Fitness-for-Service Assessment for Pressurized Components with Geometric Distortion

• Main Author: Harun, Firdaus
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2008
• Subjects: TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/9989/1/2008%20-%20Fitness-For-Service%20Assessment%20for%20Pressurized%20Component%20with%20Geometric%20Distortion.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/9989/

Fitness-for-Service (FFS) is a set of quantitative methods used to determine the integrity and remaining life of degraded components. Structural integrity of a pressurized component can be put at risk with the presence of geometrical discontinuities. FFS assessment is carried out based on API 579 code of practice to determine if equipment is safe and fit for continued service until the end of some desired period of operation. The objectives are to study and understand the FFS procedures covered in Section 8 of API Recommended Practice 579, as well as performing Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 assessment procedures for cylindrical shell with out-of-roundness as per API 579. The project was further expanded by comparing data from the FFS assessment procedures with ANSYS simulation, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software to evaluate the acceptance criteria. The project demanded multi disciplinary engineering practice, ranging from applying codes and standards, solving case study, as well as computer simulation. The scope of work was targeted on out-of-roundness in terms of dent. The final step of this project would be comparing all analysis done on the model with FFS assessment for verification. Based on the results obtained, reference stress used for failure criteria for FFS Level 2 Assessment is based on the yield strength of the material of the structure.