Tim Hill: About the Author
Principal Consulting Engineer, Quest Integrity Group
Tim Hill, P.E., is a Mechanical Engineer and Principal Consulting Engineer for Quest Integrity Group with 30-plus years of experience, including the evaluation of thermal processes, fired heater operations and maintenance, risk assessment, root cause failure analysis and life assessment for fired heater equipment in the petrochemical, refining and power generation sectors. For 10 years, Tim was responsible for the operation and reliability of all furnaces in a major refinery in the USA. During this period, he developed and implemented effective integrity management tools (including infrared inspection) covering operation, maintenance and risk assessment.
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Published Articles
This article provides an overview of the key components in establishing IOWs, the levels of IOW limits, and the basic principles and application of API Recommended Practice 584 to achieve reliable fired heater performance.
Achieving fired heater reliability in conjunction with meeting performance standards can be a challenging feat. Performance is a measure of the degree to which the fired heater is in an operable condition at any given time.
For the past 30 years, infrared (IR) thermometry has been used to monitor tube metal temperatures in refining and chemical furnaces. Tracking temperature levels and variations determine performance capability limits and reliable tube life. However, the application of IR thermometry has often been characterized as highly operator dependent, which can result in less-than-optimal data accuracy as a consequence of poorly applied and interpreted results.
