Case Studies
Inspectioneering contributors and authors have published numerous mechanical integrity case studies in Inspectioneering Journal and throughout our online resources. This page brings all of these case studies into one location to better help you learn from the experience of others.
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November/December 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy James R. Widrig at Quest IntegrityIn-service equipment failures present a considerable challenge to reliability engineers. This article presents a case study of a convection tube failure in a furnace and the analyses that were performed to understand the root cause and determine the remaining tube life.
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Partner ContentProperly anticipating and finding the damage in your facility is no small task, and spending millions of dollars on inspection may not be getting you anywhere if it’s not the right inspection processes. PinnacleART can use industry best practice models and corrosion expertise to proactively identify damage types, locations and magnitudes so you can ensure you’re performing the right inspections at the right times. Visit us at pinnacleart.com to learn more.
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September/October 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Daniel Cypriano at Petrobras, and Henrique Ventura at PetrobrasAlthough value-drivers often differ between facilities, all can agree that effective asset management strategies should lead to better decision making. In this case study, the authors detail how process-based risk management strategies can make for improved use of equipment.
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July/August 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Michael Turnquist at Quest Integrity GroupThis article outlines the engineering and assessment methodologies applied during the analysis of a failure of a 15-foot diameter reactor tank supported by four legs.
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May/June 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Hossam Aboegla at Lloyd's Register EnergyAsset integrity and life cycle management are unique but intertwined concepts. The dynamic process between these principles has a significant impact on the lifecycle of individual assets and, therefore, the integrity of an entire plant.
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July/August 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Mark Geisenhoff at Flint Hills Resources, Jonathan D. Dobis at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc., Phillip E. Prueter at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc., and Dr. Michael S. Cayard at Flint Hills ResourcesThis article summarizes a recent finite element analysis (FEA)-based study that employs creep simulation techniques to investigate the elevated temperature response of piping with peaked longitudinal weld seams.
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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Melissa Ramkissoon at PetrotrinAboveground Storage Tanks (AST) are essential to any successful oil and gas operation and must be properly managed to ensure operations function in a safe and reliable manner. In this 2-part series, I will identify some common failures related to ASTs in crude oil service and recommend strategies to prevent and/or mitigate such failures.
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BlogMarch 16, 2015
For many years, it has been common practice in the petrochemical industry to use fitness-for-service (FFS) evaluations to determine whether or not a finding during an inspection would prevent a part from being able to be returned to service.
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A New Method for Prioritizing Equipment in HTHA Service for Inspection & Replacement and the Challenges in Obtaining Process Conditions to be Used in the HTHA Assessment
November/December 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Gerrit M. Buchheim, P.E. at Becht Engineering Co., Inc.This article provides background on HTHA, discusses some current developments in HTHA inspection and mitigation, and describes how one refiner is instituting an HTHA risk management plan for its refineries along with challenges they have encountered.
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September/October 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Tim Hill at Quest Integrity GroupFor 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.
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May/June 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Luciano Narcisi at GIEAs an RBI consultant, I frequently get involved in discussions spawned from a misunderstanding of the relation between Risk Based Inspection (RBI) approaches and Fitness for Service (FFS) assessments. Questions like: If thickness is below the minimum required by design, why does the risk stay so low?
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March/April 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ron Maurier at Quest Integrity Group, LLC, and Dan Revelle, Sr. at Quest Integrity Group, LLCNew inline inspections and integrity management systems allow operators to understand the complexities and economics of terminals’ and station’s complex aging pipeline infrastructure.
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January/February 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jason C. Shankle at United Dynamics CorporationUAS (Unmanned Arial System) drone technology has numerous applications, including anything at elevated heights or where human access and/or occupancy are prohibited, or in the case of confined spaces, limited.
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Small Bore Piping Inspection Programs: How a serious incident and investigation led to a best practice
November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Anthony J. Rutkowski at A.J. Rutkowski, LLC, and Anthony M. Damron at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.Small bore piping is present in many variations throughout numerous industries. This article will address an incident involving a small bore piping failure that occurred on a 140,000 BPD crude distillation unit in the refining industry.
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BlogSeptember 3, 2013 By Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
We’ve been discussing Scalable Accuracy and its use related to Lifecycle Management technologies available to owner/operators. The last few topics have included Fitness for Service using Scalable Accuracy, the approach for Equipment Lifecycle Management and, to lay the foundation for proper thinking, making the case for Scalable Accuracy. In a continuation on the topic, this week’s blog will cover Risk-Based Inspection (RBI).
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Online ArticleThis case study provides a chronological review of several thermal anomalies discovered within a customer's storage tank that was being used to house soy beans. The first signs of a problem within the storage tank were found when thermal imaging of the north side of the tank revealed an uncharacteristic hot spot.
