API 579-1/ASME FFS-1: Fitness-for-Service (FFS) of Process Plant Equipment, Pressure Vessels, Piping and Storage Facilities Course

Course Overview:

The purpose of the course on Fitness-for-Service (FFS) Evaluations is to investigate the capability, fitness, and life expectancy of pressure vessels, tanks, piping systems, and pipelines in existence.

The objective is to enable the students to use API 579 and ASME codes to analyze embedded flaws such as corrosion, fractures, mechanical damages and determine whether a cost-effective repair or replacement is reasonable. The course also discusses the effectiveness of various damage mechanisms such as brittle fracture, metal loss, pitting, fatigue, and fire, starting from the level of understanding the mechanisms of defects (Levels 1-3) in a structured approach. 

It also covers the recent trends in defect assessment technologies and physical measures for the evaluation of equipment in petroleum, petrochemical and power industries. 

The course is most suited to the needs of engineers, supervisors, and inspectors in charge of the pressure equipment’s safety during service, and provides case studies with examples of real situations.

Course Objectives:

• Latest techniques to determine the fitness-for-service of operating tanks, vessels, piping systems, and pipelines; and make cost-effective run-repair-replace decisions based on the principles of API recommended practice 579 "Fitness-for-Service"
• A balanced approach between the fundamental technical principles of structural integrity, stress and fracture analysis, and their practical application to field conditions
• Provides the participants with the tools necessary to recognize and assess defects in pressure vessels, storage tanks, and piping
• Presents and applies the fundamentals rules of the ASME code to operating equipment and systems
• Introduces the participants to the practical application of the ASME and API rules for the structural integrity of static equipment and pipelines, and their use to assess the remaining life
• Applies API/ASME 579 "Fitness-for-Service" through practical examples to analyze degraded conditions and make a cost-effective repair or use-as-is decisions
• Applies the step-by-step 3-level approach of API/ASME 579 to evaluate inspection results and recognize potential failure modes
• The technical basis for reliability-based (risk-based) evaluation of remaining life
• Latest developments in defect assessment techniques, starting with simple rules (level 1) and progressing to the more comprehensive evaluation techniques (level 3)
• Participants will be able to evaluate the structural integrity of corroded or damaged equipment and assess their remaining life. Degradation mechanisms include: brittle fracture, general metal loss, local wall thinning, pitting, blisters and laminations, mechanical defects (dents, gouges, misalignment, and distortion), crack-like flaws (stress corrosion cracking, weld flaws, crack-like defects), fatigue, and fire damage  

Who Should Attend?

This training program is intended for technical professionals, supervisors, and managers responsible for ensuring the integrity and cost-effective operation of in-service pressure equipment, storage tanks, piping and pipelines throughout their life cycle including design, operation, and maintenance in the petroleum, petrochemical, process and power industries:

• Plant engineers and designers, corrosion and materials engineers, project engineers
• Reliability and integrity supervisors and engineers including safeguarding/MOC engineers
• Inspection engineers and inspectors responsible for monitoring and assessing the condition of pressure equipment and piping systems
• Maintenance and operations supervisors and engineers responsible for shutdown planning and implementation, maintenance and repairs/alterations of pressure vessels, heat exchangers, storage tanks, piping, and pipelines

Course Outlines:

 Foundations of Fitness-For-Service Assessment

• Introduction
• Overview of API codes and standards
• Overview of ASME codes and standards with historical background
• Overview of Mechanical Integrity of Pressure Vessels & Piping System
• Fitness For Service
• Overview of API 579 contents, objectives and applications
• How to apply API 579 for cost-effective run-or-repair decisions
• Fitness-for-Service Assessment procedure
• An overview of what is new in the latest release
• List of Parts and Annexes and examples of major Parts
• - Introduction
•  - Fitness-For-Service Engineering Assessment Procedure
•  Structure and Contents of the FFS Standard

Background of Stress Calculations for FSS Assessment

• ANNEX A - Thickness, MAWP & Stress Equations for a FFS Assessment
• Calculation of tmin, MAWP (MFH) & Membrane Stress
• Pressure Vessel & Boiler Components: Shells, Heads, Nozzles
• Piping components & Boiler Tubes
• Storage Tanks
• ANNEX G - Damage Mechanisms
• Deterioration and Failure Modes
• Pre-Service and In-Service Deficiencies
• PT, VT, MT, ET, UT, RT
• Overview of Brittle Fracture Mechanism
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• NDE (NDT) Techniques
•  - Assessment of Existing Equipment for Brittle Fracture

Metal Loss, Corrosion, Pitting and Blisters

•  - Assessment of General Metal Loss
• Overview of Corrosion Mechanisms
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Worked example
•  - Assessment of Local Metal Loss
• Overview of Local Metal Loss Mechanisms
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Worked example
• Overview of Pitting Corrosion Mechanisms
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Worked example
• Overview of Hydrogen Damage
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
•  - Assessment of Pitting Corrosion
•  - Hydrogen Blisters, HIC & SOHIC

Local Damage, Cracks, Creep

•  - Weld Misalignment & Shell Distortions
• Overview of Weld Misalignment & Shell Distortions
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Worked example
•  - Assessment of Crack-Like Flaws
• Overview of Fracture Mechanics
• Elements of RSTRENG
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation  
• Worked example
• Overview of Creep Damage Mechanisms
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Worked example
•  - Assessment of Components Operating in the Creep Range

Fire and Mechanical Damage

•  - Assessment of Fire Damage
• Overview of Fire Damage
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Case study – Example of fire damage assessment
•  - Assessment of Dents, Gouges, and Dent-Gouge Combinations
• Overview of Mechanical Damage
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Overview of Laminations and their Role
• Data Requirements
• Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria (Levels 1-3)
• Remaining Life Assessment and Remediation
• Various software packages considered for FFS
• - Assessment of Laminations
• Software review