LifeQuest™ High Energy Piping (HEP) is a Fitness-for-service, piping stress analysis and remaining life assessment product that combines our proprietary software and materials testing database with expert structural integrity analysis to yield a highly confident, probabilistic estimate of remaining life of high temperature piping in power plants, refineries and other process plants. This product yields a comprehensive stress analysis and remaining life prediction in accordance with API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 for high temperature components.
LifeQuest™ HEP comprises:
- Bundled service that delivers piping stress analysis, creep strain analysis and deterministic and probabilistic life assessment using Monte-Carlo simulation to predict the probability of HEP failure over time
- Performance of accurate piping stress analysis to satisfy both design and life assessment purposes; in a significant advance over conventional piping software functionality, LifeQuest™ HEP uses special piping finite elements that account for ovality and warping in elbows and sweeps as well as relaxation and redistribution of stresses during creep
- Generation of piping FEA models and incorporation of custom geometries of girth welds and other common HEP features of interest
- Incorporation of materials testing data from our in-house testing facilities to calibrate the analytical algorithms; alternatively, properties from the materials specification and/or API579-1/ASME FFS-1 can be employed; cold and hot hanger information and pipe movements can be used to establish bounding conditions
- Review and analysis by our expert structural integrity engineers, many of whom were instrumental in developing the method API 579-1
Features
- Advanced creep strain analysis based on the Omega creep model
- Automated 3D piping model generation
- Integrated Custom FEA solver; operates with ABAQUS and is compliant with API 579-1
- Incorporation of proprietary materials testing data for standard and exotic alloy steels
- Life consumption calculations refined with Monte-Carlo simulations of several creep-related damage mechanisms
- Form of remaining life assessment with well-defined probability function, offering great flexibility of use for management decisions, including cost-risk analysis
Benefits
- Custom elbow elements are used, incorporating ovality and warping and yield the stress profile for 360 degrees around the circumference.
- Provides the “as found” stresses based on current hanger settings such that the stress state in the piping is determined to select high stress points for detailed NDE and metallurgical assessment.
- Incorporates the Omega creep law as used in the API579/ASME fitness-for-service procedures.
- Slide bars for increasing creep damage are incorporated into the remnant life evaluations; i.e., it is possible to incorporate findings from laboratory microstructure replication tests into the remaining life calculations.
- Past operating conditions are incorporated into the remaining life predictions; e.g., amount of time at elevated temperature.
- Statistical Monte Carlo analysis is used for simulated life predictions on individual pipe sections under different conditions.
- Provides a complete solution including stress analysis, remaining life assessment and sensitivity analysis.
- The analyses are compliant with API 579-1/ASME FFS -1 section 10.
- LifeQuest™ HEP is a proven product.
Applications
- Thermal power station main steam and hot re-heat piping
- Thermal power station IP and HP loop piping
- Steam piping in cogeneration plants
- Refinery heater tubes
- Process piping
For further information about LifeQuest™ HEP, please contact us.