operation with increased availability of the equipment is assured.
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This also helps in reducing excessive spare parts inventory. Finally this leads to higher
productivity and profits i.e. higher return on investment.

Case study # 1
Primary Reformer Tube Temperature Monitoring:
IFFCO Aonla is operating two streams of Ammonia plant Designed by Haldor Topsoe, Denmark.
Each of Ammonia plants has an installed capacity of 1350 TPD. Primary Reformer is one of the
most critical equipment of Ammonia Plant. This equipment has 288 nos. of catalyst tubes arranged
in two rows of 144 nos. each & is used for reforming the feed stock.
Primary Reformer tubes are made of High temperature alloys having high percentage of Ni & Cr
with the additions of Micro alloys. These tubes are manufactured by centrifugal casting &
subsequently internally machined. Normal designed life of these tubes is 100,000 Hrs. i.e. around
10 Yrs. These tubes are subjected to creep failure if they operate at a temperature higher than the
designed temp. e.g. if a tube operates at a temperature, 200 C higher than the designed temperature,
the life of corresponding tube reduced to half. (Refer Fig. 1).
Considering above facts, Tremendous emphasis has been given to the Primary Reformer tube
temperature monitoring at IFFCO Aonla. Inspection section studied the limitations of temperature
monitoring of the tubes through flames & suitably selected a dedicated Infrared Thermometer for
this application with a spectral response of 3.86.
A comprehensive temperature monitoring schedule was prepared & tube skin temperatures are
measured regularly using Non-contact type Infrared Thermometer The tubes found operating with
temperatures higher than 8700 C are adjusted immediately to a lower safe temperature & it is
ensured that all the primary reformer tubes operate much below the max. design temperature i.e.
905 0C. Apart from regular temperature monitoring schedules, measurements are carried out in
case of any change in the plant load & all the burners are readjusted for firing in line with the
temperature measurement report as submitted by Inspection Section. The temperature
measurement report are generated by Inspection section & sent through local E-mail to all
concerned at the earliest for fine firing adjustments.
The consistent efforts put in by IFFCO Aonla to carry out regular temperature measurements
around the year since commissioning of the plants has yielded encouraging results & IFFCO Aonla
could extract 3 extra years of Primary reformer tube life beyond its designed life of 10Yrs. in
Ammonia-I plant. Subsequently Primary reformer tube revamping was done in April 2001 after 13
yrs. of service & thus saving an appreciable amount of cost involved on this account.
Philosophy of regular temperature monitoring as described above still continues at IFFCO Aonla
& the objective underlying is to extend the life of existing Primary Reformer tubes in Ammonia-I
& II plants, further to at least 15 yrs. with the strict control of skin temperature of tubes by
controlling the burner firing on a regular basis along with necessary Primary Reformer furnace
refractory/Burner Block repairs & replacement whenever required.

Case study # 2
Leak Detection of BFW Preheaters with Shock Pulse Method :
BFW pre-heaters E-3211 A & B are installed in Ammonia Plant-II & handles Process gas on shell
side at around 30 kg./cm.2 & Boiler Feed Water at around 130 kg./cm.2 on tube side. Lay out of
these heat exchangers is cascade type i.e. installed one over the other.
There has been a history of tube failure in these heat exchangers causing a leakage of BFW from
leaky tube into the shell mixing with Process gas.
First symptom of the initiation of leak is high current drawn by the condensate pump P3322 A & B
which handles the condensate coming out from the Knock out drum B-3302, available at the down
stream of the heat exchangers E3211 A & B. Once it is established that the high current drawn by
the motor of P3322 A/B due to high condensate intake, the leakage of BFW from the tubes of E3211 A or B is almost confirmed but still it is uncertain that which of the heat exchanger out of the
two is actually leaking.
In the past, the practice of establishing the leak, was to open both the exchangers & carry out soap
bubble test with air on the shell side at 7-8 kg /Cm.2. Finally the tubes located were plugged. This
process was quite cumbersome & time consuming as which of the exchanger is leaking is not
known & both the exchangers had to be opened & all the inspections used to be carried out on both
the exchangers & finally the repairs were carried out.
Shock Pulse Method using a Shock Pulse Meter instrument has been successfully used to solve the
problem & the practice is to first establish that which of the exchanger out E3211 A or B is
leaking. Based on the inspection results, it is decided that which of the heat exchanger is to be
opened. This practice saves down time & efforts in opening both the exchangers. Only the leaky
exchanger is attended & the other exchanger need not be opened unnecessarily.
The method has been developed by inspection section departmentally. The principle underlying is
the generation of shock waves due to splash of BFW onto the shell with a high velocity. Shock
Pulse meter picks up these shock waves & the intensity of these waves are measured in dB. The
readings are taken by SPM at 3-4 points on the shell plate after cutting the insulation. The same
locations are repeated on both the exchangers in running condition & tabulated for comparison. In
a normal case when there is no leakage, the dB values measured are due to normal flow of gas
only, whereas in the case of leakage from the tubes, a rise in these values is observed & actually
becomes a guiding factor for differentiating the leaky heat exchanger. (Refer fig.2)

