Applying Situational Awareness to Achieve Excellence in FEMI
Asset Integrity Case Study: Catalytic Reformer Support Structure
Case Study: Successful Use of Machine Learning to Model Degradation in Hydrocrackers
Creep Behavior of Sensitized AISI SS 347 Process Materials
Damage Control: Stress Corrosion Cracking Detection
FFS Forum: Nine Recommendations for Better FFS Assessments
The Four Dimensions of Mobility for Asset Integrity Management
Understanding API 579 – Fitness-for-Service: Where It’s Been and Where It’s Going
Choosing the Safety Factor in an ASME B31G Level 1 Evaluation
Damage Control: Wet H2S Damage Mitigation
FFS Forum: Unraveling Type A, B, and C Components
Is Advanced Statistical Analysis the Next Step in Your Piping Inspection Journey?
Overcoming Integrity Limitations of Conventional On-Stream Line Interventions
Probability of Detection in Digital Radiography Systems
Tri-Lateral Phased Array: A Novel Technique for Identifying Wet H2S Damage
A Historical Integrity Assessment of a Refinery Fired Heater - A Case Study
Condition Monitoring Optimization Part 2: Making Inference with Uncertain Data
Damage Control: Wet H2S Damage Assessment
Effective Management of In-Service Line Lifting for Touch Point Corrosion Remediation
FFS Forum: Updates to the New & Improved API 579 Standard
How to Assess Hydrogen Pipeline Integrity by Applying Fracture Mechanics
Management and Identification of Dead Legs
Utilizing Risk Assessment to Determine the Scope of FEMI QA/QC
A New Era: Digitalized Field Reporting Rules the Day
Applying the PERI Model to Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity
Condition Monitoring Optimization: Going Beyond Traditional CML Optimization
Damage Control: Wet H2S Damage Detection
Detecting and Quantifying External Fretting-Wear Damage
Overcoming Pitfalls When Establishing an Effective RBI Program
Composite Repair Targeting Corrosion Under Insulation
Corrosion Surveys of NPS 6 and Smaller Lines with High Production Digital Radiography
Damage Control: CUI Mitigation
FFS Forum: Tips and Guidance on FFS in the Aftermath of a Process Plant Fire (Part 1 of 2)
Integrity Management of Wet Sour Gas Clad Subsea Pipelines
Reliability and Risk Management of Pressure Relief Valves in Oil Refineries
Tank RBI: Not Just an Inspection Deferral Tool
Ultrasonic In-Service Detection and Monitoring of Sulfidation Corrosion
Damage Control: CUI Assessment
Evergreening an RBI-Based Inspection Program
FFS Forum: Acoustic Emission Testing - The Least Understood Inspection Technique (Part 2 of 2)
How to Reduce Your Exposure to High Consequence FEMI Events
Inspection and Best Practice in Single Stud Replacement
Into the Grain - Advancements in HTHA Detection Methods - Part 1
Robotics for Internal In-Service Inspection of Aboveground Storage Tanks
Simplifying Complex Failures with EDX Images
Wireless Battery-Free Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Patches for CO2 Absorber
Article Index
A historical review into the integrity of reformer furnaces since commissioning is discussed in this case study, along with other technical and engineering challenges, and the efforts to overcome them.
Utilizing a digital field service management platform for inspection and related trade support is the answer to many of the difficulties experienced in mechanical integrity programs today.
There are a lot of potential threats that can interfere with maintaining adequate FEMI. Using situational awareness effectively to anticipate FEMI threats, understand them, and prepare the necessary steps can avoid a potential LOPC from the threat.
This article discusses making continuous improvements in your fixed equipment mechanical integrity work process using the Plan-Execute-Review-Improve (PERI) model.
A study of the level of deterioration on a catalytic reformer support structure, the challenges involved, the solutions presented, and the aggressive schedule that was required to complete the project.
This article describes HTHA predictive modeling advances that are designed to demonstrate a direct integration with inspection such that modeling and inspection can be leveraged together in a way never done before.
This study found that a machine learning model was able to predict degradation rates for a hydrocracker unit more accurately and with a smaller margin of error compared to current industry practices.
A finite element analysis (FEA) was performed on five different models of varying configurations as an approach to establish best practices in the choice of the most appropriate factor of safety, depending on the type of metal loss.
