API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Fitness for Service -

Post-construction Code for Pressure Equipment with Flaws and Corrosion Damage.

David C. Bennett, MS FTAPPI, Sr. Consultant
Nathan Mixon, EIT, FFS Specialist
Corrosion Probe, Inc., Centerbrook, CT 06409

Abstract

Modern metal pressure equipment is designed and constructed according to ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel code and
ASME Piping codes to obtain safe operation through predictable material properties, specified stress limits and
fabrication quality requirements. After an authorized inspector stamps completed equipment to signify it conforms
to the code rules and has passed a final pressure test, the equipment is no longer covered by ASME B&PV codes.
Instead, because equipment is subject to corrosion and other damage over time, N. American and European authorities
have recently published standards prescribing standard methods for assessing the pressurized components fitness for
continued service (FFS) precisely because compliance with design or new-construction codes often is not practical or
economical.

The owner uses the standardized FFS assessment methods to determine if the damage will lead to failure however
that is defined, during the equipments projected service campaign in the service conditions. The stipulated FFS
assessment methodology, entailing recognized engineering methods that can be independently validated, is codified in
API 579-1/ASME FFS-1. This paper describes the fundamental intent and organization of this FFS post-construction
code, using the example of assessing crack-like flaws from stress-assisted corrosion (aka waterside cracking) in a
boiler tube, a damage mechanism that affects tubes in all types of boiler.

FFS Technology Chronology

Pressure equipment, initially mostly boilers in ships and factories, was increasingly used after the industrial revolution
with very poor safety history. Because design and construction of early boilers was left up to individual
manufacturers, failures and fatalities were common, peaking at a rate of around one per day, as shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1. Annual rates of boiler explosions in USA from 1880 to 1980: declines are attributed to adoption of ASME
codes and standards for constructing boilers and pressure vessels.(1)

The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors(2) was created in 1919 to promote greater safety to life
and property through uniformity in construction, installation, repair, maintenance, and inspection of pressure
equipment. During the past 90 years the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC, NB-23) provided rules and guidance
for inspectors trained and certified by the National Board to carry out in-service inspections and approve repair and
alteration of pressure vessels and pressure relief equipment. NBIC NB-23 describes how to inspect for general and
PEERS 2011 Page 997
localized thinning and pitting corrosion in the pressure boundary and for several cracking mechanisms, relying on
sections of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel (B&PV) code to define acceptance criteria for these different types of
damage. The criteria involve simple rules about minimum allowed thickness and a general ban on cracks.

However, in the last 30 years increased scientific analysis and engineering experience confirmed that pressurized
components constructed to B&PV rules can safely tolerate substantial damage, depending on the local material and
load conditions. This knowledge and experience spurred some industries - notably nuclear, petrochemical refining
and chemical - to utilize their inherently higher levels of engineering resources for caring for pressurized equipment to
devise consistent engineering procedures and assumptions for assessing the significance of damage that contravenes
the rules of NB-23.

The main impetus for creating these analytical tools came from the refining industry through the technical committees
of the American Petroleum Institute (API)(3), which already had published industry standards aimed at safe operation
of pressurized components and tanks, including ANSI/API 510, Pressure Vessel Inspection Code: Maintenance
Inspection, Rating, Repair, and Alteration; ANSI/API 570, Piping Inspection Code: Inspection, Repair, Alteration,
and Rerating of In-Service Piping Systems, and API 653, Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction.

These widely respected standards were the springboard for publishing documents for formally assessing the limits of
in-service damage: API 571, Damage Mechanisms Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry
comprehensively describes all damage mechanisms including the controlling parameters, inspection methods and
mitigation measures. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Fitness for service describes the procedures and rules for assessing if
equipment with damage can be safely operated for a specified duration, or to prescribe the limits of tolerable damage
for a particular piece of equipment under its operating conditions.

First published in 2000, API 579, Recommended Practice for assessing fitness for service, represented a major
advance in standardizing the methods for assessing the structural significance of cracks, mechanical damage,
corrosion and fire or overheating damage in pressure equipment. Although API 579 placed emphasis on welded
vessels and piping made from ferritic and austenitic steels and from aluminum alloys, the assessment procedures can
be used to analyze equipment made from other metallic materials, as well as non-welded components or structures.

