In this section of the site contributing authors submit interesting articles relating
to the various services, industries and research & development efforts of Becht.
Given the recent, significant increase in requests received from Clients for capital project and turnaround support, we recently created a Nomination Coordinator position within Advisor Resources. Nataly Thompson has been moved into that new role, and will serve as the primary point of contact with Advisors to discuss your interest and availability for new opportunities, […]
The Marine Well Containment Company is a non-profit venture formed by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Approximately 40 engineers from four of the world’s largest oil companies came together to design a rapid-response system to capture and contain up to 100,000 barrels per day of […]
PetroLogistics is a major producer of propylene and is the only independent dedicated propylene producer in the United States. PetroLogistics owns and operates the world’s largest propane dehydrogenation facility, based on production capacity, located in the vicinity of the Houston Ship Channel. Becht Engineering supplemented the Owner’s Team during an October 2013 turnaround, which was […]
So, you think you know what load case combinations to use for your ASME Section VIII, Division 2, Part 5 analysis to satisfy Protection Against? Common sense says to follow to Code rules in Table 5.3 – but do you fully understand what that means? And, what loads should you use to satisfy Protection […]
The OSHA Crane Rule, effective in 2010, clearly defines the requirements for crane inspections. The rule defines the frequency and minimum requirements for compliance. Crane inspections are really nothing new. We have developed our methods and procedures through years of experience. The question is: Are We Doing Enough? In my earlier years in the trades […]
Fired Heaters come in many types and configurations: catalytic reformers, crude heaters, visbreakers, vacuum heaters, coker heaters, etc; and many are prone to carburization damage (i.e. residual carbon diffusing into the tube material, causing damage or even failure). Many refineries today use delayed coking processes to upgrade their crude product. This process includes the use […]
Appendix P was written to introduce piping flexibility analysis rules that are more suitable for computer piping flexibility analysis, in contrast to the rules in the base Code which were written when piping analysis was done by hand calculations. Most of the elements of Appendix P have been, or are proposed to be, added to […]
Process vessels such as towers, drums and heat exchangers may be exposed to low temperatures as a part of normal operation or as the result of an upset condition. Carbon and low alloy steels typically used in process vessels undergo a transition from ductile to brittle behavior as temperature is reduced and are at increased […]
Backward stability for cranes has always been a serious consideration and often misunderstood or overlooked. The tendency is to carefully study the capacity charts to assure frontward stability when planning a lift. It is somewhat counter intuitive to worry about backward stability as all the lifting is being done over the front. In fact, there […]
Oil system cleaning or Oil Flush has humbled many Machinery Guys. What seems like a very simple task often turns out to be to the Achilles’ heel and often unpredicted and embarrassing critical path of the machinery overhaul. The purpose of this article is to outline improvements that we have implemented to the old-fashion “Flush […]
