Auto-Refrigeration / Brittle Fracture Prevention And Process Safety Mitigation
Automation in Non-Destructive Testing - The Changing Role of the Operator
Avoiding HTHA Failures: An Owner-User Perspective of the HTHA Risk Mitigation Process
Digital Radiography: Advancements in Utilization, Benefits, and Overall Inspection Reliability
Executive Q&A with Tom Wanzeck, Vice President, Integrity Services, Willbros Group, Inc.
Failure Analysis in the Oil & Gas Industry
Industry Remembers the Life and Contributions of Trevor Kletz
When Bad Things Happen to Good Pressure Vessels: A Story of Localized Metal Loss
A Discussion on the Piping Thickness Management Process: Circuit Thickness Data Analysis
Compliance: Do you have what it takes?
Digital Radiography - Assessing Image Quality
Executive Q&A with Ryan Sitton, President and CEO, PinnacleAIS
FFS using 3D Structured Light and Pipeline Integrity
Mitigating "Dimensional Drift" in Industrial Construction Work Processes
Non-Intrusive Inspection of Above Ground Storage Tanks and Its Use in a Tank RBI Program
Pipeline Integrity Management Dashboard
Unconventional Options for Restoring Degrading or Failing Assets
Assessing Component Condition using Remote Metallography and Hardness Testing
Common Legal Issues Affecting the Refining Industry
Executive Q&A with Kevin Somers, President, Inspectorate
How to Improve Your Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity Program by Managing Your Manager(s)
Non-Contact Ultrasonic Testing with EMAT: In-Service Applications
Tank Inspections per STI SP001 5th Edition
The Challenge of Inspection and Assessment of Critical Piping Systems in Chemical Plants
The Importance of Process Safety Information in Implementing a Mechanical Integrity Program
A Discussion on the Piping Thickness Management Process: Collecting Quality Thickness Data
Common Legal Issues Affecting the Refining Industry
Defining the Optimal Life Management Strategy for Gas Heater Tubes
High Temperature Life Assessment
Inspection of Individual Serpentine Coils in Fired Heaters Connected to Common Headers
Managing the Risks Associated with Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity Issues
Crude Flexibility Management Threat Awareness
Driving Better AIM Decisions Through Crude Assays
Fitness-for-Service Assessment: Severe Local Corrosion
Integrity Management Programs, KPIs and PSM
Non-Contact Ultrasonic Testing with EMAT: Introduction to EMAT
Safely Operating Steam Reformers between Turnarounds
Transient Computational Fluid Dynamics
XRF Inspection of Piping Systems to Reduce Sulfidation Corrosion Risk
2013 Inspectioneering Journal Article Index
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
In response to reader feedback, we implemented some important improvements in 2012. As we broaden our scope to include all aspects of Asset Integrity Management, its synergy and leverage become increasingly important. We will sustain this forward movement in 2013 by continuously seeking ways to serve the Inspectioneering community at maximum value, as you will see by the comprehensive Inspectioneering client survey soon to launch.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy A.C. Gysbers at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.This article is the fifth of a series of articles that will focus on one critical sub process within a PEIP that is key in managing the integrity of process piping; Thickness Monitoring Programs for Internal Corrosion.
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy A.C. Gysbers at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.Piping failures still represent a frustrating and ongoing problem for processing plants. Failures are still commonly reported and contribute to large losses. In the author’s experience, piping represents the highest percentage of fixed equipment failures in petroleum refining.
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A Discussion on the Piping Thickness Management Process: Data Collection with Ultrasonics and Radiography
January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy A.C. Gysbers at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.This article is the third of a series of articles that will focus on one critical sub process within a PEIP that is key in managing the integrity of process piping: thickness monitoring programs for internal corrosion. These articles will discuss what constitutes an effective piping thickness monitoring process and will present several practices that may be new to some readers, but these practices have produced beneficial results in other major piping reliability programs.