API 579 evolved from fracture/fatigue assessment procedure PD6493, published 30 years ago in the UK to formalize
rules for analyzing fabrication flaws and the need to repair them, thereby replacing arbitrary workmanship rules.
Initially adopted by the offshore industry, this modern approach to flaw assessment was subsequently recognized by
safety authorities for application to pressure equipment. Recognizing the importance of a unified, rigorous
methodology, in 2007 a joint ASME/API committee published API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, which incorporates input and
acceptance from the National Board. A revised edition of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 is expected in 2012.

API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 not only provides a formal process for determining if pressure equipment with damage
symptoms is fit for continued service, the title shows it is embraced by ASME as the post-construction code

for
pressure vessels built in accordance with the ASME B&PV Code. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 also is endorsed and
accepted by the National Board, which recognizes it as a powerful engineering tool for reconciling the often
conflicting interests of owners who want to safely operate equipment with some corrosion or other damage, and
jurisdictional inspectors who want the equipment removed from service because of the same damage symptoms.
FFS assessment of a pressure vessel according to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 involves rigorous engineering analysis of
local materials and stress conditions at the damage location to determine if the damage dimensions exceed the limits
for safe operation with standard code safety factor, allowing the owner to decide whether to continue operating the
equipment, to monitor the damage, to repair the damage or retire the vessel. Guidance also is provided for
determining when next and how to inspect the damage.

Fundamentals of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1

An FFS assessment is an interdisciplinary analysis based on the following information:
Knowledge of damage mechanisms and material behavior
Access to operating condition data; understanding parameters controlling damage mechanisms
PEERS 2011 Page 998
NDT (flaw sizing and location)
Material properties (environmental effects)
Stress analysis (often finite element analysis)
Data analysis (engineering reliability models)

The FFS analysis is based on a fracture mechanics or a plastic collapse assessment of the flawed or damaged
equipment. The owner must show that the flaw(s) or damage will not reach unacceptable dimensional limits during
the specified next service period for the component under the specified service conditions. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
principles apply to pressure vessels, piping and tanks constructed to the following codes: ASME BP&V Section VIII,
Division 1 and 2 for pressure vessels, and Section 1 for boilers; ASME B31.1 & B31.3 for power and process piping;
and API 620 and API 650 for storage tanks. FFS assessment principles also can apply to pressure equipment built to
other recognized standards in the public domain and to proprietary corporate standards. Additionally, current
editions of post-construction standards, such as API 653 (storage tanks), API 510 (pressure vessels) and API 570
(piping), reference and/or include some basic aspects of, API 579-1/ASME FFS-1.

Organization of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1

1,280 pages of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 are organized in the following 13 Parts and 10 Annexes:
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Fitness-For Service Engineering Assessment Procedure
Part 3: Assessment of Existing Equipment for Brittle Fracture
Part 4: Assessment of General Metal Loss
Part 5: Assessment of Local Metal Loss
Part 6: Assessment of Pitting Corrosion
Part 7: Assessment of Hydrogen Blisters and Hydrogen Damage HIC & SOHIC
Part 8: Assessment of Weld Misalignment and Shell Distortions
Part 9: Assessment of Crack-Like Flaws
Part 10: Assessment of Components Operating in Creep Regime
Part 11: Assessment of Fire Damage
Part 12: Assessment of Dent, Gouges, and Dent-Gouge Combinations
Part 13: Assessment of Laminations
Annex A - has thickness, MAWP and membrane stress equations.
Annex B - is an overview of how to analyze stresses
Annex C - is a collection of stress intensity factor solutions
Annex D - is a compendium of reference stress solutions.
Annex E - covers residual stresses mostly from welding
Annex F - shows how to incorporate material properties in the assessment
Annex G - discusses damage/deterioration and failure modes
Annex H - emphasizes the importance of validating assessment results
Annex I - is a glossary of terms and definitions
Annex J - presently is blank
Annex K - reviews concepts related to crack opening areas

Although the document essentially stands alone, assessments also use material properties and design information from
the original ASME/API construction codes.

