Entries by Structural Integrity

News & Views, Volume 46 | Cross-Weld Creep-Rupture Testing for Seam Weld Life Management

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By:  Jonnathan Warwick, Terry Totemeier, and Brian Chambers, Duke Energy Longitudinal seam-welded hot-reheat steam piping operating in the creep regime is a continuing life-management challenge for many older fossil-fired power plants.  In response to catastrophic seam-welded piping failures in the 1980’s, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed a comprehensive inspection protocol to insure continued […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Multi-discipline Solution for Pressure Vessel Asset Management

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By:  David Segletes and Dan Peters One of the strengths of the Structural Integrity Associates (SI) team lies in the diversity of the skills and capabilities in the organization. Sure, SI can perform inspection, analysis, design, metallurgy, failure investigations, risk assessments, and project management, but one of the real values of working with SI is […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Turnkey Rapid-Response Plant Support Disposition of Wall Thinning in Standby Service Water Piping

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By:  Jason Van Velsor, Roger Royer, and Eric Houston Structural Integrity recently had the opportunity to support a client’s emergent needs when their Standby Service Water (SSW) piping system experienced a pinhole leak just downstream of a valve. Concerned about other locations in the piping system with similar configurations, the site asked SI to assist […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Evaluation of Reconfiguration and Damage of BWR Spent Fuel During Storage and Transportation Accidents

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By:  Bill Lyon Structural Integrity Associates is participating in a Department of Energy (DOE) Integrated Research Projects (IRP) program focused on storage and transportation of used nuclear fuel (UNF). The project, entitled Cask Mis-Loads Evaluation Techniques, was awarded to a university-based research team in 2016 under the DOE Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation (NFST) project. […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Identifying Failure Mechanisms of Typical I-Section Floodwalls

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By: Eric Kjolsing and Dan Parker In 2018, Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) supported the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) in the structural assessment of the concrete-to-steel connection in typical I-Section flood walls. A representative flood wall section is shown in Figure 1. This effort was part of a broader scope of work […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Metallurgical Lab Case Study: Cracking of Grade 23 Steel Furnace Wall Tubes

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By: Terry Totemeier Grade 23 is a creep strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steel that was designed to offer similar creep strength to Grade 91 but with lower Cr content and, in the original concept, fabrication without pre- and post-weld heat treatment making the material attractive for the furnace wall tubes of ultra-supercritical coal plants where […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | TRU Compliance Achieves Accreditation as a Product Certification Body

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By: Andy Coughlin TRU Compliance, a division of Structural Integrity Associates, announced in March the achievement of accreditation from the International Accreditation Service (IAS) as a product certification body for seismic, wind, and blast/physical security performance of nonstructural components. According to the International Accreditation Service, TRU Compliance is the second company to be certified for […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Metallurgical Lab Featured Damage Mechanism: Waterwall Fireside Corrosion (WFSC) in Conventional Boilers

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By: Wendy Weiss Industry experience shows that waterwall tubing in conventional boilers can be susceptible to fireside corrosion, depending on fuel type, firing practice, etc. In boilers where fireside corrosion has been identified as a maintenance issue, wastage rates of 5 to 25 mils/year are not uncommon. Since the mid 1990s, the installation of low […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Delivering Value: Modernization of Plant Automation Controls

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By: Gerry Davina The modernization of plant automation controls represents a step change in performance that optimizes Operations and Maintenance resources, shifting their focus to performance maintenance and plant monitoring and away from inefficient corrective maintenance and troubleshooting. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average age of the U.S.-based nuclear power plant is […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Assessing Prestress Losses in a Nuclear Containment Structure for License Renewal

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By: Eric Kjolsing Nuclear power plants around the world are approaching the end of their original 40-year design life.  Efforts are underway to extend the operating license for these plants to 60 years or beyond.  As part of the license extension, it must be demonstrated that the reactor containment building remains able to safely perform […]