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Creep and Stress Rupture

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Creep is the time-dependent deformation of a material under load. It is a generally slow developing form of degradation occurring in metals under stress and higher pressures. The amount of creep deformation that will be experienced is highly dependent upon the level of stress, level of temperature, and material properties of the metal. Deformations caused by creep eventually cause damage that may result in a rupture of the affected equipment components. Commonly susceptible equipment includes nozzles and other components with high tri-axial loading on some catalytic reformers, furnace components, and dissimilar metal welds.

Inspection for creep damage is not straight-forward and may require several techniques to be used in combination. While the use of ring gauges for bulges in furnace tubes is fairly widespread, in other cases, a combination of surface and volumetric NDE may be required, along with metallographic samples (destructive & non-destructive) to verify the presence of creep damage.

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Articles about Creep and Stress Rupture
November/December 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

Part 2 of this Damage Control series on high-temperature creep discusses engineering evaluation methods that can be used to predict the remaining creep life of components. Comparisons between the Larson-Miller Parameter and the MPC Omega are offered.

September/October 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

A focus on typical damage morphology and inspection methods used to identify and characterize high-temperature creep including examples of creep damage and in-service failures to offer insight into this complex damage mechanism.

March/April 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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.

July/August 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

Gasification technology has emerged in oil and gas due to the high combustion energy of Syngas and less environmental concerns than flue gas. This article discusses proper inspection and corrosion monitoring techniques for gasification units.

July/August 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the second of a two-part column on “Creep.” This second part discusses the approach to creep assessment in plant equipment.

Authors: Greg Garic
Partner Content

What do you need: CONSULTING - Subject matter experts, consultants, or team of highly skilled engineers to help solve my problem. SOFTWARE - My team requires software, products, or resources that will solve the problem. TRAINING - I require...

May/June 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the first of a two-part column on “Creep”. It presents an engineering overview of the phenomena, answers the question: “What is Creep?”, and provides readers with foundational knowledge for evaluating and managing remaining...

Authors: Greg Garic
July/August 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

API 579-1 is a complex document covering several different types of equipment that may contain flaws or damage. Due to its complexity, this article condenses it into six things you need to know.

Authors: Greg Garic
September/October 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

Fired heaters are among the most critical equipment in refineries and chemical plants. This article provides an overview of what a fired heater tube mechanical integrity program should include.

July/August 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

This 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.

January/February 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

Avoiding cracking under pressure when managing high-energy piping systems is common subject matter in the power industry. Just as high-energy piping can give way to pressure, stress and fatigue, so can the people in charge of operating them when...

Authors: Pamela Hamblin
Partner Content

Pro-Surve recently invested in the latest portable Higher Order Modes Clusters (HOMC) Guided Wave Testing tool, a new concept for the inspection of inaccessible regions using short-range guided waves. Inspection is carried out from the accessible...

January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

Fired furnaces in the petrochemical and refining industry are critical pieces of equipment that can have a major impact on process unit safety, reliability, and economics. They are complex pieces of equipment, where tubes and other pressure boundary...

Authors: Antonio Seijas
September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Metals will slowly deform under stress and higher temperatures by the mechanism known as creep. The amount of creep deformation that will be experienced is highly dependent upon the level of stress, level of temperature and material properties....

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 1999 Inspectioneering Journal

Steam reformers are an integral part of ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and gas process plants around the world. THey are one of the highest cost, both in capital and maintenance, pieces of equipment in the plant. Typically, reformers contain several...

May/June 1997 Inspectioneering Journal

Reformer catalyst tubes are commonly manufactured from high strength, creep and corrosion resistant alloys. They are relatively thick walled and are usually produced by centrifugal casting. Their lives are limited by creep, driven by a combination...

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