Entries by Structural Integrity

News & Views, Volume 46 | NDE Best Practices for Generator Rotors

By: Paul Zayicek Three factors typically drive inspection intervals of generator rotors: a timeframe recommended by the insurance carrier or OEM an engineering evaluation that supports a different inspection interval due to service operation events or existing rotor damage industry best practices Drivers from the OEM include issues defined in service bulletins or technical information […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Hydrogen Fueling Structural Integrity into New Markets

By:  Daniel Peters and Myles Parr Energy sources that don’t have carbon emissions are rapidly developing in the country and around the world today.  The use of renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, and solar is becoming increasingly common.  One area that is also changing is in the automotive arena.  The use of alternative […]

News & Views, Volume 46 | Plant Integrity Assistant – There’s an App for That!

By:  Matt Freeman PlantTrack App now available Plant engineers must often answer ‘what damage is this piece of equipment susceptible to, and what can we do about it?’ or ‘how much longer can this component continue operating’?   A free app is now available in both the Google Play store and the Apple App store […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Improved Asset Management Through Test Informed Analysis

By:  Eri Kjolsing Introduction Structures may experience unforeseen operating environments or site-specific hazards leading to changes in the structure’s performance, safety, and longevity.  These changes often prompt asset owners to undertake analysis efforts to ensure satisfactory structural performance for the updated conditions. However, conventional analyses that fail to capture the true behavior of a structure […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Interval Relief from RPV Threads in Flange Examination Requirements

By:  Scott Chesworth ASME Code Section XI requires that the RPV Threads in Flange component (Category B-G-1, Item Number B6.40, see Figure 1) be inspected each inspection Interval using volumetric examination.  However, there is general agreement that the inspection does not contribute to the overall safety of the RPV.  Industry experience indicates that these examinations […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Gas Pipeline Safety Regulation Update

By:  Scott Riccardella. Erica Fisette, and Bruce Paskett Update on the Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipelines Rulemaking (known as the Mega-Rule) Structural Integrity (SI) personnel have had significant involvement in the Gas Pipeline Advisory Group (GPAC) meetings focused on consideration of the proposed pipeline safety rule titled “Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Latitude™ Delivers – Highlights from the First Field Deployments

By:  Jason Van Velsor, Dave Anthony, Joe Agnew, and Michael Lashley Introduction For the past 2 ½ years, Structural Integrity Associates (SI) has been working diligently to develop, qualify and deliver the nuclear industry’s first-of-a-kind manually acquired encoded phased array UT (PAUT) examination for Section XI dissimilar metal welds (DMWs).  Development of the encoding technology […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Life Management for High Energy Piping (HEP)

By:  Matt Freeman High Energy Piping systems, including main steam and hot reheat piping, are typically very reliable and can often operate trouble-free for decades.  However, due to the combination of pressure and temperature at which such systems operate, a failure can have catastrophic consequences from a safety perspective and in terms of equipment loss.  […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Metallurgical Lab: Case Study – Thermowell Failure Analysis

By:  Wendy Weiss Structural Integrity (SI) was recently asked to examine a fractured thermowell and determine the damage mechanism.  The thermowell had been removed from bypass line piping in a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG) that ran from the High Pressure (HP) bypass valve to the cold reheat section, and sent to the SI Materials Science […]

News & Views, Volume 45 | Metallurgical Lab Featured Damage Mechanism – Acid Dewpoint Corrosion in Conventional Fossil Boilers and Combined Cycle HRSGs

By:  Wendy Weiss Acid dewpoint corrosion can occur in conventional and HRSG units in locations where temperatures fall below the sulfuric acid dewpoint temperature. This can occur when either the tube metal temperatures are below the acid dewpoint so that condensate forms on the metal surface, or when flue gas temperatures are below the acid […]