In February 1993, after six months of operation, the GArnet Valley Cogeneration Plant in Las Vegas, Nevada developed multiple leaks int he steam turbine condenser tubes. This cogeneration facility is a zero discharge plant. The cooling water is recycled and the salts and solids are concentrated 30 times from the initial make-up (wel) water. The 210MM BTU/hr condenser is a vertically split, two-pass design with 2558 tubes. The original tubing material was 7/8", 18BWG, ASTM B111/706 - 90:10 copper-nickel (Cu-Ni). Visual inspection of the condenser tubes initially revealed that the tube ends and inlet rolled areas were deteriorating in the form of deep pitting and erosioncorrosion attack. The first leaks were experienced on the inlets of each pass, with the second pass inlets showing the most severe deterioration.
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