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
A new API Individual Certification Program (ICP) will be offered soon to certify inspectors who perform quality assurance (QA) surveillance and inspection activities on new materials and equipment for the energy and chemical (E&C) industry. It is being developed by the API with the assistance of numerous, experienced subject matter experts (SMEs) involved in source inspection activities.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Oscar Quintero at M&M Engineering AssociatesRemote metallography, in-place metallography, in-situ metallography, and field replication are all examples of typical trade names of this great tool used for assessing the condition of a metal component.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ralph E. King P.E. at Stress Engineering Services Inc.Auto-refrigeration is a process where an unintentional and/or uncontrolled phase change of a hydrocarbon from a liquid state to a vapor occurs, resulting in a very rapid chilling (refrigeration) of the liquid containing local equipment and/or piping. This phenomenon can result in a catastrophic ‘break-before-leak’ scenario commonly referred to as brittle fracture.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jan Verkooijen at TUV Rheinland SonovationTo understand the current non-destructive testing (NDT) world, it is perhaps a good idea to look back at things historically. By doing this, changes which have taken place become apparent, and very soon one can conclude that this is actually quite significant!
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Mike Urzendowski at Valero Energy
A recent High Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA) failure atarefineryinthestateofWashingtonwasa“wakeupcall” to our industry. On April 2, 2010, the shell of a feed-effluent heat exchanger in the Naphtha Hydrotreating (NHT) unit at the Tesoro Anacortes WA refinery ruptured, ultimately resulting in seven fatalities.
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Heidi Slinkard Brasher at McAfee & Taft, PC
Some involvement with legal issues is inevitable for professionals, including individuals and the companies for whom they work. But too often, companies – their management, their personnel, and their counsel – accept the status quo as providing adequate protection from legal risks.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Heidi Slinkard Brasher at McAfee & Taft, PCAs discussed in the May/June issue of Inspectioneering Journal, some involvement with legal issues is inevitable for individuals and companies in the refining, manufacturing, transportation, and energy industries.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Heidi Slinkard Brasher at McAfee & Taft, PCIt is important for your company to step back, look at its compliance program, and objectively evaluate whether the program has what it takes to effectively detect violations of the law.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Hearl E. Mead Jr. at Shell Oil CompanyOver the past few years increased feedstock flexibility has become a growing reality for sustainability of the refining business, requiring processing of more difficult crudes, increased volumes of spot cargoes, and rapid response to crude acceptance requests. Equipment reliability and process safety threats have occurred in the industry from changes in crude supplies or varying crude blends and quality.
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Fernando Vicente at ABBIndustrial furnaces are used extensively throughout the entire oil and gas industry, as well as other process industries such as pulp and paper, metals and mining, chemical, and petrochemical. An industrial furnace, or direct fired heater, is a piece of equipment used to provide heat for processing or can serve as a reactor which provides heat for the reaction.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Sanjoy Das at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, D. Mukherjee at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and K.K. Abdulla at Bhabha Atomic Research CentreThe Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is used in imaging science to assess the reliability of imaging systems to produce different spatial frequency. In digital radiography, it can be used to detect frequency responses of different inspection conditions.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Richard Mills at GE, John T. Iman at GE Oil and Gas Measurement & Controls-Inspection Technology, and Martin Sauerschnig at GE Oil and Gas Measurement and ControlOver recent years large strides have been made in application, development, and utilization of Digital Detector Arrays (DDAs) in field radiography environments (an application previously limited to film and computed radiography [CR] techniques).