Name of Exchanger
Pocket # 1

SPM Values measured in dB

Pocket # 2
Pocket # 3

Pocket # 4

E-3211 A

46

49

56

49

E-3211 B

39

39

38

37

The values shown in above table clearly indicate a noticeable difference observed in the dB value
of both the exchangers. Since, higher the amount of shock waves generated due to leakage results a
higher dB value, therefore it can be easily concluded that the leakage is in the exchanger E 3211-A
& the same should be opened for repairs.
This mehtod of detecting the leaky heat exchanger is in practice at IFFCO Aonla for last several
years & is successful without fail every time. The same method has also been successfully used to
detect the leaky heat exchangers E-3210 A/B/C with three tier lay out. Above inspection technique
has been proved quite effective in reducing the down time & efforts put in by maintenance group
in opening & boxing up the above mentioned heat exchangers.

Case Study # 3
High Temperature & Low Temperature Shift Converter (R-1204 & R-1205)
Outlet Nozzle Cracking :HT/LT shift converters in Ammonia Plant-I convert CO (Carbon Mono Oxide) in the reformed gas
to CO2 in the presence of steam at around 3600 C & 1900 C respectively. The operating pressures
of these two vessels are approx. 31 kg./Cm.2 & 30 kg./Cm.2 respectively. Both of the vessels have
been supplied by M/S Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. Outlet nozzles in both the vessels have been
provided at the bottom dished ends (Refer Fig.3 ). The material of construction of these nozzles is
1%Cr0.5% MO (A335 P-12).
During Annual Turn Arounds, these vessels were thoroughly inspected & NDT of all critical weld
seams of shell, bottom dished ends & all the connected nozzles of both vessels was carried out
using DPT, UT etc.
Cracks were observed on the weld seams of outlet nozzles of HTS converter from inside as well as
outside both converters. A crack of around 2 length was observed on the weld seam of nozzle to
shell in DP Test. Subsequently Ultrasonic Testing revealed that the depth of crack is around was
15mm. DP test was conducted on the outlet nozzle weld from outside, 02 nos. cracks (4 & 8
long) with approx. depth of 15 mm were also observed extending circumferentially on the weld
joint.
Considering the severity of the observations made, it was decided to thoroughly repair the cracks.
All the cracks were ground & completely removed. The cracks found on outside extended during
grinding & joined together forming a single crack of approx. 24 length. Subsequently Stress
relieving was carried out.
Based on the cracks found in HTS converter, decision was taken to inspect the outlet nozzle of
LTS converter R-1205 also during next shut down. Thorough inspection of LTS converter was
carried out during the catalyst replacement schedule. No cracks were found on the weld of outlet
nozzle while DP test was carried out from inside, but similar cracks as of HTS converter were
found on the outlet nozzle weld while inspected from outside. The depth of crack as revealed by
Ultrasonic examination was around 30 mm. The same were ground to completely remove the
cracks & finally rewelded. Finally stress relieving of the repaired portion was done & vessel was
handed over to production.
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Above case studies exhibit the contribution of inspection & maintenance carried out on LTS &
HTS shift converter in a proactive manner, in absence of which, cracks found inside & outside of
outlet nozzles could have extended to puncture the joint. As a result this failure could have been a
big catastrophe due to the leakage of process gas at high temperature/pressure & the same was
avoided using a proactive inspection & preventive maintenance approach.

