Oil & Gas Examples

Site Assessment of Methanol Plant

Static, Rotating & Electrical assets assessed
Methodology
– Reviewed the design, plant processes & inspection records
– Audited current inspection methods & procedures
– Trend & discuss inspection and operating history
– Rate the health & consequence of failure
Benefits of Assessment
– Justification for condition based maintenance
– Targeting of future inspection frequency, methods & scope
– Avoids unplanned downtime from unexpected damage
– Provides basis for asset life extension
– Inputs in process safety management & Business planning
Pro-active method for ensuring plant safety
Gas-Fired Boilers Assessment
Pressure Parts Extension for +5 & +10 Years
Objective
– Identify threats to life extension (and mitigations)
– Propose next outage scope to help verify analysis
Work scope included:
– Review design, operating, inspection data to identify likely
damage mechanisms, together with RINA’s extensive
experience
– Determine future thicknesses using trending analysis and
compare with retirement thickness
– Creep life assessments
Future operation
– Assessment of remaining life & Required Actions
Critical Electrical Assets Assessment
Inputs
– Historic inspection and maintenance records
– Field measurements
– Plans for future operation
Methodology
– Fitness for service & Remaining Life
– Health indices providing a holistic view of the plant
– Guidance affecting integrity, maintenance and procurement
departments
– Through-life support
Benefits delivered
– Health Indices and Passports to optimise future availability
– Ensuring no surprises for future reliability
– Maximising profitability giving options for continued use
Vessels in Sour Service Assessment
Risk Ranking Offshore process equipment
Methodology
– Risk ranking of more than 330 assets in sour service
– Ranked using NACE and API guidelines
– Bayesian Belief Analysis Adopted
– Inspection and fitness for service of 38 highest risk units
Benefits
– Enhanced understanding of asset condition and remaining
life
– Guidance for future inspection, repair and replacement
LPG Spheres Fitness-For-Service
Evaluation of defects found, cause & remaining life
Damage mechanisms evaluated
– H2S Cracking identified
– Thermo-mechanical Fatigue
Local grinding to remove defects
– Design-by-analysis & fatigue calculations
– Large shallow areas acceptable by FFS
Critical crack sizes estimated considering
– Solar, Gas and hydrostatic pressures, Residual stresses
– Lower bound ex-service material properties
Future operation
– Removal of sulphur from process & monitoring
– Complete material testing to validate assessment
– Replace vessels in the medium term
Material Investigation & Testing
Metallurgical & Material Assessment of Coke
Drum Cracking

Methodology
– Assessment of Cracking Morphology
– Assessment of corrosion along edges of
cracking
– Optical and SEM evaluation
– Material testing to confirm impact properties
– Approximate correlation to Fracture Toughness

Confirmation of Ex-Service properties

Coke Drum Life Assessment
Detailed Stress Analysis and Defect Analysis
Methodology
– FEA of Uniform & Deformed Coke Drums
– Transient Thermal Stress Analysis
– Aligned with thermocouple measurements
– Defect Assessment Assuming Various Weld States
• Original PWHT, Repair Weld no PWHT, Temper bead
– Critical defect sizes and fatigue crack growth
• Postulated and inspected defect sizes
• Results provided in chart form

Benefits
– Support determining course of action (repair/monitoring)
during outage
Environmental Cracking Assessment
Cracking identified during inspection
Objective
– Assess continued use prior to replacement vessel
Methodology
– Finite element analysis used to confirm local stresses
(head to vessel and nozzle locations)
– Residual stresses estimated from API 579 & BS 7910
– Cracking not found acceptable
Remediation
– Post weld heat treat to lower residual stresses
– Internally coat to prevent further damage
– Fatigue assessment completed
Enabled the operator to use damaged vessel prior to
replacement being installed
Thick Wall Ammonia Reactor
Evaluation of defects found, cause & remaining life
Damage mechanisms evaluated
– Temper Embrittlement, Nitriding, Thermo-mechanical Fatigue
Assess increasing internal radius full circumferential
– Removes all cracking and notches
– Stresses reduced close to original defect free vessel
– Access difficult to complete in practice
Assess local grinding to remove defects
– Notch base radius shown more critical than the depth
– Fatigue life still reduced from original design
Remediation to reduce thermal driving forces
– Installation of internal thermal liner
– Reduced crack driving force & improved fatigue life
– Consider critical defect if thermal liner failed
Probabilistic Life Assessment
Probabilistic Modelling of Radiant Tubes
– Bespoke approach for
• Furnace Tubes
• Steam Reformers