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Thomas Phan at Bureau Veritas Inspectorate, and Mike Bartholmey at Bureau Veritas InspectorateFor crude oil refiners and traders, information is the lifeblood of their operations and business decisions. The information obtained by crude oil assays, which includes physical properties and compositional analysis of a crude oil, provides in-depth insight and serves as an important decision-making tool.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
I joined Inspectorate in 1988 as Vice President of Gulf Coast Operations in the Oil and Petrochemical Division. I held that role until 1995 when I was appointed Vice President of U.S. operations.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.Earlier this year, our friends at Pinnacle Asset Integrity Services hosted a webinar entitled Mechanical Integrity Assessment: Why Bother? The broadcast included discussions on the history and value of asset integrity programs, as well as the evolution of the processes and methods necessary to ensure these programs achieve the objective of decreasing risk to improve safety. We have selected a small sample of these exchanges to present to you because we feel they provide important information regarding the need for mechanical integrity assessments in our industry.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Tyler Alvarado at InspectioneeringInspectioneering recently had the privilege of speaking with Tom Wanzeck, Vice President of Integrity Services with Willbros Group, Inc. Tom spent more than 20 years managing assets on the owner-operator side before making the leap to the service industry, in which he now manages and facilitates world-class asset and pipeline integrity management programs for clients.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Fernando Vicente at ABBService failures and safety incidents of machines, structures, and pressure equipment have been experienced in the oil and gas industry for many years without warning, with varying degrees of consequential damages to health, safety, environmental, business, and reputation. Unfortunately, equipment failures will occur no matter how effective a plant’s reliability program is.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Joe Pikas at Technical ToolboxesEven though oil and gas pipelines and their related facilities are generally safer for people and the environment compared to other means of transportation, occasional leaks and failures due to corrosion and other defects have become an issue in maintaining pipeline integrity.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Garic at Stress Engineering Services, Inc.If an operator finds cracking in a furnace waste heat boiler, excessive thinning in an absorption tower, or severe bulging in a converter, FFS assessments—not standard code analyses—are needed to evaluate the unit’s mechanical integrity. FFS assessments, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), are “quantitative engineering evaluations that are performed to demonstrate the structural integrity of an in-service component containing a flaw or damage.”
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Garic at Stress Engineering Services, Inc.Predicting the remaining life of components operating in the creep regime is one of the trickiest problems encountered in the fitness-for-service (FFS) world.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
I have written numerous technical articles addressing how to improve your fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) program. This time I will deviate from the FEMI technologies and methodologies to address a topic that may be equally important to improving your FEMI program – managing your manager(s).
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering JournalIt is with sadness that I learned of the passing of one of the world’s greatest authorities on chemical process safety, Dr. Trevor Kletz; a man I deeply respected and admired for his commitment to improving safety, preventing accidents, and saving lives. Although I never met Dr. Kletz, I certainly wish I had. He was a pioneer in the discipline of process safety management, and had the courage and conviction to speak up about industrial shortcomings at times when others would not. He wrote and spoke candidly on causes of industry incidents and provided insight on how to prevent them...
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Richard D. Roberts at Quest Integrity GroupRefineries and chemical plants own and operate numerous process heaters (e.g. gas reformers, CCRs, etc.) as part of the standard assets throughout the facilities. Many heater coil configuration designs are flanged at both ends; however, there are also coil designs which contain common headers, linking the individual coil passes together at the inlet, outlet, or even at both ends in some cases.
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Partner ContentFacilities are facing increasing challenges, including justifying inflated budgets, managing contractor hours, ensuring regulatory compliance and qualifying the work being completed. To help facilities manage evolving inspection requirements, PinnacleART offers Fixed-Price Inspection (FPI), meaning we will develop and execute a comprehensive Risk-Based Inspection plan for one fixed-price. Yes, you read that right – one fixed-price.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
A pattern of requests for key performance indicators (KPIs) related to equipment integrity management (IM) programs has appeared on Inspectioneering’s LinkedIn group discussion as well as other industry forums. Furthermore, the topic came up numerous times at the recent API Inspection Summit. Performance is the key.
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ana Benz at IRISNDTIn this article you will find the failure investigations of six 0.094 inch thick carbon steel vessels. These vessels were in service in natural gas well facilities; some functioned as dryers and were subjected to cyclic loads. Metallographic tests, hardness tests, and fracture surface scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination results are presented for each of the vessels.
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
One of the reasons we continue to have too many fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) events in the refining and process industries is the lack of understanding and appreciation by site management for the hazards posed by the 101 FEMI issues.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jerry Crawford at TGC EngineersThe goal in chemical process design is to produce a plant design that is optimal with respect to cost and performance. Plant performance involves a broad range of criteria.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Borja Lopez at Innerspec Technologies, Inc.