Case study # 4
Inspection/ Maintenance of GV towers :
GV Regenerators, Absorbers in Ammonia plant I & II plays a very crucial role in CO2 production.
These vessels, normally a tower, rise to a height of around 30-46 mtrs. These vessels contain
several distribution trays arranged at various elevations & constitute packing beds (IMTP packing).
Regular & thorough inspection of all the GV towers (02 nos. in Amm.-I & 03 Nos. in Amm-II is
carried out whenever the opportunity strikes during shut downs. Based on the results of inspection,
necessary maintenance/repairs of these columns is carried out.
Inspection of these vessels includes :-





























Thorough visual inspection

Inspection of shell
Thickness measurement of shell plate
Inspection of de-mister
Inspection of various internals like chimneys & their supports.
Inspection of liner, shroud & their supports.
Inspection of necklace weld joints in GV Regenerators.
All the holding clamps of distribution trays.
Inspection of TSR welding (Tray Support Ring).
Inspection of all the LRDs.
Inspection of leveling of all the beds for any possible lifting or disturbance.
Inspection of the supports of connected piping.
Inspection of bed limiters (Grid etc.)
Inspection of bed supporting I-beam & its gussets.

Regular inspection of GV towers at IFFCO Aonla has revealed abnormalities & defects several
times. Modifications have been suggested & carried out time to time. Following have been the
major findings during inspection of these towers:Apart form above, the necklace to liner welding is found cracked almost in each inspection.
Although these cracks directly does not cause any leakage in the system but indirectly contributes
to more vibration of liner which may be harmful to the shell material.

GV Absorber F1302 in Ammonia-I : Shell was found corroded at various locations & material
loss was observed. The same was repaired using ceramic base coating. subsequent inspection
during next shut downs revealed that the repaired areas were in good condition & ceramic putty
was still holding well. Repairing the shell with ceramic based putty has become a proven repairing
method which has been used in several other vessels also successfully. This method saves down
time & thus the cost effectively.
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HP Regenerator (F-3301) in Ammonia-II : Inspection during shut down revealed a unique type
of failure when the vertical portion of the shroud got cracked & detached from its position & found
sitting on the conical portion above the chimneys above the top bed. The same was lifted back &
fitted in position with extra stiffeners & supports. A no. of chimneys were found fallen & uprooted
from the bottom welding . firstly all the chimneys were held together by providing the stiffeners
between them to avoid any vibration during running. This modification has improved the stability
of the chimneys. During recent shutdown, though all the chimneys were found intact, cracks were
observed at the bottom welding of these chimneys. A modification in the base welding of each of
46 chimneys has been carried out to avoid these cracks in future. A support ring of around 4
width made in two halves has been welded around the base of each chimney & the size of the
gusset support has been improved to incorporate more stability in each of the chimney.
Corrosion in the form of boat shaped pits (6 to 8 long) was observed on the shell below the first
packing bed at 4 5 places. The same has been repaired with the help of ceramic based coating.

LP Regenerator (F-3302) in Ammonia-II : Recent inspection of this vessel could highlight a

crucial abnormality in the system. Inspection was carried out from the 2nd manhole from top of the
tower. It was observed that the inspection of only half of the periphery is possible due to very
limited available vertical space (around 10-12) between top of LRD & the bottom of support
beam of upper packing bed .As a result, the inspection was carried out by inspection team in a
difficult position laying on the LRD. Due to this difficult condition only half of LRD could be
inspected. & the internals found were ok.. The inspection was over & the inspection team was out
of the Manhole. When it was noticed from out side the Manhole that the LRD is little tilted.
Distance of top of LRD with the upper support beam was checked at two places & a difference of
2 was observed. This observation was a crucial observation, which created a doubt about the
horizontality of the packing bed. When this bed was inspected from the bottom, it was observed
that the bottom of the bed is also lifted & many of hold down clamps were not in position, which
confirmed that the total bed is tilted & lifted in half of its periphery. Decision was taken & all the
IMTP packing rings were unloaded. LRD was taken out & refitted in position correctly after due
repairs from top as well as bottom of the packing bed. Packing rings were reloaded & the vessel
was handed over to production.
This little observation by inspection revealed a major abnormality in the tower which could have
otherwise adversely affected the fractional conversion in the future as the steam generated during
flashing will not fully come in contact with GV solution which may increase the value of fractional
conversion, if was not taken care in time.