FFS assessment generally entails the following procedural steps:
Step 1 Flaw/condition identification - defining the damage mechanisms and mode of failure
Step 2 Applicability and limitations of the assessment
Step 3 Data required - type of inspection data required to perform the assessment
Step 4 Assessment techniques and acceptance criteria calculations
Step 5 Remaining life evaluation
PEERS 2011 Page 999
Step 6 Remediation considerations - slowing the flaw growth rate
Step 7 In-service monitoring to validate assessment decisions, etc.
Step 8 Documentation - reports as to how the assessment technique was developed

Three assessment levels

API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 has three assessment levels: each higher level assessments uses more detailed stress
information, more accurate characterization of the type of damage, and more specific materials property data to
generate increasingly less conservative assessment results.
Level 1 - Most conservative assessment (rationale similar to NBIC 23)
Basic damage sizing (inspection) and component information
Can be done by a trained FFS inspector
Level 2 - More detailed assessment produces less conservative results; Level 1 requirements, plus:
Accurate damage sizing and growth rate
More comprehensive knowledge of damage mechanism rate controlling parameters
Qualified engineering skill in FFS methods and procedures
Level 3 - Most detailed and least conservative results; Level 2 requirements, plus:
Highest detail in damage sizing; materials and component service data
Local material properties
Numerical stress and temperature analysis techniques, including finite element methods

Damage characterization

The damage mechanism(s) must be identified and understood, using industry references like API 571, Damage
Mechanisms Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry, and WRB 488, Damage Mechanisms Affecting Fixed
Equipment in the Pulp and Paper Industry.(4) Inspections to characterize the shape and to size the damage must be
supervised by engineering specialists experienced with nondestructive testing methods and limitations. API 579-
1/ASME FFS-1 strongly emphasizes validation by requiring that every NDT procedure be written (to permit
subsequent retesting to monitor the damage), and also be qualified to confirm the test sensitivity before work-face
testing is done. For practitioners, Level 1 FFS inspectors should have relevant fitness-for-service knowledge and
training and may have API 510, 570, or 653 certification. FFS engineers are expected to have an engineering
degree and at least two years of relevant mechanical or materials engineering training and experience.

Assessment methods generally use one or more of three fundamental acceptance criteria: allowable stress; remaining
strength factor (RSF); and failure assessment diagram (FAD). The majority of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 is based on
RSF and FAD acceptance criteria. A frequently used criterion for most types of flaw assessments is RSF, which is the
ratio of the limit or plastic collapse load for a damaged component to that of an identical, undamaged component. The
FAD evaluates whether a crack-like flaw of known shape and size acted on by the postulated stress conditions will fail
either due to unstable crack growth (brittle fracture) depending on the metal toughness, or due to exceeding the limit
load for plastic collapse (ductile failure), on the y and x axes of the FAD, respectively.

API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Part 9, Assessment of Crack-Like Flaws covers planar cracks, weld lack of fusion and lack
of penetration, sharply shaped corrosion or mechanical grooves, etc. Flaws that may end up being assessed as cracks
include aligned porosity or inclusions and deep weld undercuts. Data required for assessment include flaw length and
depth and material properties listed in Annex F.

The following example illustrates Level 2 assessment of stress-assisted corrosion (SAC, aka. waterside cracking) (5)
on the internal surface of an internally pressurized, steel boiler tube - a damage mechanism that occurs in water and
steam-filled steel tubes in many types of boilers.

Example of FFS assessment of SAC in a boiler tube

PEERS 2011 Page 1000
SAC produces cracks on the internal surface of a boiler tube when the protective magnetite scale fractures due to local
strain, and oxygen-supported corrosion of the exposed steel produces a network of blunt cracks perpendicular to the
highest strain. Important characteristics of SAC damage for FFS analysis are the multiple, mostly parallel cracks;
crack length significantly greater than depth; and cracking in or near the footprint of external welded attachments or at
substantial stiffness transitions in the tube. Figure 2 shows classic evidence of SAC in the footprint of an external
attachment in a boiler tube, along with the blunt-tipped, crack-like flaws. Other important factors are the dominance
of hoop stress from internal pressure and minimum residual stress at the internal surface.


Figure 2. Classic crack network from SAC inside a carbon steel boiler tube (left), with cross-sections (right) showing
their typical blunted tip shapes.

FFS analysis for a boiler tube with SAC starts with deciding whether to use Part 4, Part 5, or Part 9. Using rules in
Part 9 for multiple cracks (the most conservative conditions, confirmed by analyzing other scenarios), the damage is
treated as interacting, axial crack-like flaws, close enough to each other to be treated as interacting by rules in API
579-1/ASME FFS-1.