Traditional pressure vessel inspections often require taking assets out of service. However, MISTRAS’ Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) programs provide data as good or better than internal inspections, while assets remain in service. NII is...
This article discusses how composite materials can be used to mitigate light CUI damage and/or repair and restore structural strength to the affected piping system.
This article is Part 2 in a series discussing condition monitoring optimization where statistical inference techniques on the measured data can be utilized to provide reasonable expectations regarding the true extent of damage on the asset.
Equity Engineering Practices® (EEPs) are a collection of detailed & customizable Best Practices integrated with a customizable management system. EEPs include: 650+ branded and customizable Best Practice Documents, 225+ Pre-Engineered &...
Condition monitoring optimization goes beyond traditional CML optimization, which is often limited in the breadth of analysis, or can overemphasize a subset of the overall objective.
This article discusses an approach to implementing a corrosion management system using commonly developed documents in most facilities as part of their corrosion control practice.
This article illustrates the value of digital radiography as an efficient tool to visualize corrosion and other small bore piping anomalies without disturbing insulation, as well as using PRT in conjunction with UTT to survey small diameter lines.
The influence of sensitization on creep response of hydrocracker feed fractionator fired heater tubes made of AISI Type 347 stabilized steel after service exposure of around 20 years is investigated.
In this article, FFS assessment methods are summarized and practical guidance is offered for qualifying CUI damage on carbon and low-alloy steels.
Practical steps to mitigate corrosion under insulation (CUI) damage on fixed pressure equipment and commentary on common mitigation techniques and good engineering practices for external insulation or fireproofing system design and application.
This article provides an overview of some of the more common forms of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) with a focus on effective inspection methods for detecting these forms of cracking.
This issue of Damage Control offers a perspective on how to assess the different forms of wet H2S damage using modern FFS and computational analysis techniques with the safe operation of damaged pressure vessels, piping, and associated components.
This article summarizes the fundamentals of wet H2S-related damage mechanisms, offers some practical inspection guidance, and reviews a notable industry failure caused by different forms of wet H2S damage.
This edition of Damage Control will offer practical steps to mitigate different forms of wet H2S damage and help to minimize long-term inspection and maintenance costs related to wet H2S damage.
This article presents two case studies that show how having a holistic approach, along with the right technology and experience, is essential to identifying smaller damage mechanisms like fretting in fired heater coils.
Establishing a proactive touch point corrosion integrity management program using engineered on-stream line lifting is a safe and effective means of mitigating unplanned downtime and related safety and potential environmental hazards.
This article describes an owner-user’s evergreening process to maintain accurate data to support the mechanical integrity program and assist in planning inspections, turnarounds, repairs, replacements, and upgrades.
This article addresses some of the advantages and disadvantages of acoustic emission testing and discusses a few examples of its typical applications.
This follow-up article discusses the important topic of establishing Heat Exposure Zones and Level 1, 2, and 3 fitness-for-service assessments following a plant fire.
This article discusses some of the common fitness-for-service (FFS) issues plant engineers in the chemical and refining industry are facing and a handful of recommendations on how to improve them.
Part 1 presents a brief overview of the process of assessing equipment in a post-fire "return-to-service" effort and discusses some common issues that may arise during that process.
Component type is important when assessing the applicability and limitations of a particular assessment (Part and Level) to a particular component. This article explains the evolution of component type definition over the years.
There are many excellent changes and updates in the new edition of API 579, including significant technical changes and improvements. In this FFS Forum article, I’ll go through many of what I believe to be the most important changes.
Antea delivers highly flexible risk-based asset integrity software with 3D Digital Twin integration to optimize maintenance, reduce risk, and improve mechanical integrity for oil and gas, power generation, and chemical plants and facilities. Whether...
The positive impact of digital twins on planning, costs, turnaround, revenue generation, and safety are substantial and rapid in their return. This article will examine why to leverage this technology and how to do so in a fiscally viable manner.
In cases where material embrittlement caused by hydrogen is a concern, evaluations using fracture mechanics to assess the reliability and integrity of steel pipes exposed to cyclic loads are necessary.
This article is oriented toward identifying and assessing the risk of potentially high consequence, but usually lower likelihood, FEMI issues that could cause a big event at operating sites if sufficient safeguards or barriers are not in place.
