Premature Failure of Type 316 Stainless Steel Condenser Tubing in Brackish Water

In 1964, a Worthington single pass condenser with twin tandem shell and common inlet divided water boxes was shut down after one month operation because of perforated Type 316 stainless steel tubing. In 1965, stainless steel tubing in the periphery and air removal section of a condenser in a sister unit failed after three months operation, and again 4040 tubes were replaced. The condensers are at the Potomac Electric Power Company's Chalk Point Generating Station in Prince George's County, Md., where they draw brackish cooling water from the Patuxent River. This paper discusses the operating conditions and probable causes of these failures, and how they might have been minimized or avoided.