Boiler tube banks for the Chuquicamata smelter
Fabrication at the Concón shop of boiler tube banks for the convection section of the Chuquicamata smelter boiler, from the receipt and inspection of the A192 tubes to the escorted dispatch of boiler bank No. 6.
The project began with the receipt of the lot of A192 boiler tubes and the inlet and outlet headers for each bank, shipped from Argentina. The material was stored and inspected by the quality team against the purchase order and the technical specifications before being released for fabrication.
At the shop, following the fabrication drawings, the serpentine coils that make up each bank were cut, sized, laid out on jigs and welded. Boiler bank No. 6, weighing about 13 tonnes and with more than 1,000 welded joints, passed its quality certification and was lifted with an 80-tonne crane onto a lowboy truck for escorted transport to the smelter, where it replaces the existing bank and extends the service life of the equipment.
Scope delivered.
What LTF delivered on this project, item by item. The photo follows each item as you scroll.
- 01
Receipt, storage and quality inspection of A192 tubes and headers
The A192 tubes and the inlet and outlet headers for each bank arrived from Argentina. The quality team inspected them against the purchase order and the technical specifications before releasing them for fabrication.
- 02
Cutting, sizing and jig layout according to drawings
The tubes were cut, sized and laid out on jigs at the Concón shop, following the fabrication drawings for each bank.
- 03
Welding of the boiler tube serpentine coils
The serpentine coils that make up each bank were welded at the shop. Boiler bank No. 6 has more than 1,000 welded joints.
- 04
Quality certification of the fabricated bank
Before leaving the shop, boiler bank No. 6, weighing about 13 tonnes, passed its quality certification.
- 05
Lifting, loading and escorted dispatch to the smelter
An 80-tonne crane lifted boiler bank No. 6 onto a lowboy truck for escorted transport to the smelter, where it replaces the existing one and extends the service life of the equipment.
Video record.
Filmed on site. Turn on the sound to watch the full record with audio. English subtitles are shown over the original Spanish captions.
Project record.
Photos taken on site. Tap any image to see it in full, zoom in and browse all 17 from the project.
Chuquicamata smelter, Calama. Fabricated at the LTF shop in Concón.
Site context
The Chuquicamata smelter is Codelco’s largest, with a smelting capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per year around the middle of the last decade, and it runs a flash furnace whose waste heat boiler recovers energy from the process off-gases. Since 2020 the plant 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.
In that context, a new tube bank, fabricated, certified and dispatched from the Concón shop, is what allows the existing one to be replaced and the service life of the equipment to be extended between shutdowns. The tubes are ASTM A192, the standard for seamless carbon steel boiler tubes for high-pressure service.
LTF Montajes Industriales · +56 9 9431 6903 · [email protected] · ltfmontajes.cl
Crane maintenance and rail replacement at the Potrerillos smelter
Codelco, Salvador Division · Potrerillos smelter, Atacama Region View the sheet
Project index
12 project sheets for Codelco- 01 Boiler tube banks for the Chuquicamata smelter Chuquicamata smelter This sheet
- 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 2020 and 2021
- 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
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