In this section of the site contributing authors submit interesting articles relating
to the various services, industries and research & development efforts of Becht.
The evaluation of the effects of surcharge loads on buried pipes can be addressed using the Iowa formula. This formula, over 100 years old, matches the results of state-of-the-art finite element analysis with pipe-soil interaction. In 1913, Iowa State University professors Marston and Anderson published the results of their experimental work on the resistance of […]
The American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) Board of Directors Nov, 3, 2016 elected J. Robert Sims, 2014-2015 ASME President and Eminent Fellow at Becht Engineering Co., Inc., to the AAES Board of Directors for a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2017. The AAES is a multidisciplinary organization of engineering societies dedicated to advancing the knowledge, […]
Settlement of a pipe support foundation is usually not a big deal to assess. A local piping flexibility model will reveal if the settled support keeps the pipe bending stresses within the allowable codes and, if the bending stresses are unacceptable, modifying the support and monitor periodically for further settlement is normally a quite manageable […]
The safe operation, maintenance and reliability of roofs in large tanks, does require special considerations in their design, construction and installation practices. Over the past 60 plus years, thousands of tanks with Fixed Roofs with internal Covers, and Floating Roofs, have been used to store Crude Oil and Middle Distillates. Refiners derived significant advantage through […]
Turnarounds (TA) in refining units are executed periodically, on a planned basis, to meet multiple objectives, such as regulatory compliance, process reliability improvement, and equipment inspection and/or repairs. In a competitive business environment, managing TA events in a cost effective manner is a well-recognized challenge. Key Step – Planning Development of a comprehensive Work Scope for […]
Many of the tourist spots around the world have panhandlers. Some of the more creative ones stand on street corners advertising that they will tell you where you got your shoes, for a dollar. Of course it turns out that “you got your shoes” at the corner of Bourbon and St. Peters – or wherever […]
Compliance with the Process Safety Management rule, OSHA 1910.119, is a requirement for plants processing certain highly hazardous materials exceeding threshold quantities. The rule requires the owner to demonstrate all equipment has been purchased and installed in accordance with recognized industry standards. Maintenance practices must also be according to Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering […]
Before we tackle environmentally-assisted fatigue (EAF), what is fatigue? In ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Section III Division 1, Subsection NB (in short, ASME III NB) fatigue refers to the damage caused by systems and components as a result of cyclic loads. The qualification of the primary coolant system of light water reactors (ASME III […]
by Greg Hollinger and George Antaki One of the qualification requirements for a piping system is to keep the loads imparted by the piping on equipment nozzles within certain allowable limits. These loads consist of sets of three forces and three moments, for the various load combinations. There are basically two types of nozzle load limits: […]
Becht Nuclear Services recently applied ANSYS® multi-surface, with fluid-structure interaction (FSI) capabilities to evaluate the effects of seismic loading on vessel internals that are immersed in the fluid. Before proceeding with the analysis of the actual vessel, the FSI capabilities were benchmarked to an analytical solution of a simpler liquid-filled flexible tank under seismic loading. […]