Case study # 5
Secondary Reformer Failure, Inspection & Repair: Secondary Reformer

(R1203) (Refer fig. 4) in Ammonia plant-I at IFFCO Aonla encountered a unique type of failure on
18th October 2001 when a gas leakage from one of the longitudinal welds seam of 92 mm thick
conical portion of C1/2 MO material, was observed. Immediately, the plant was shut down for
inspection.
Secondary reformer was thoroughly inspected from outside as well as from inside after breaking
the refractory lining. A number of cracks were observed on various weldments & parent metal of
conical portion, which called for a massive repair job. Cracks upto the length of 3135 mm long
10

(Refer Fig. 5) with a depth varying from 10 to 62 mm in general, were present on the 3200 mm
long longitudinal weldments of the cone. However the crack depth went up to 92 mm at the
location of leakage from the longitudinal seam L-1. Cracks were found on the parent material of
conical portion also which were shaped like a branched tree. The depth of crack on the parent
metal was in the range of 6- 15 mm. However few cracks had a depth of 18 25 mm also. Cracks
were also revealed on & around the circumferential seam C-4 which went upto 12-30 mm deep.
Hardness of weld joints, HAZ & parent metal at various locations was also checked & found in the
range of 200 250 BHN, which was on the higher side. The above crack details are subsequent to
the dehydrogenation treatment carried out to achieve weldablity for repair work.
A comprehensive inspection & repair plan was chalked out. Competent outside parties were called
to the site on a war footing level. These cracks called for a massive cutting, welding & heat
treatment job with strict quality control by means of carrying out inspection at every stage of
repair. M/S L & T was given the responsibility of framing the procedure of complete Repair,
Heat treatment under the supervision of IFFCO. However the complete inspection of this was
planned & performed by IFFCO Aonla with some involvement of M/S L& T / M/S PDIL for
metallographic examination & M/S RUMP inspections for radiography of repaired welds.
Following steps were taken to complete the above repair : Removal of refractory from inside of cone & neck.
Ultrasonic testing & DP testing of weld joints from inside & outside.
Stress relieving of L & C-seams of neck & cone as well as parent metal of cone at about 620 to
650 deg.C to remove hydrogen embedded in the metal before cutting & welding of cracked
joints
Surface preparation by grinding & NDT inspections (DPT, MPT & UT) of weld seams/parent
material.
Cutting / grinding as well as edge preparation of cracked joints. Cutting of all three L-Seams
was done using specially designed BUG-O cutting machine.
Fitment of back strips with compression plates, moon plates & stay pipes before welding to
avoid any deformation during the welding repair.
Preheating to 200 deg.C for welding.
Welding by manual metal arc process using stringer bead technique & E7018-A1 electrodes
baked at 300 deg. C from outside up to 50 mm thickness.
Post weld heating up to 300- 350 deg.C for 3 Hrs & cooling.
Intermediate stress relieving up to 620-650 deg. C with controlled heating & cooling rate.
NDT inspection (DPT, MPT) & back chip from inside.
Complete welding from inside up to a depth of 16- 18 mm after preheating up to 200 deg.C.
Repair of parent metal & cracks after grinding up to a depth of max. 25 mm.
Cracks of seam C-3 & C-4 were repaired by gouging /grinding & subsequent welding up to a
depth of 5-8 mm on C-3 & 30-35 mm on C-4 from inside.
Post weld heating up to 300 deg.C for 3 Hrs. & cool down.
Intermediate radiography after welding up to 64 mm approx.
Final welding of balance 28 mm was done.
Grinding the weld surface from inside & outside.
NDT inspection (DPT/UT/MPT) from outside & inside.
Post weld heating & final stress relieving up to 620 650 deg.C
Final NDT inspection using DPT, UT & hardness measurement of repaired weld joints from
inside & outside.
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 Refractory application & curing.

Final box of the vessel.