Of two options for integrating multiple interacting cracks of similar depth, damage consequences are more severe
when the network of cracks is assessed as a single, crack-like flaw with length and depth defined by the overlapping
projection rules and oriented perpendicular to the primary (hoop) stress. The modeled crack is located in the tube
crown to be least affected by the reinforcing effect of external welds, including membrane welds in this tube. This
scenario is illustrated in Figure 3. A less conservative option is to circle the cracks in an area of local metal loss,
with dimensions defined by the boundary of the cracked tube volume.

Analyzing the damage as a singular, infinitely-long, axial crack according to Part 9, Level 2 procedures:
Overriding the <2.5 mm thickness limitation that requires Level 3 assessment because ASME minimum wall
thickness is 1.75 mm
With the local 800 psi tube pressure in the tube
Taking the lowest temperature when crack-opening force is greatest, i.e., tube is pressurized, into consideration
for notch toughness.
Estimating (or modeling) the possible reinforcing effect and residual stresses associated with membrane welds
attachments, as well as secondary forces, such as axial loads

the results show the crack could be 0.158 deep (79% through the 0.200 wall) before the tube damage fails to meet
Part 9, Level 2 assessment criteria for safe continued operation.
PEERS 2011 Page 1001

Figure 3. Drawing of infinitely long, axial, internal crack in crown of floor tube resulting from API 579-1/ASME
FFS-1 rule for interacting cracks

Other boiler tube damage that has been assessed for FFS per API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 includes external corrosion
along tangent lines, near-drum corrosion, and severe divots under the studs (recovery boiler) revealed in tubes
removed for other reasons.

Summary

API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, published in 2007, describes methods and procedures intended to supplement the
requirements in API 510, API 570, API 653, and NB-23 to provide post-construction code rules for assessing the
Fitness-for-Service of equipment designed and constructed to recognized codes and standards, including
international and internal corporate standards.

The standard has broad application since the assessment procedures are based on allowable stress methods and
plastic collapse loads for non-crack-like flaws, and the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) Approach for crack-
like flaws. The FFS assessment procedures in the standard can be used to evaluate corrosion and other service-
related damage encountered in pressure vessels, piping and tanks.

A case example is provided in which API 579-1/ASME FFS-1Part 9, Level 2 FFS assessment criteria are used to
determine the theoretical limiting depth for a continuous, infinitely-long, axial crack representing SAC in the fire-
side of a 50 mm OD., 5 mm w.t., carbon steel boiler tube in the floor panel of a recovery boiler.

References

1. "Practical Guide to ASME B31.3 Process Piping" 2
nd
Ed., G.E. Woods and R.B. Baguley CASTI Publishing
Company. Edmonton, AB (2000) ISBN 0-07-136471-4

