Buried Piping Integrity Initiative
On December 9, 2009, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) announced the industry's unanimous approval of a voluntary policy to better manage issues related to the integrity of underground piping at nuclear power plants. The implementation schedule is aggressive and will require sites to begin work during the 1st Quarter of 2010 in order to meet the deadline.
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) has been supporting nuclear power plants with buried piping issues since 2002. As part of an EPRI Balance of Plant Corrosion project, SI has also been developing the new industry database and interface software for managing all nuclear buried piping data - including design, maintenance and inspection information. This database will become part of the new BPWorks Version 2 risk assessment solution to be released to EPRI's Buried Piping Issues Group (BPIG) member companies later in 2010.
Meeting the requirements of the new NEI initiative by December 2010 will require a complete understanding of the activities necessary to support a meaningful risk ranking, which must be capable of differentiating the unique levels of risk of individual buried piping sections around the plant. Risk ranking identifies the magnitude, timing, locations, and tools required to characterize the condition of the buried piping - the second phase of the initiative (to be completed in 2011). To this end, SI is planning a short webinar specifically targeting the issues necessary for the planning and execution of activities necessary to insure that utilities meet their end of 2010 objectives. <br>
The webinar will be a brief (20 minute) management level overview of the issues to consider for 2010 and the project timelines involved with gathering and populating data to support the new BPWorks Version 2 risk algorithms. The webinar may be repeated or supplemented with additional webinars addressing subjects such as developing written programs that address roles and activities, risk acceptance criteria, inspection options, understanding risk threats, etc.
Presented on:
January 19, 2010
Instructor:
Steve Biagiotti
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About the Instructor
Steve Biagiotti, PE has a MS in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and has 20 years of experience in corrosion control at pipeline, production, and refinery operations in the oil and gas industry. Biagiotti is a pioneer in the implementation of Integrity Management written procedures, data integration, HCA identification, code interpretation, and risk minimization practices and algorithms. Other areas of expertise: in-line inspection, direct assessment (ECDA, ICDA, SCCDA), failure and root-cause analysis, and material selection.
Cathodic Protection: Application & Testing in Plants
Cathodic protection (CP) systems are designed to protect metal piping and tanks from soil-side corrosion, and this SI Webinar focuses on CP applications in plants of all kinds. Topics include the history of CP; plant structures and components that can benefit from CP; types of CP systems; interaction between protective coatings and CP; CP application and testing issues related to plant piping; designing plant CP systems; and methods for monitoring CP effectiveness in plants.
Presented on:
August 14, 2008
Instructor:
Andy Smart
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About the Instructor
Andy Smart has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami, and he is a NACE Corrosion Specialist and Cathodic Protection Specialist #2956. Smart has over 40 years of experience solving corrosion control problems in the oil, gas, pipeline, electric power, concrete, industrial, and commercial sectors, including design and installation of cathodic protection systems. He developed the area potential-earth current (APEC) survey methodology for assessing coating condition and cathodic protection effectiveness.
Integrity Management of Vintage Pipelines
So-called vintage or early-generation pipelines—those constructed prior to 1970—pose unique integrity management issues. This SI Webinar covers regulatory requirements; early pipe manufacturing processes and field construction practices; and impact of vintage pipeline characteristics on inspection, flaw assessment, repair, and rupture vulnerability. The Webinar also discusses suitable nondestructive examination methods, operational approaches to minimize probability of failure, and how to supplement field inspection with tapped coupons.
Presented on:
September 10, 2008
Instructor:
Bill Amend
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Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment Principles
DOT's four-step process for internal corrosion direct assessment (ICDA) of gas pipelines is the subject of this new SI Webinar. The program covers pre-assessment, region identification, inspection, and post-assessment, with particular emphasis on the methodology for establishing representative flow conditions; interpretation of critical angle calculation; and elevation profiling. The Webinar also discusses how to use SI's guided-wave ultrasonic G-ScanSM system to find internal corrosion.
Presented on:
March 17, 2009
Instructor:
Ray Gardner
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About the Instructor
Ray Gardner has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and is experienced in implementing and managing client Integrity Management projects. Among his achievements: he has conducted direct assessment projects for multiple clients, and served as lead engineer in all phases of Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment for a large natural gas transmission pipeline operator. Gardner is especially knowledgeable in Integrity Management Plan regulations and in direct assessment documentation and reporting.
Management of Aging Buried Nuclear Piping & Tanks
Despite original external coatings and cathodic protection systems to guard against corrosion, the condition of aging buried piping and tanks at older nuclear units is increasingly suspect. This new Webinar introduces SI's MAP (Managing Aging Piping) program, a comprehensive engineering program for managing aging underground piping and tanks. The Webinar includes discussion of common degradation mechanisms, risk models, guided-wave ultrasonic testing, and cathodic protection survey techniques. Also included is a presentation on MAPPro™, an SI-developed corrosion engineering software database that includes asset historical information, inspection data, and analysis data, as well as on MAPProView™, a GIS for spatial representation of MAPPro.
Presented on:
November 8, 2008
Instructor:
Steve Biagiotti
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About the Instructor
Steve Biagiotti, PE has a MS in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and has 20 years of experience in corrosion control at pipeline, production, and refinery operations in the oil and gas industry. Biagiotti is a pioneer in the implementation of Integrity Management written procedures, data integration, HCA identification, code interpretation, and risk minimization practices and algorithms. Other areas of expertise: in-line inspection, direct assessment (ECDA, ICDA, SCCDA), failure and root-cause analysis, and material selection.
Overall Approach to Penstock Inspection & Assessment
Penstock inspection and assessment is the subject of this SI Webinar for plant engineers, dam safety staff, operation/maintenance managers, and asset managers. Topics include steel penstock degradation mechanisms, indirect inspection methods, direct examination technologies, defect analysis and assessment; key components of penstock inspection programs; inspection data management; and best practices for steel penstock integrity management. For the record, SI has assessed over 45,000 feet of steel penstocks for diverse clients, including hydroelectric plant operators.
Presented on:
February 17, 2009
Instructor:
Eric Kirkpatrick
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About the Instructor
Eric Kirkpatrick, PE holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University and a MBA from California State University, Stanislaus. He has over 20 years of experience in gas distribution and gas transmission pipelines, as well as steel penstocks. Kirkpatrick's expertise includes gas distribution engineering, gas planning/modeling, pipeline engineering, pipeline integrity management, penstock integrity management, pipeline construction, project management, pipeline operations and maintenance, process improvement, and benchmarking.
Soil Analysis & Corrosivity Calculations
The ability to reliably estimate the corrosion rate of buried steel pipe enables pipeline operators to schedule timely reinspection or mitigation of anomalies before they reach critical size. This SI Webinar covers the role of soil corrosivity estimates in pipeline integrity management, with discussion on traditional methods of estimating soil corrosivity as well as an introduction to SI's SoilPro™ soil corrosivity model. SoilPro considers up to 13 different soil parameters—using data from soil samples—in addition to cathodic protection data to produce a quantitative estimate of worst-case pitting rate for buried steel. The Webinar also covers issues to consider when surveying, sampling, and shipping soil samples, in addition to use of SoilPro in external corrosion direct assessment and in buried pipe Integrity Management Programs.
Presented on:
March 3, 2009
Instructor:
Bill Amend
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