Schedule of repairs : The overall repair time from the date of incidence to the Secondary
Reformer going back into service was 73 days as per the breakup given below:








Cooling down, removal of catalyst , refractory lining & initial inspection

Dehydrogenation & detailed inspection to identify the extent of damage
Preparation & repairs including heat treatment & inspection
Refractory lining, catalyst loading & startup
Total Duration

 Welding Electrodes consumed for the massive repair work

08 Days
12 Days
33 Days
20 Days
73 Days
2108 Kgs.

Probable cause of failure:

The cause of failure was tried to be established using all the available analysis reports as submitted
by various reputed investigating agencies. Considering all the available information of
metallurgical & mechanical tests, it is difficult to establish a definite cause of above failure.
However metallographic examination revealed that non-uniformity of temperature control during
PWHT, normalising & tempering of the hot formed cone during fabrication must have made it
more susceptible for in-service cracking due to effect of hydrogen embrittlement. Thus the
Hydrogen assisted embrittlement appears to be the most likely cause of failure.
The above failure & subsequent inspection / repair is a good example of the role of inspection &
maintenance to firm up the repair strategy in the shortest possible time. An inspection strategy has
been planned by IFFCO for carrying out on-line inspections of secondary reformer shell using
temperature monitoring devices to keep an eye on the condition of refractory lining & high
temperature Ultrasonic scanning of outer surface of Sec. Reformer to be aware of the condition of
repaired weld joints.

Case study # 6
High Vibration due to Resonance in Motor of MP Carbonate Pump:
M.P. Carbonate pump 41P-3 A was commissioned in 41 unit of Urea Plant -II in the year 1996.
This machine is used to pump weak carbonate solution from carbonate solution tank (V-3) to M.P.
Condenser (E-7) & a small portion to L.P. Condenser (E-8). This is a closed impeller type single
stage pump. Impeller diameter is 300 mm. Max. pump capacity is 18 M3/Hr. & discharge pressure
is 23.6 Kg./Cm.2 . Pump is driven by an A.C. motor of rated power 37 K.W.. RPM of motor is
2950 rpm which is the rpm of pump also. (Refer fig. 6 ).
Vibration signatures of the pump were taken with IRD-818 vibration data collector at the time of
commissioning, which indicated a max. vibration level of 8.1 mm/sec at the motor non-drive end
in horizontal direction. Which was considered slightly rough but accepted. The predominant
frequency of vibrations was at 2xRPM. Pump kept running with almost the same vibration level
till September 2000 without any evident problem. During this lapsed period motor was taken out
few times for overhauling.
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During routine checkups in September 2000, it was observed that the vibration level of motor rose
to a level of 12.2mm/sec. in horizontal direction Vibration measurement was taken again on
27.09.2002. SPM values of pump & motor was taken which were found well within limits. Pump
was changed over & standby pump 41P-3B was taken in line.
Motor was checked in decoupled condition, although vibration level at motor reduced to approx.
4mm/sec., but still at almost five times of the vibration in vertical direction at the same point.
Based on 2xRPM frequency, motor foundation bolt tightness was checked., no improvement was
observed & it could be concluded that the problem in the motor still exists. Alignment of pump
was carried out & pump was coupled again. Vibrations were taken 04.10.1999, as expected, the
max. vibration level observed in the motor was again 15.77 mm/sec.
Possibility of a soft foot in the motor foundation was also explored. Flatness of all the 04nos. foot
of motor was checked and blue matching of motor foot with the foundation plate was carried out
using grinding & shims wherever required. DP test of the motor foot was also done to check any
possible crack on the motor foundation All the foot were found crack free. Motor was reinstalled,
coupled & vibrations were checked, still no improvement was observed rather the vibration level
jumped to a further higher level & max. vibration velocity recorded at motor non drive-end was
17.78 mm/sec (Refer Table 2 and Fig.7a ). Predominant frequency of vibration was still at 2xRPM.
All the four foundation bolts of motor were loosened one by one & vibration level of motor was
observed accordingly. A sharp reduction of vibration was observed from 17mm/sec. to 4-5
mm/sec. if any of the four foundation bolts of motor was loosened. But the vibration level
increased back to the high level when these bolts were tightened.
Finally, an unconventional approach was adopted to analyze the problem. Motor was stopped &
vibrations of motor were measured. Level of vibration in the motor due to transmission from floor
vibrations was only up to 1-2 mm/sec in stationary condition. Main interest was to establish the
frequency of these transmitted vibrations from nearby running rotary equipment. The frequency of
vibrations was very low to the tune of 1000 CPM or even low, whereas the frequency of vibrations
in the motor was noted as 6000 CPM.
In the last, attention was diverted from frequency analysis to the typical phenomenon of loosening
the bolts of motor & subsequent drastic reduction in the vibration level. A close inspection of the
motor foundation revealed that motor was installed on a SEALED METALLIC HOLLOW BOX
TYPE FOUNDATION, which had only four openings & that were 04 nos. tapped holes for
fastening the motor on foundation. To explore the possibility of resonance of air column within the
box at 2xRPM frequency, water was filled almost up to the half level in the sealed box of
foundation through one of the 04 foundation tapped holes to check whether any resonance due to
vibrating air column is present in the box. This exercise was done when motor is in line. It was
pleasant to observe that the vibration level of motor fell down from a level of 17.78 mm/sec. to
9.25 mm/sec (Refer Table 3) when the water is half filled in the box. This improvement in the
vibration level due to water filling in the foundation substantiated the phenomenon of resonance
that was envisaged & encouraged us to fill the hollow box foundation of motor with cement
concrete.
Vibrations were again observed after filling the foundation with cement concrete & a drastic
improvement was observed in the vibration level of motor which reduced from a high level of
17.78 mm/sec. to an acceptable level of 4.97 mm/sec.. Since then, Motor vibrations are within
limits & maintained between 4-5 mm/sec. (Refer Table 4 and figure 7b)
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Results:
During the whole process of above vibration analysis, different lines of thoughts were adopted &
accordingly corrections were made. Finally the culprit was found in the foundation of the motor
where air column present in the sealed box type foundation was resonating at 2xRPM i.e.
6000CPM which further excited the vibrations in the motor at 2xRPM. The phenomenon of
reduction in the vibration level after loosening any of the four foundation bolts can be explained by
knowing the fact that synchronization of resonating air column within the box used to get disturbed
whenever the air inside the box will come in contact with the outside atmosphere. Infect the
foundation bolts of motor acted as a sealing member between the air inside & outside the box. If
any of the bolts was loosened, the air inside & outside of the box would slowly come in contact.
More the bolt was loosened, more reduction in the vibration level was observed & the vibration
level would come to minimum when the bolt is fully taken out. Vice-a-Versa, reverse phenomenon
took place while tightening the bolts.
Above vibration problem & subsequent analysis suggests that how effectively, one could use the
techniques & principles of vibrations to solve an alien vibrations problem.

