NR 13 - PRESSURE VESSELS (REVIEW)

NOTIONS OF APPLIED PHYSICS

PRESSURE
Physics is the science that studies the phenomena that exist in nature, such as pressure, heat,
corrosion, among others. In this way, to establish a measurement parameter and studies we
have the physical quantities, which numerically express the occurrence of these phenomena.

P = Pressure

F = Normal Force to a surface

A = Area where the force is being applied

For most processes the manometer that measures the relative pressure meets the needs, for
more critical processes where a reaction should occur to an exact pressure are used
manometers capable of measuring both absolute and differential pressure, but are quite
unusual .

Absolute Pressure = Atmospheric Pressure

Manometric Pressure = Relative, differential.

HEAT TRANSFER
"Heat is thermal energy in transit due to a temperature gradient". Heat is the transfer of
energy from one system to another, or over the same system and will be in transit whenever
there is a temperature difference.

Heat can be transmitted in 3 different ways: Conduction, Convection and Radiation.

Conduction is the transmission of heat from one solid to another, or along the same solid.
Convection is the transmission of heat from a fluid to a solid, or between 2 or more fluids in
contact. Radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves and is the only form
of heat transfer capable of traversing the vacuum.

THERMODYNAMICS
Thermodynamics is the science that studies the relationship between heat, temperature and
pressure in one or more systems. The word term comes from the Greek (thermos) and means
"hot", "ardent" therefore means heat. The dynamic word, which also comes from the Greek
(dunamokós) refers to the movement. In this way, thermodynamics is the science that studies
the interactions and movement of thermal energy and is governed by two main laws.

1st Law of Thermodynamics: "Principle of Energy Conservation" The energy put into a system
must remain in it.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics: "The entropy quantity of any single system tends to increase
over time until it reaches a maximum value."

To understand the concepts brought about by the first and second laws of thermodynamics it
is necessary to know some basic principles.

Enthalpy = the maximum energy of a system that can be extracted in the form of thermal
energy.

Entropy = determines the degree of irreversibility of a system.

Exergy = useful energy.

FLUID MECHANICS
The mechanics of fluids are divided into two different sciences: Hydrostatics and
Hydrodynamics.

Hydrostatics is the science that studies the behavior of fluids when static.

Hydrodynamics is the science that studies the behavior of moving fluids

 NOTIONS OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY

DENSITY
Density, by definition is the relationship between the volume and the specific mass of each
fluid. Density determines how fluids and bodies interact with each other. Fluids and
lowerdensity bodies tend to move upward, while fluids with higher density tend to move
naturally downward. The natural movement of these fluids is closely related to the concept of
convection

SOLUBILITY
The concept of solubility can be defined as the maximum amount that a substance (we call a
solute) can dissolve in a solvent.

Solubility is related to the polarity of the solvent and polarity, in turn, is related to the
electronegativity of an element or molecule.

DIFFUSION OF GASES AND VAPORS

Diffusion is the transport phenomenon characterized by a natural movement of

the gases through other means.

The diffusivity, diffusion capacity, can be increased or decreased with the action
of external forces.

CHARACTERIZATION OF ACID AND BASE (ALKALIS) - DEFINITION OF pH

BASIC FOUNDATIONS ON CORROSION
Corrosion in general terms is the oxidation of a substance. And it occurs naturally. Oxidation,
also called corrosion, is the natural process, contrary to steelmaking, where oxygen forms
bonds with the iron present in the material, since it has greater affinity with it, and causes
changes in the behavior of the steels, making them more fragile and reducing their mechanical
resistance.
Corrosion can occur in various ways when exposing the material to media containing moisture,
oxygen, and hydrogen.

Corrosion can be described as to the type (mechanism) and the shape (geometry) of the
material, as it takes place over time, it may be more or less deep and may not always be visible
to the naked eye.

MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT
There are 3 types of Maintenance: corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance
and predictive maintenance.

Corrective Maintenance is maintenance that performs an intervention on the

equipment after a failure.

Preventive Maintenance is maintenance that performs an intervention on the

equipment before a failure occurs, based on the estimated lifetime calculations of a
component or material.

Predictive Maintenance is the maintenance that performs an intervention in the

equipment in a punctual way, based on data and inspections collected in the field. This
is the maintenance we call "just-in-time", which means "just in time" and follows a
concept of 'ZERO BREAK', created from the 70's.

EQUIPMENT INSPECTION
Inspections performed by qualified professionals are comprised of Exams and Tests that
ensure that the prospect's useful life of the project date is maintained and that Maintenance
and Operation are within the guidelines proposed by the equipment manufacturer.

