By: Jen Jarvis and Al Jarvis Nuclear plant workers accrue most of their radiation exposure during refueling outages, when many plant systems are opened for corrective and preventive maintenance. The total refueling outage radiation exposure can be 100-200 person-Rem at a typical Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), and 30-100 person-Rem at a typical Pressurized Water Reactor […]
By: Matt Tobolski Things change, that’s just a fact of life. But when it comes to engineering codes and standards, change can be confusing, frustrating and expensive. As it relates to seismic design and certification of equipment, it is beneficial to understand the impact of code changes early to begin incorporating requirements in new equipment […]
By: Scott Riccardella, Dilip Dedhia, and Peter Riccardella Structural Integrity recently performed probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis of a gas transmission pipeline for a major U.S. operator. The analysis yielded interesting insights in several areas: Pressure Testing versus In-Line Inspection Pressure testing has long been considered the gold standard for assuring pipeline integrity. By testing […]
By: Eric Kjolsing Background A 2016 project utilized a variety of Structural Integrity competencies to analyze a beyond design basis threat at an overseas nuclear power plant. The client was assessing a plant design and approached Structural Integrity to investigate local perforation and scabbing of a reinforced concrete wall due to hard missile impact. Perforation […]
By: Fred DeGrooth and Ulrich Woerz Attemperators (aka desuperheaters) are used in fossil and combined cycle plants to protect boiler/HRSG components and steam turbines from temperature transients that occur during startup or load changes. The attemperator sprays water droplets into the superheated steam to ensure that the downstream, mixed, steam temperature will not adversely affect […]
By: Ceci Wilson With the increase of renewable energy into the power generation market, aggressive state renewable targets, and recently renewed production tax credit (PTC), wind power generation demand is positioned to increase significantly. This is good news not only for new wind projects but also for existing wind power infrastructure. As the wind energy […]
By: Jennifer Correa Subsequent License Renewal (SLR) will require a shift in the approach for managing plant components for thermal fatigue. The components are older and will have experienced more fatigue damage. As time goes on, more components will become fatigue-challenged, meaning that they will require more management to demonstrate serviceability. There are several approaches […]
By: Eric Kjolsing & Philip Voegtle The sophistication of structural analysis has evolved side-by-side with computing and graphics technology. Structural engineers have at their fingertips very powerful software analysis tools that assist them in evaluating very large and complex structures for stability, suitability, and code adequacy. The tools themselves vary in complexity in proportion with […]
By: Scott Riccardella and Steven Biles Regulatory Overview In January 2012, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 was signed into law directing PHMSA to take steps to further assure the safety of pipeline infrastructure. PHMSA issued the related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering […]
By: Jason Van Velsor From the creation of the first simple stone tools to the invention of the world wide web, technological innovation has been the undercurrent that has carried the human species from our primitive survivalist ways to our present-day complexity of modern conveniences. We innovate from necessity, competition, or from a desire for […]
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