Case Study # 7
Magnetism in Syn. Gas Compressor (K-1431) :
Synthesis Gas Compressor K-1431 in Ammonia plant-I pressurises the synthesis gas to about 223
Kg./Cm.2 . Dresser-Rand make compressors (HP & LP ) are driven by a steam turbine (Mitsubishi
make). The normal RPM of machine is 10302 rpm. The machine is equipped with Bently Nevada
3300 series on-line vibration monitoring system which displays the vibration readings of brgs. of
Steam turbine, LP Compressor, HP Compressor in Microns. Axial floats of turbine & compressors
is also displayed in MM.
This machine was operating normal in the month of January till the temperature of thrust bearing
of HP case started rising & limited to 130 degC. The machine ran with this temperature for few
days. After few days, machine got suddenly tripped on high axial vibrations due to some plant
problem. It was decided to inspect the bearings of HP case. Following observations were made:

Active side pad of thrust bearings was damaged having pitting in few pads along with heat
marks on all pads.
Seal ring of thrust collar side was also found damaged in inner diameter on white metal.

Machine was boxed up & started. It operated smoothly with normal thrust bearing temperatures &
vibrations for few days. But one day all of a sudden the HP case thrust bearing temperature
suddenly shot-up from 104 degC to 190 degC & at the -same time the axial displacement of HP
case rose from - 0.06mm to - 0.237mm. looking into the severity of problem, the machine was
tripped immediately.
Again on dismantling, similar type of thrust bearing failure was observed i.e. active side thrust
bearing pads were worn out & seal ring white metal got scooped out from inner diameter at the
bottom portion. Machine was boxed up again after necessary replacements /maintenance &
restarted.
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This problem of high vibration was then analysed using DAI 208P ADRE system. Although the
transient data of vibration was not available, MMS Engineer from Bently Nevada Pvt. Ltd. using
steady state data carried out analysis. Following plots were taken:

Tabular listing
Trend plots
Orbit
Orbit-time-base plot
Time base
Full spectrum
Full spectrum waterfall plot