2. National Board

3. API

4. Welding Research Council WRB 488

5. Ref. www.tappi.org/Downloads/Conference-apers/2006/06EPE-Conference/06EPE41.aspx
PEERS 2011 Page 1002
Fitness-for-service:
ASME Post-construction Codes and
Committees
Assessing Fitness-for-Service (FFS) of Fixed Equipment
with
API/ASME Standard API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
David C. Bennett, MS, FTAPPI
Sr. Consultant
Corrosion Probe Inc.
Centerbrook, CT 06409
www.cpiengineering.com
PEERS 2011 Page 1583
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Overview of Code and Standards for Pressurized Equipment
80+ years in development
API 580/581
API 571
ASME B&PV Code
API 579
PCC-2; PCC-3
PEERS 2011 Page 1584
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
1. What is a Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessment?
2. What types of equipment get FFS assessments?
3. When are FFS assessments justified?
4. Chronology of FFS code & post-construction standards
5. Scope of API/ASME Standard API 579-1 /ASME FFS-1
6. FFS methodology per API 579-1 /ASME FFS-1
7. Example - boiler tube with waterside cracking (SAC)
Presentation outline
PEERS 2011 Page 1585
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
1. Define a Fitness-for-Service assessment
Quantitative engineering analysis, using standard rules
and methods
- to determine if in-service equipment is reliable and safe
to operate (with regular factors of safety)
- under clearly defined service condition limits
- for a specified time.
PEERS 2011 Page 1586
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
2. To what equipment does FFS assessment apply?
Containment, mechanical integrity, asset management
On pressure vessels complying with ASME new-construction codes.
Fixed equipment with known damage mechanisms, including tanks
(API 653 includes FFS), piping, boilers, stacks, FRP, etc.
All types of fixed equipment for which a quantitative failure condition
can be specified under known service conditions.
PEERS 2011 Page 1587
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
3. What justifies an FFS assessments?
If the asset lacks orig. design information or has exceeded its useful life
If the assets service is changed
If the asset undergoes an event that could affect its serviceability and
shape: overload, new process/external environment, overheat, fire!
If inspection finds damage that could affects the assets future reliability:
corrosion, cracking, distortion (misalignment, bulges, dents), etc.
PEERS 2011 Page 1588
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
In 1991 Materials Properties Council initiated Group Sponsored Project:
original scope - evaluate fitness for service of pressurized equipment in
the refinery & petrochemical industry, then extend to other industries.
In 2000, First edition of API Recommended Practice API RP579,
Assessment of Fitness for service, applied to the following items:
Equipment designed and constructed to ASME B&PV Code, Section I and
Section VIII, Divisions 1 and 2
Piping designed to ANSI/ASME B31.1 and 31.3 piping codes
Storage tanks designed and constructed to API 620 and API 650 codes
In 2003 the ASME/API Joint Committee was formed to produce a
post-construction code
4. Chronology of FFS Std. & ASME post-construction code
PEERS 2011 Page 1589
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
In 2007 the ASME/API Joint Committee published
ASME/API Standard API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Fitness-for-service
In 2009 the ASME/API Joint Committee published example problems in
API 579-2/ASME FFS-2
Since 2000 ASME Post-construction Committees (PCC) published
Standard PCC-1-2000, Guidelines for Pressure Boundary Bolted Flange Joint
Assembly
Standard PCC-2-2009, Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping
Standard PCC-3-2007 Inspection Planning Using Risk-Based Methods
4. Chronology of FFS Stds & ASME Post-construction code
PEERS 2011 Page 1590
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
1. What is a Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessment?
2. What types of equipment get FFS assessments?
3. When are FFS assessments justified?
4. Chronology of FFS code & post-construction standards
5. Scope of API/ASME Standard API 579-1 /ASME FFS-1
6. FFS methodology per API 579-1 /ASME FFS-1
7. Example - boiler tube with waterside cracking (SAC)
Presentation outline recap
PEERS 2011 Page 1591
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Covers assessment or re-rating of equipment designed and
constructed to:
ASME B&PV Codes Section VIII Division 1 & 2
ASME B&PV Code Section I
ANSI/ASME B31.1 Power piping code and B31.3 Process piping code
API 650 and API 620 Tank construction standards
Other recognized codes and standards, including international standards
(review attributes/compare to API & ASME codes)
Methods and procedures supplement API 510, API 570 and API 653
5.1 Scope of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
PEERS 2011 Page 1592
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Personnel - Accountability and Responsibility
1. The owner-user is responsible for the integrity/validity of the assessment
procedures.
2. The inspector must provide reliable inspection data and generally ensure
that requirements of applicable owner-user or API inspection procedures
and practices are followed.
Inspectors may perform some Level 1 screening analyses, and must
ensure the assessment results are recorded and filed. The inspector can
be qualified per API codes.
3. The engineer not required to be employee - is responsible for most
assessment work, including review of screening analyses performed by
the inspector. The engineer should have at least two years of relevant
experience.
5.2 Scope of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
PEERS 2011 Page 1593
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
5.3 Parts of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
PEERS 2011 Page 1594
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
