Small Bore Branch Connection Example
A worldwide industry report estimates that 80% of production lost through plant integrity failures results from fatigue failures of small bore branch connections. Failures are likely to result from a combination of cyclic loading due to vibration, and stress raising factors due to fabrication and welding defects. B-tech is a totally new concept in the management of integrity for Small Bore Branch (SBB) Connections. Unlike all other methods, the service generates periodic or continual and accurate assessments of integrity for individual SBBs or every SBB on the plant, including every weld and fitting, predicts times to failure, tolerable flaw size and specifies time requirements for inspection and remedial action.
Fatigue life is also affected by
- Weld inclusions
- Weld heat affected zone
- Welding residual stresses
- Weld geometry
- Metallurgy and hardness factors
- Fabrication misalignment
- Peak stress areas
B-Tech carries out "Automated Fitness for Service Assessments" and continuous Integrity Monitoring either as a Periodic Service or where appropriate, in Real Time. It eliminates the most common and current scenarios where clients have to employ Vibration Consultants to continually take measurements and never give a definitive life statement, or the other option of "brace it and see what happens"? Both these options are working in the dark and offer the client nothing of any quantifiable substance. Comparing SBB fitting size against a limiting velocity is dangerous and irrelevant. It does not account for any of the "real" factors that have a major influence on integrity. B-Tech does, and views every SBB as individual and unique. It therefore creates a definitive Fatigue Life for every individual SBB. For those Engineers that are reluctant to change their approach, B-Tech will also carry out the standard MTD approach for information purposes. All this is carried out at a cost much less than the conventional costs and provides the HSE with all the quantified information necessary.
Benefits
- Monitor Small Bore Branch Integrity
- Reduce the likelihood of Vibration Failures
- Solve your Small Bore Branch Problems
- Reduce the need for Specialists
- Avoid unexpected Shutdowns
- Prevent the need for "Crisis Management"
- Carry out SBB Screening programs
- Increased (or minimised lost) revenue
- Quantified Asset Integrity
- Remote Integrity access via Web Portal
- Consistent approach to corrosion/Vibration, etc
- Fast Response to unpredictable defects
- Prioritise SBBs by criticality
- Review Criticality
- Minimise vibration measurements
- Easy periodic Vibration Assessments
- See change effects before you make them
- Propose "verified" Solutions
- Visible status of integrity
- Fast Periodic Corrosion Assessment
- Optimised Inspection Plan
- Improved Quantitive RBI effectiveness
- Continual Plant Fatigue to unpredictable defects
- Instant data for the HSE and Insurance
- Fixed Price site asset SBB integrity costs