According to NR-13, each pressure vessel must be inspected during its manufacturing phase
before being put into operation at its final installation site periodically to ensure that it is in
satisfactory operating condition and extraordinary when undergoing maintenance with
welding or boring or for any type of intervention that may affect its useful life.

At the end of the first steps the Certified Professional must proceed with the mandatory
Hydrostatic Test.

The safety inspection aims to ensure the continuity, integrity and structural and operational
safety of equipment and its components. The leakproofness test is a type of inspection that
must be carried out in industrial installations. The test consists of:
Fill the equipment or piping with water or gas, checking the pressure and identifying possible
leaks in the joints and connections.

The Hydrostatic Test should follow the following recommendations:

A. Be made exclusively with water at room temperature, never lower than 20 °C.

B. The test pressure should be raised gradually by at least 1.5 times the PMTA (PG-99.1 ASME I
- Ed. 2007).

C. The temperature of the tested material must not exceed 50 ° C.

During the first hydrostatic, manufacturing test, no visual leak testing is required (PG-99.1), the
purpose of this test is to relieve stresses on material and welds.

All tests and inspections required during the manufacturing process must be documented and
are the responsibility of the manufacturer. If passed in all tests the boiler will continue to its
final location of installation.

The log book of safety records should be of numbered pages or computerized system that
does not allow, in any way, its violation. Examples of important notes that the book should
contain are:

A. Inspections (Initial, Periodic and Extraordinary)

B. Occurrence of Incidents related to or related to the Equipment in question.

C. Maintenance (whether welding or boring or not)

MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE WORKING PRESSURE
It is the highest pressure value compatible with the design code, the resistance of the
materials used, the dimensions of the equipment and its operational parameters.

INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL DEVICES

Instrumentation is the field of engineering that studies the instruments and their scientific
principles, used to measure, indicate, transfer and / or continuously or discretely control the
behavior of process control variables in the industry, such as pressure, flow, temperature ,
level, density

PRESSURE INDICATORS
The most representative device for pressure indication is the Bourdon Gauge. The Bourdon
Gauge is composed of a "C" tube connected to a small gear system in which the hand is
attached.

Some safety instruments and devices are essential to ensure efficiency as well as safety in a
process unit.

SAFETY DEVICES
The capacity of the safety valve must be such that it can eliminate all the steam generated by
the boiler and must be manufactured by means of spring loaded.

SAFETY VALVE PRESSURE GAUGE

AUXILIARY DEVICES
Valves are devices used to establish, control and interrupt the passage of fluid in pipes. Within
this global concept, valves can have specific functions and characteristics that allow
classification according to their use. Among the alternatives below, check the one that
presents valves with the same functions within a process
PRESSURE VESSELS
NR 13 establishes minimum requirements for the management of the structural integrity of
steam boilers, pressure vessels, their interconnection pipes and metal storage tanks.

A Pressure vessels is one that operates with class A, B, C and D fluids and whose product
P.V. ˃ 8 (P in kPa and V in m³).

For the purposes of this NR, pressure vessels are classified into categories according to the
fluid class and risk potential
a) Fluids contained in the pressure vessels are classified as described below:
Class A:
- flammable fluids;
- fluids combustible at a temperature greater than or equal to 200 ºC (two hundred degrees
Celsius);
- toxic fluids with a tolerance limit equal to or less than 20 (twenty) parts per million (ppm);
- hydrogen;
- acetylene.
Class B:
- fluids combustible at a temperature lower than 200ºC (two degrees Celsius );
- toxic fluids with a tolerance limit greater than 20 (twenty) parts per million (ppm);
Class C:
- steam, simple asphyxiating gases, or compressed air.
Class D:
- other fluid not classified above.

b) When it involves a mixture, the fluid posing the greater risk to the workers and facilities,
considering its toxicity, flammability and concentration, must be considered for purposes of
classification.
c) Pressure vessels are classified into potential risk groups based on the P.V. product, where P
is the maximum operating pressure in MPa and V its volume in m3 , as follows:
Group 1 - P.V ≥ 100
Group 2 - P.V < 100 and P.V ≥ 30
Group 3 - P.V < 30 and P.V ≥ 2.5
Group 4 - P.V < 2.5 and P.V ≥ 1
Group 5 - P.V < 1
d) Pressure vessels operating in a vacuum shall be classified into the following categories: -
category I: for flammable or combustible fluids; - category V: for other fluids.
PROCESS EQUIPMENTS
HEAT EXCHANGER
A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between two or more fluids. Heat
exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a
solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contact. They are widely used in space
heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power stations, chemical plants, petrochemical
plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas processing, and sewage treatment.

