Boiler banks, wall panels and boiler maintenance
Fabrication of convection and radiant banks, wall panels and bends for the boilers of the Chuquicamata Division, with their installation, steam drum maintenance, and hydrostatic tests and non-destructive testing of every system. Workforce of 200.
LTF fabricated the convection and radiant banks and the boiler wall panels, together with the cold and hot bends that form the serpentine coils. At the shop, each bank is assembled tube by tube on its frame before traveling to site.
On site, the headers and nozzles of the radiant and convection zones were installed, and the steam drum was serviced, with replacement of the demister that separates water droplets from the steam and replacement of the relief valves. Each system was closed out with a hydrostatic test and non-destructive testing: radiography, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant and visual inspection. The job brought together 200 people.
Scope delivered.
What LTF delivered on this project, item by item. The photo follows each item as you scroll.
- 01
Fabrication of convection and radiant banks
At the shop, each bank is assembled tube by tube on its frame before traveling to site.
- 02
Fabrication of wall panels
Together with the banks, the tube panels carry out the exchange through which the boiler recovers heat from the metallurgical gases of the process.
- 03
Fabrication of cold and hot bends
The cold and hot bends are what form the serpentine coils.
- 04
Installation of headers and nozzles in the radiant and convection zones
On site, with crews working inside the boiler, the headers and nozzles of the radiant and convection zones were installed.
- 05
Steam drum maintenance and demister replacement
The demister is the steam drum component that separates water droplets from the steam. It was replaced as part of the drum maintenance.
- 06
Relief valve replacement
Relief valves protect the boiler against overpressure. They were replaced together with the steam drum maintenance.
- 07
Hydrostatic tests and non-destructive testing (RT, MT, PT, VT) on every system
Each system was closed out with a hydrostatic test and with radiography, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant and visual inspection: a tube that fails in service stops the equipment.
- 08
Workforce of 200
The whole job, from shop fabrication to the testing of each system, brought together 200 people.
Project record.
Photos taken on site. Tap any image to see it in full, zoom in and browse all 14 from the project.
Smelter and thermoelectric plant, Chuquicamata. Fabricated at the LTF shop.
Site context
The Chuquicamata Flash Furnace boiler recovers heat from the process off-gases, and its tube banks and panels are what make that heat exchange happen. Since 2020 the smelter recorded an increase in tube rupture failures in that boiler, and in the major maintenance shutdown of November 2022, lasting 135 days, about 50% of its heat exchange surface was replaced, as reported by Diario Financiero.
The smelter boiler area recovers all the water it uses in its processes, as reported by Codelco in 2019. That is why every bank, panel and header is delivered with its hydrostatic test and non-destructive testing: a tube that fails in service stops the equipment.
LTF Montajes Industriales · +56 9 9431 6903 · [email protected] · ltfmontajes.cl
Flash Furnace cooling system
Codelco, Chuquicamata Division · Chuquicamata smelter, Calama View the sheet
Project index
12 project sheets for Codelco- 01 Boiler tube banks for the Chuquicamata smelter Chuquicamata smelter 2025
- 02 Crane maintenance and rail replacement at the Potrerillos smelter Potrerillos smelter 2025
- 03 Boiler banks, wall panels and boiler maintenance Smelter and thermoelectric plant This sheet
- 04 Flash Furnace cooling system Chuquicamata smelter 2023
- 05 Replacement of casting wheels 3 and 4 Chuquicamata smelter 2021 and 2023
- 06 Flash Furnace ancillary works contract Chuquicamata smelter 2021
- 07 ZeCor-Z welding and acid plant maintenance Acid plant 2021
- 08 Fabrication and maintenance of dryer 6 coils Chuquicamata smelter 2024
- 09 Flash Furnace and boiler cooling, 18 inch line Chuquicamata smelter
- 10 Crane rail replacement at the Chuquicamata smelter Chuquicamata smelter 2021
- 11 Oxygen lines of 16, 20 and 24 inches Chuquicamata smelter 2020
- 12 Electrostatic precipitator maintenance Chuquicamata and Ministro Hales
Do you have a similar project at your plant?
Tell us the scope, the site and the schedule. We reply within one business day with a proposal.