Methodology
– Review of operating data since
commissioning
– Inspection history
– Modelling of damage mechanisms
Benefits
– Refined prediction of remaining life, less
conservative than deterministic assessment
– Aids
• Inspection planning and operating optimisation
• Reduction in CAPEX
Outlet Manifold Failure Investigation
Failure Analysis & Root Cause Analysis
Background
– High Temperature Outlet System Failure
– Failed after 2 Years of Operation
Methodology
– Site Inspection & Document Review
– Independent Stress Analysis
– Piping Support Failures
– Root Cause Analysis
Benefits
– Independent Expert Witness Report
– Support for Insurance Claim
Reformer Outlet Failure Analysis
On-Site Field Metallography Detects Cracking (RINA)
Main causes of the cracking
– Hanger settings contributed to the stress relief
damage
– Cracking allowed the formation of more brittle
phases, leading to further cracking

Lessons Learnt
– Root cause analysis of stress relief damage should
have been completed
– Dye preventive surface crack detection had poor
surface preparation and showed no surface cracking
Fire Damage Evaluation
Evaluation of severity of damage to nearby furnace
Background
– Chemical plant had suffered a failure in a fired heater
– Two parallel units
Scope of inspection
– Visual, Wall thickness, Internal coking
– Metallography & Hardness
– Operational Temperature / Pressure review
Benefits
– One unit confirmed as requiring complete
replacement
– One unit suitable for minor repairs and return to
service
– Enabled partial operation of the site
Reciprocating Gas Compressor
Investigation into repeat failures of a reciprocating
compressor
The areas for investigation were
• Manufacture
• Assembly
• Design
• Operation

Root cause analysis Identified issues including

• Design of the piping
• Manufacturing quality
• Start up procedures

Recommended operational changes that would result

in safe operation with minimal rebuild time.
Gas Turbine Life Extension
Life extension of North Sea Power Turbine
Inputs
– Inspection, operation and maintenance records
– Access to spare rotor and blade design details
Methodology
– Reverse engineering of 2 discs and blades
– CFD and FEA for thermal and mechanical loads
– Verification of design life at full design speed
– Increased life at reduced operational speeds
Benefits delivered
– Demonstration of safe operation beyond original
design life for creep and fatigue
– Maximising profitability of Aged Asset
Steam Diaphragm Repair Evaluation
Through life effect of manufacturers repair
welds to the HP, IP and LP aerofoils
Background
– Short, medium and long term issues evaluated i
• Creep, Distortion, Low cycle fatigue
• Crack growth, Erosion, Corrosion

Assessment
– Evaluation of residual weld stress
– Transient thermal fatigue analysis
– Creep assessment
– Fracture mechanics assessment of tolerable
defect sizes
Benefits delivered
– Risk assessment for inspection frequency
– Advice on the number of spare sets to stock
RCA of ID Fan Dorsal Fin Failure
Detailed analysis to prevent future failures
Background
– Following a number of failures and previous
redesign attempt, evaluate the root cause
Assessment
– Baseline simulation to verify against
manufacture performance data
– Demonstration of the cause of high cycle fatigue
failures by transient CFD and harmonic FEA
simulations
Benefits delivered
– Critical opening angles of the fan operation
highlighted
– Evaluation of revised redesigns
– Understanding and evidence to provide in-
service reliability of a new modified design
Power Transformer Failure
Failure Analysis & Root Cause Analysis
Background
– Both main and backup 33kV transformers failed in a
matter of seconds
– Prolonged and unplanned site outage
– Units were 20 years old
Failure Analysis
– Failure was caused by arcing of the tap changer
– Root cause was a poor maintenance regime
– Proactive maintenance review would have prevented
the failure
Reformer Radiant Tube Failures (1)
Reformer Radiant Tube Failure (2)
Other Reformer Issues
Possible lower creep rupture properties of
outlet system tube material
• Ex-service (less than 2 years) shown
lower than expected creep rupture
properties on short term testing.
• Further longer term testing required to
confirm
Cracking of 347H inlet branch piping
• Cracking experienced within 2 years of
operation
• Possible thermal fatigue issues
associated with transient conditions
• Recommendations for further
assessment of transients and local
conditions
• Possible external lagging issue
Power Sector