The heat exchanger is an equipment used to perform the process of thermal exchange
between two fluids (between gases, between liquids, or between both) at different
temperatures. We can use them for heating and cooling rooms, air conditioning, energy
production, heat recovery and the chemical process

Cooler - Cools a liquid or gas through water, air or brine

Refrigerator - Cools a process fluid by evaporating a refrigerant.

Condenser - Removes heat from a vapor until its partial or total condensation, and can even
sub-cool a condensed liquid.

Heater - It heats the process fluid, using, in general, water vapor or thermal fluid.

Vaporizer - It gives heat to the process fluid, vaporizing it totally or partially through natural or
forced circulation.

Evaporator - Promotes concentration of a solution by evaporating the liquid, with a lower

boiling point.

DISTILLATION TOWER

In this equipment, the oil enters vaporized laterally at the bottom, goes up the column passing
through the trays and condenses into product within the specific temperature range of each
tray. The non-condensed steam continues to rise bubbling up in the trays filled with
condensed product and converting into new products until the gas phase comes out at the
top. The liquid, in turn, after the formation of the level, flows through lateral or central
spillways, thus forming two currents, one descending from liquid and the other rising from
steam and gases.

PUMPS
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical
action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be
classified into three major groups according to the method they use to move the fluid: direct
lift, displacement, and gravity pumps.
Pumps are generating machines whose purpose is to carry out the displacement of a liquid by
flow. As a generating machine, it transforms the mechanical work it receives for its operation
into energy, which is communicated to the liquid in the form of pressure and kinetic energy.
The way in which the work is transformed into hydraulic energy and the resource to yield it to
the liquid, increasing its pressure and / or speed, allows the pumps to be classified into two
large groups

Mechanical pumps may be submerged in the fluid they are pumping or be placed external to
the fluid.
Pumps can be classified by their method of displacement into positive-displacement
pumps, impulse pumps, velocity pumps, gravity pumps, steam pumps and valveless pumps.
There are three basic types of pumps: positive-displacement, centrifugal and axial-flow pumps.
In centrifugal pumps the direction of flow of the fluid changes by ninety degrees as it flows
over impeller, while in axial flow pumps the direction of flow is unchanged.

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

FLOWCHART
A process flow diagram (PFD) is a diagram commonly used in chemical and process
engineering to indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment. The PFD
displays the relationship between major equipment of a plant facility and does not show
minor details such as piping details and designations. Another commonly used term for a
PFD is a FLOWCHART.
HAZARDS AREAS
Areas with possible fire or explosion risks due to explosive atmospheres and/or mixtures - are
called hazardous (or classified) locations or areas. These areas are in North America (United
States and Canada) historically classified with the Class/Division system. In Europe and the rest
of the world - but also more and more in North America - the Zone system is used.

The hazardous area classification system determines required protection techniques and
methods for electrical installations in the location.

Class/Division System
The Class/Division/Group system is based on Article 500 of the National Electrical Code (NEC)
where

• Classes - defines the general nature of the hazardous material in the surrounding
atmosphere
• Divisions - defines the probability of hazardous material being present the
surrounding atmosphere
• Groups - defines the type of the hazardous material in the surrounding atmosphere
BOILING LIQUID EXPANDING VAPOR EXPLOSION
A BLEVE is a BOILING LIQUID EXPANDING VAPOR EXPLOSION, which occurs when the
pressurized liquid inside a vessel, such as a propane tank, reaches temperatures higher than
that liquid's boiling point. Then, the explosion can stress the heated vessel and cause it to
rupture, resulting in an explosion of the vapor.

It is a physical phenomenon, resulting from the sudden release of a liquid kept at a

temperature above its boiling point at atmospheric pressure (superheated liquid). The sudden
decrease in pressure results in the violent vaporization of a fraction of the liquid and the
formation of a cloud of vapor and droplets that can exceed 200 times the initial volume. In
other words, it is the phenomenon of the explosion of a tank with projection of fragments and
adiabatic expansion.

IMPLOSION (MECHANICAL PROCESS)

Implosion is a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing (or being squeezed in) on
themselves. The opposite of explosion (which expands the volume), implosion reduces the
volume occupied and concentrates matter and energy. True implosion usually involves a
difference between internal (lower) and external (higher) pressure, or inward and outward
forces, that is so large that the structure collapses inward into itself, or into the space it
occupied if it is not a completely solid object Examples of implosion include a submarine being
crushed from the outside by the hydrostatic pressure of the surrounding water, and the
collapse of a massive star under its own gravitational pressure.

IMPLOSION EXPLOSION