5.4 Parts of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
PEERS 2011 Page 1595
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
6.1 API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 methodology
Relevant parts
PEERS 2011 Page 1596
Assessment levels
Minimum amount of inspection or component information
Conservative screening - general concurrence with NBIC rules
Plant inspection or engineering personnel
More detailed, less conservative with more accurate results based
on local stresses and material properties
Quantitative damage characterization size, shape, location,
orientation
Qualified engineering personnel
Most detailed evaluation requires very detailed inspection and
component information
Analysis procedures are based on material testing and/or
numerical analysis techniques such as the finite element method
Personnel with expertise in complex FFS assessments
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
6.2 API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 methodology
PEERS 2011 Page 1597
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
6. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 methodology
PEERS 2011 Page 1598
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Step 1 Flaw/Condition Identification (Mode of Failure)
Step 2 - Applicability and Limitations
Step 3 - Data Requirements
3.1 Original Equipment Design Data
3.2 Maintenance and Operational History
3.3 Data/Measurements required for FFS assessment
3.3 Qualified inspection procedures for size acceptance criteria
Step 4 - Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria
4.1 Local stress approach to assess wall loss and corrosion flaws.
4.2 Linear elastic stress analysis (toughness vs. load) for a crack-like flaw.
Step 5 - Remaining Life Evaluation
Step 6 - Remediation
Step 7 - In-Service Monitoring
Step 8 - Documentation
6.3 Regular API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 methodology
PEERS 2011 Page 1599
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Formal engineering assessment methods for aged equipment,
using real service conditions and material properties delivers:
Safer and more reliable fixed equipment
Reduced downtime - wasteful inspections and repairs are eliminated
Optimized inspection scope and timing based on confirmed damage
mechanisms and rates SID Program incorporates FFS
Supports defect elimination (RCFA) discipline and procedures
mitigation is designed for specified time of service
At least 10% reduction in maintenance costs
6.4. Owner Benefits from FFS
PEERS 2011 Page 1600
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Three ASME Post-construction Committees:
Subcommittee on Bolted Joint Assembly
Issued PCC-1, 2000, Guidelines for Pressure Boundary Bolted Flange
Joint Assembly, next edition in preparation
Subcommittee on Repair and Testing
Issued PCC-2, Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping; 2006 and 2009
editions
Subcommittee on Inspection Planning
Issued PCC-3, Inspection Planning, first edition in 2008
ASME Post Construction Committees
PEERS 2011 Page 1601
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
FFS example 1 Waterside cracking (SAC) corrosion fatigue in
boiler tubes
Damage mechanism
and description
Level 2 Assessment per
Part 9 - Crack-like flaws
PEERS 2011 Page 1602
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
FFS example 1 Waterside cracking (SAC, corrosion fatigue) in
boiler tube
2.0 OD 0.200 wall thickness
Multiple crack interaction is modeled as a
worst-case , single, full-length crack of
uniform depth
800 psi internal pressure means hoop
stress is primary load
550F - 100 ksiin notch toughness
Fracture Assessment Diagram (FAD)
The crack is unstable (i.e., grows at unacceptable
rate) when it is 78% through the wall.
PEERS 2011 Page 1603
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
FFS example 2 Under-stud weld cavitis in recovery boiler tubes
Level 2 assessment per Part 5
Local thin area or gouge
3.0 OD, 0.200 wall thickness
damage is modeled as local thin
area (LTA)
660 psi internal pressure makes
hoop stress the primary load
520F gives 100 ksiin notch
toughness - only yielding is
concern
Stress limits exceeded only if the
divots leave 0.034 remaining
ligament
Validation: NBIC pitting allowance; ASME non-reinforcement of
nozzle hole; pressure test actual tube specimens
Damage mechanism and description
PEERS 2011 Page 1604
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Part I covers Scope, Organization and Intent
Part 2: Welded Repairs
Part 3: Mechanical Repairs
Part 4: Nonmetallic and Bonded Repairs
Part 5: Examination and Testing
Organization of Standard PCC-2
PCC-2 standard describes recognized and generally
accepted, recommended engineering practice for repairing
pressure equipment & piping already in service
PEERS 2011 Page 1605
Fitness-for-service and Post-construction codes
Description of the repair
Limitations and Precautions associated with the repair
Design/Fabrication issues associated with the repair
Examination and Testing QA/QC practices following the repair
Additional references
Organization of Standard PCC-2
Standard Format for Each Article:
PEERS 2011 Page 1606
Summary
The API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 post-construction code and related ASME Post
construction committee (PCC) standards incorporate fitness for service
methodology to provide modern engineering tools allowing the owner of
fixed equipment to challenge the traditional code requirement to restore
aged and corroded pressure vessels, piping and tanks to as new
conditions defined in ASME Section VIII, the new-construction code.
FFS assessment methods permit condition limit criteria to be calculated for
equipment subject to corrosion and other damage, including damage from
mechanical impact and fire.
ASME PCC-2 Standard describes many repair methods for damaged code-
compliant pressure vessels and piping the concept of a code repairs is
finally realized.
PEERS 2011 Page 1607
Thank you for your interest and
attention.
PEERS 2011 Page 1608