Non-contact ultrasonic testing with EMAT was formally introduced in part one of this series found in the March/April issue of Inspectioneering Journal. Readers were introduced to the practical advantages of EMAT Ultrasonic Testing.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Borja Lopez at Innerspec Technologies, Inc.This is the first in a series of three articles that will introduce Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) and its practical applications in the field of nondestructive testing (NDT). EMAT, or Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer, is an Ultrasonic Testing (UT) technique that generates the sound in the part inspected instead of the transducer.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Sam Ternowchek at Mistras GroupMaintaining the mechanical integrity of above ground storage tanks (AST’s) is the focal point of tank inspection programs. Performing internal inspections is an integral part of a tank integrity program, however, deciding when to take a tank out of service to perform an internal inspection is not an easy determination to make.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Rex Schrunk P.E. at Willbros EngineersNow, more than ever, pipeline owners and operators are under intense scrutiny to ensure safe and dependable pipeline systems.
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Devon Brendecke, P.E. at Quest Integrity GroupThe benefits of adding fitness-for-service (FFS) assessments to energy sector reliability projects are numerous. The acceptance of API 579/ASME FFS-1 is increasing across the energy sector and other industries, as these benefits have been demonstrated in a wide range of projects. Several of these benefits are illustrated in this article using real-world examples.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Thomas Fortinberry at Quest Integrity Group, and James R. Widrig at Quest Integrity
Steam reformers are critical assets to many refining and chemical manufacturing plants and facilities, and it is well known that the reformer is one of the most challenging assets to maintain and operate. Common problems in reformer operations include burner firing, flue gas distribution, and catalyst damage.
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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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Partner ContentIt’s a scary thought to think that with all the new advancements in technology, some facilities still rely on traditional inspection contractors that perform out of date procedures. You rely on technology to keep your home and identity safe, so why run the risk of hiring inspection contractors without technological solutions to provide the vital information needed to keep your facility safe.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Dana Schmidt at STI/SPFATank inspectors and owners, did you know? Each year about 14,000 oil spills are reported, according to the EPA website. It is estimated that there are 618,000 facilities that are regulated under EPA SPCC in the United States.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy James R. Widrig at Quest IntegrityInspection and fitness-for-service assessments of critical in-plant piping systems are a concern for the chemical industry. This presents a potentially insurmountable task and discovery of a number of areas where the condition is at risk.
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Marc McConnell, P.E. at Pro-Surve Technical ServicesWith 30 years of refinery experience, I have been through many turnarounds and been involved with a lot of repairs. When I started in the business, we would have inspectors that “owned” their specific pieces of equipment.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Holly F. Baker at Baker Inspection Group, L.L.C.The Process Safety Management Rule (29 CFR 1910.119 - PSM) has long been recognized as a collection of interdependent requirements. In recent reviews of PSM programs by OSHA, it has been shown that two of the most cited elements in agency audits tend to be Mechanical Integrity and Process Safety Information.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Marc McConnell, P.E. at Pro-Surve Technical ServicesWho at your facility “owns” injection point hardware? Typically, injection point hardware falls into the “Gray Zone”.
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Cliff Knight, P.E. at KnightHawk Engineering, Inc.It is another day at the plant and as usual, your boss calls and says there is a meeting in the conference room that he wants you to attend regarding a compressor failure. That is all you know, but from experience you know it must be something major since all the “brass” will be in the conference room.
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Matthew Green at Neptune Research, Inc.Composite repair systems can be a great option for owner/ operators to extend the life of their assets without disrupting operations.
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Partner ContentPinnacleART’s engineers and inspectors can help your facility define, prioritize and mitigate risks within your facility. Let our team build, implement and maintain a comprehensive mechanical integrity and RBI program for your pressure vessels, heat exchangers, towers, storage tanks, piping, pump casings, pressure relief valves, critical check valves and more.
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Michael Turnquist at Quest Integrity GroupWhile there are many types of damage mechanisms that can occur in a piece of equipment, localized metal loss is one of the most common. If an inspection reveals that metal loss has occurred, many questions are raised...
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March/April 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Morgan at Thermo Fisher Scientific, and William Fotoples at Thermo Fisher ScientificSulfidic corrosion of piping and equipment within the refining industry continues to be a significant cause of leaks and issues that can lead to early replacements, unplanned outages, and incidents potentially resulting in loss of property and injury to workers.