A safety-focused mindset and awareness of the dangers associated with the process, environment, and associated tasks through planning and execution is essential for the safe completion of a single stud replacement campaign.
The scope of the subject case study reviews an inspection and corrosion control assessment conducted on subsea flowlines and includes evaluating the flowlines’ associated inspection programs and identifying all available NDT technology solutions.
Hydrogen-induced damage mechanisms have been studied endlessly, leading to changes in equipment design and development of new inspection practices. However, the highly localized nature and difficulty of detection of HTHA add additional complexities.
The application of a detailed design-by-analysis method using ASME Sec-VIII Div-2 confirms field-observed ratcheting and fatigue type failures in the tubesheet due to the complex cyclical thermal-mechanical loading encountered during operation.
InVista is a lightweight, hand-held ultrasonic in-line inspection tool (intelligent pig) capable of detecting pipeline wall loss and corrosion in unpiggable or difficult-to-inspect pipelines. The pipeline geometry inspection data captured by the...
Applying advanced statistical analysis methods will provide owner/users with a RAGAGEP-accepted method for analyzing corrosion monitoring data while also integrating the latest improvements in inspection capabilities.
Dead legs pose a substantial threat to piping integrity as they are especially prone to contamination and corrosion. Tracking dead legs separately from the mainline piping should be done through controlled procedures at operating facilities.
Traditional line interventions either utilize a single isolation point or are utilized in conjunction with bypass lines. A double block and bleed (DBB) replaces the need for using three separate line interventions to perform the same function.
In this article, the author shares a couple of examples for RBI practitioners that will hopefully spur you on toward excellence in RBI modeling.
With the advent of digital technology, image processing can be done in digital radiographs which can be used for automated detection and quantification of defects. It is important to know the system's limitations and the probability of detection.
A risk management approach for relief valves should be able to determine the proper interval of maintenance events and the necessity of installing isolation valves, rupture discs, or 100% spare capacity.
Asset owners can realize economic and HSE benefits from utilizing internal in-service robots for hazardous fluid tank inspection. Achieving high levels of coverage and collecting enormous amounts of quantitative data are possible for clean tanks.
It can be challenging for failure analysts to present complex information to audiences that don't the same knowledge on specialized subjects. Sometimes, failure mechanisms can be summarized with images that can tell the whole story...
This article examines the quantitative tank RBI method found in API 581 and discusses uses for tank RBI other than deferral of scheduled internal inspections.
A changing workforce means an increased need to digitize AIM technology, including data capture and analysis, to facilitate remote work requirements and more efficient methods in a digital market.
With all the variables in play during a turnaround event, it is rare for all expectations to succeed together, during the same event. It is important to have a process in place, plan each step, and utilize certified inspection personnel.
Within one unit, TriLat combines the power of two probes containing three angle beam sets to identify and quantify cracking at early stages. The result is inspection speeds up to ten times faster than traditional AUT systems, depending on probe size.
Recent advances in UT technology now allow for inspection and continuous monitoring of sulfidic corrosion to be undertaken while the components are on-stream, at temperature, with high-resolution thickness data.
An informative discussion with David Osage, President and Principal Engineer at The Equity Engineering Group, regarding the recent update to API 579/FFS-1, Fitness-for-Service, and why it's important to our industry.
Inspectioneering and Pinnacle co-hosted the 7th bi-annual Meeting of the Minds with a select group of mechanical integrity experts from across the industry. The meeting focused on piping RBI and the challenges operators are facing implementing it.
This article discusses how Quantitative Reliability Optimization (QRO) can help empower reliability and operations leaders with better data to make smarter and more confident reliability decisions for their facilities.
Utilizing a risk assessment methodology to determine the amount of detail in our QA/QC plans, as well as who needs to be involved, may help us improve both the effectiveness and the efficiency of our QA/QC work process.
Inspectioneering and Pinnacle co-hosted the 8th bi-annual Meeting of the Minds with a select group of mechanical integrity experts from across the industry. The meeting focused on major projects in equipment integrity and reliability.
This case study of a CO2 absorber tower in a remote location investigates the use of a new type of wireless ultrasonic sensor for monitoring the thickness of equipment while on or offline.
