Evaluation of Corroded Pipe in Accordance with ASME B&PV Code Section XI – A Comparison of the Three Code Cases

The evaluation of wall thinning corrosion in steel pipes is addressed in three ASME XI code cases: N-513, N-597, and N-806. I have no ambition here other than to summarize in a table the differences between these three code cases. A brief commentary follows the table. The brief commentary… Line A – While these are […]

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ASME III Appendix F – A Valuable Guide to the Operability Assessment of Piping Systems

The NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0326 refers to ASME III Appendix F as an acceptable method for the evaluation of “a degradation or nonconformance associated with piping or pipe supports …”. Appendix F provides five alternative methods for the qualification of pressure equipment, piping, and their supports. They are: (1) elastic analysis, (2) plastic analysis, (3) limit collapse analysis, […]

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Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping in Nuclear Power Plants- Navigating ASME XI Repairs with PCC-2 as a Roadmap

Download/View as PDF Summary – This article assists engineers in selecting ASME XI options for the repair of ASME III nuclear components. In summary, the repair options in ASME XI are dispersed throughout Section XI and Code Cases, while, in contrast, the ASME PCC-2 repair standard (for non-safety related components) lists repair options in a […]

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Piping Settlement Screening Tool

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 […]

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Importance of Codes and Standards for Process Safety

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 […]

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Equipment Nozzle Loads

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: […]

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Becht Technology Review – Unusual Business Opportunities

The process team at Becht Engineering brings decades of experience from serving in the R&D of major corporations and also from representing a wide variety of Becht Engineering clients.  We have observed and evaluated new technology from both sides of the fence…as employees or for large corporations who do R&D internally to outpace their competition, […]

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ASME B31.3 – Substantive Changes in the 2016 Edition

In addition to the many clarifications, updated references to codes and standards, updates to basic allowable stresses, and added listed materials, there are several substantive changes to the 2016 Edition of ASME B31.3, Process Piping, which is scheduled to be issued on January 4, 2017. These changes are: Severe Cyclic Conditions The definition for severe […]

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Reduced Toughness Properties of Some Modern Carbon Steels Create Brittle Fracture Risk

Changes in steelmaking practice are reported to be causing some carbon steel piping components that are assumed by ASME Codes to behave in a ductile manner at ambient temperatures, to behave instead in a brittle manner.  Barry Messer from Fluor made a presentation on this subject at the Spring 2016 meeting of the ASME B31.3, […]

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Introduction to LOCA Blowdown Loads on Reactor Internals and Fluid-Structure Interaction

Design of a Nuclear Power Plant for a LOCA Nuclear power plants are designed with the capability to safely shut-down following a number of hypothetical accident scenarios. One of those accidents is the rupture of a pipe in the reactor coolant system (RCS). Such a rupture would result in a loss of coolant accident (LOCA), […]

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