Following were the findings of the Analysis carried out with the help of above plots:From the time wave form analysis predominantly at turbine & HP compressor bearing indicates
spiking in waveform either due to mechanical run-out or due to generation of static current & flow
of static current in the shaft. The presence of spiking in the orbit/time base plots almost on all the
bearing locations manifest the fact that Electrostatic discharge is a high probability.
The effect of electrostatic discharge is severe in the turbine rotor. The turbine governor end
bearing particularly having the glitch of the order of 70 microns. There is a need to check the runout of the rotor too.
Once mechanical run out is checked with dial indicator & if it is found less than 5 microns then it
is important to measure rotor magnetism using Gauss Meter for establishing the amount of
magnetism present in the rotor. Higher values of residual magnetism present in the rotor will cause
increased temperatures & inflict or initiate severe damage. This phenomenon is sometimes speed
& load dependent also.
Recommendations :

Recommended to check the slow roll vector in the machine train.

Recommended to check the effective functionally of grounding brush.
Recommended to measure residual magnetism of rotor as well as various components e.g. bearings
etc. The max. allowable residual magnetism should be 2~ 2.5 gauss for bearing components, 4~5
gauss in bearing housings & 6~7 Gauss for shaft & diaphragms.
Post Analysis action taken : As recommended by the analyst, following corrective actions were
taken in the next available opportunity during Annual turn around :-

Gauss Measurement of Tk-1431 Rotor

Gauss measurement of Syn gas turbine rotor (Rotor Sr. no. 351566) was carried out. Max. gauss
found on the rotor was 12 gauss on the gear coupling hub & the minimum gauss was 1.0 gauss on
the main shaft between the seals. High gauss areas were demagnetised & the maximum residual
magnetism after degaussing was 2 to 3 gauss on the gear coupling hub.
Apart from above, turbine bearings of exhaust and governor side were also checked for residual
magnetism. All the pads of these bearings were also checked. Maximum residual magnetism found
was 1.5 gauss, which is acceptable.
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 Gauss Measurement of HP Rotor of K-1431

Gauss measurement of different parts of non coupling end bearing of HP rotor of K-1431was
carried out. Max. gauss found was 8 gauss on lock nut & the minimum gauss was 0.2 gauss on the
seal housing of HPC outboard bearing. High gauss areas were demagnetised & the maximum
residual magnetism after degaussing was 1.5 to 2 gauss on lock nut.
Gauss measurement of different parts of exposed portion of rotor of non coupling end was carried
out. Maximum gauss found was 1.5 gauss on collar area and minimum gauss was 0.4 gauss on seal
area.

Gauss Measurement of LP Rotor of K-1431

Gauss measurement of different parts of non coupling end bearing of LP rotor of K-1431was
carried out. Max. gauss found was 10 gauss on lock nut & the minimum gauss was 0.4 gauss on
the pads of journal bearing.
Gauss measurement of different parts of exposed portion of rotor of non coupling end was carried
out. Maximum gauss found was 1.6 gauss on seal area and minimum gauss was 0.4 gauss on thrust
and journal bearing area.
Results : After demagnetisation of high Gauss areas of turbine & HP case, the rotor was boxed
up. Machine was restarted & brg. Temperatures & vibrations were normal. HP case thrust bearing
temperature, that shot up to 190 deg.C was 105 deg.C which gradually reduced to 95deg.C. Since
then Syn .Gas Compressor train is in operation without any major problem.

Conclusion:
An effort has been made in this paper to add up one more link to the on-going chain of studies
being carried out worldwide advocating for the usefulness of Inspection & maintenance
techniques in a continuous process fertilizer plant. In fact, the fertiliser industries are
becoming more & more dependent on the concept of Predictive & Preventive Maintenance to
a great extent. The concept of sharing such experiences related to the plant problems & the
solution taken thereof through technical magazines or symposiums has become a very important
factor for a fertiliser industry in order to achieve maximum productivity out of the limited & costly
resources available. Adopting the concept of inspection & predictive maintenance is the most
sought out requirement of todays highly competitive fertiliser market. The role of NDT &
maintenance becomes further important in a fertiliser industry in order to sustain with the
squeezing fertiliser & financial policies framed by the government time to time. Appreciable
efforts have been made by FAI & all Fertiliser industries to provide a common platform for the
professionals to share their technical experiences of common interest, which has boosted the
overall productivity level of fertiliser sector in the country. Using state-of-the-art IT facilities
available these days, sharing such technical experiences related to fertiliser plants ON-LINE, can
be of immense use for the overall benefit of the fertiliser industry.

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