Project Examples
Boiler Inspection Prioritisation
Assessments completed for cyclic operation of a power
boiler
– Conservative estimate of stress based on original
boiler design code
– Evaluation of critical damage mechanisms to assess
– In-house spreadsheets & MathCAD worksheets used
for assessment
Initial fatigue lives estimated for prioritisation of
detailed assessment and inspection
Project Outputs
– Financial planning
– Targeting of critical components
• Considering FAC, Fatigue, Corrosion, Erosion
– Safety case justification to operator and regulator
Inspection & review of HRSGs
Visual & Operational Health Check of HRSGs
On site visual examination
– Gas side, Crawl spaces, Steam Drum internals
• Off line corrosion, fouling, oxide condition, pitting,
casing, alignment
– Recommendations for future inspection
Operational Reviews
– Water Chemistry
– DCS & Thermocouple data
Benefits
– Early indications of issues highlighted
– Optimisation of process
– Prioritising actions
– Future inspection optimised
Rapid Response Inspection & FFS
Assessment of Crack Life Flaw in HP Downcomer
Services Performed
– Immediate mobilisation for field replication
– On-site metallurgical characterisation of defects
– Assessment of critical defect size & potential fatigue
crack growth
Assessment Included
– Identification of Damage Mode (From metallography)
– Confirmation of Material grade (Metallography &
Hardness)
– Design, Manufacture & Process Operation to date
– Abnormal loads (Vibration, Environmental, System loads)
Benefit to the client
– Technical safety case for 12 months operation provided
Rotor Life Assessment

Rotor at end of nominal design life in key areas

– Including disc post
Reverse engineer: on-site measurements plus white light
scans of some components
Thermodynamic performance model matched to available
data
Conjugate heat transfer analysis for the model
Review of operating data
Mechanical analysis for creep and fatigue damage Temperature disc post

NDE of the fixings

Gas Turbine Compressor Failure
On site inspection
Witnessing of OEM metallurgical examination
Separate laboratory based metallurgical
examination of failed components
– Identified additional factors
Review of operation and maintenance history
of the unit
Detailed review of RCA with OEM
Implications for other units on site
– Risks for continued operation
– Modification requirements
Provided independent expert opinion on the
cause of failure for the operator
HV plant survey
Extensive nuclear site
Being decommissioned over 25 year period
Annual surveys of site HV distribution system
– Visual examination
– Transient earth voltage measurements
– Partial discharge (PD) monitoring
– Ultrasonic PD detection
• For deeper PD sites in the cable
– Mapping of PD on power cables
Reporting on HV plant condition with
recommendations
Assessment of Rapid Start-Up
Confirm expected damage mechanisms
Initial fatigue lives estimated for all pressure parts
– Code based fatigue calculations
Detailed Assessment of critical components
– 3D finite element models of critical sections
– Update fatigue live based on detailed assessment
Outcome of the analysis
Project output
– Supported operator’s case for rapid start-up
operation
– Satisfied requirements for insurer & operational
safety
– Enabled targeted inspection and frequency
Electrical Asset Surveys

Assessment of multiple transformers,

generators and motors for an operator
 Site visits with interviews and data
reviews
 ~ 50 sites
 Risk review combining historical
data, maintenance approach and
inspection data
 Health indices
 Criticality Assessment
 Recommendations for future
maintenance
Transformer
Cast resin transformer
– In nacelle of offshore wind turbines
Repeated failures
Examination of transformers
– Dry band arcing
– Thermal degradation
– HV winding failures
FE Analysis for electrical stresses
– Confirmed design not adequate for offshore
conditions
Replacement procurement support
– Design specification preparation
– Witnessing of FATs
Assessment of Steam Piping
Site-wide & focused piping assessments
Risk based approach adopted for site-wide studies
– Expected damage mechanisms assessed
– Modifications to line, hangars & process conditions
– Review of historical inspection & issues
– Recommendations for future inspection
Focused analysis for lifing of critical sections
– Detailed stress analysis & damage prediction
Experience of damage mechanisms evaluated include
– Creep, fatigue, Flow accelerated corrosion, Corrosion
under insulation, environmental, acidic attack
Life Extension of GT Blades
Can these blades run reliably for another 24,000h?
– May already be at or beyond design life
Approach: Destructive examination
– Assess microstructural degradation
– Assess surfaces and coatings
– Assess extent of cracking
– Check mechanical properties
– Consider effect of refurbishment
May combine this with results of component modelling
– stresses – temperatures
Outcome
– Usually clear recommendations on further use or
replacement
– Successfully applied to >300 blade sets
Cleeve Road, Leatherhead,
Surrey KT22 7SA. UK
T. +44 1372 367350
info@rina.org | www.rina.org