The Process Safety Management rule (PSM), OSHA 1910.119, was implemented in the early 90’s, more than 20 years ago. Implementation was driven by a number of tragic accidents in the process industry. However, despite the long history of the rule and multiple preventable, catastrophic incidents, many companies still have not fully implemented PSM. Companies that […]
Gulf Coast Refinery Turnaround Becht Engineering mobilized Advisors to Louisiana to supplement a Client’s operations organization during a 45-day, fourth quarter 2015 turnaround. The planned outage included cleaning the pyro-fractionator coke fines, replacing the internals of a 5-stage gas compressor, cleaning, inspecting and making tie-ins for a flare recovery system, complete re-traying of an ethylene […]
It is normal for piping systems to exhibit steady pressure pulses. Most of the time these pulses are inconsequential; however, in a few cases they must be eliminated because they can affect the reliable operation of the system or they can cause a mechanical failure. Becht Engineering recently assisted a client in the evaluation of […]
Overview Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) units were first developed in the 1930s. Over the years this technology has evolved and it is one of the most important processes used in refineries. The FCC units are used to convert high boiling point, high molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils to gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products. […]
This article outlines the procedure to evaluate the fitness-for-service of corroded buried pipe, and explains what CC N-806 covers … and what it does not cover. What are the Damage Mechanisms in Metallic Buried Pipe? The inspection of a buried metallic pipe, after years of service, can reveal that the pipe has little if any […]
This article describes an integrated study of thermal-hydraulic and structural loading of bounding piping systems, to establish an operating envelope, screening criteria, and rules of good design practice to protect piping systems from damage caused by valve closure water hammer. Introduction In many cases of operation or flushing of piping system, it is necessary to […]
Integrity management of piping systems involves functional testing, inspection and maintenance of components which are identified as “safety critical”. Typically, these component types include control valves, isolation valves, pressure relief valves and instrumentation – but exclude check valves. However, recent incidents involving check valve failures have resulted in fatalities, equipment damage and toxic releases. These […]
Have you noticed, looking at the famous ASME B31.1 support spacing Table 121.5, that the spacing between pipe supports is roughly “size + 10”, in other words, the spacing between supports on an 1 inch instrument tubing would be “1 + 10” = 11 ft, while the spacing on a 6 inch line for example […]
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 2014 Edition of ASME B31.3, Process Piping. These changes are: Category M Fluid Service The definition was revised in the 2014 edition to provide better guidance on […]
Nonmetallic composite wrap repairs are wraps comprising two constituents: A fabric woven from a fiber such as graphite or glass A thermoset polymer such as a two-component mix epoxy resin. This material is also referred to as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP). These repairs can be liners wrapped inside, or jackets wrapped over a corroded pipe. There […]
