FITNESS FOR SERVICE EVALUATION OF FIRE DAMAGED REFINERY EQUIPMENT
Dr. Sova Bhattacharya, S. B. Mohapatra and S. N. Pandey* R & D Centre*, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Faridabad, India
Keywords: NDT; DEFECT; REFINERY; LIFE PREDICTION, Crack Detection
ABSTRACT
Refinery components such as piping, pressure vessels, reactors, etc. handle inflammable fluids and suffer extensive damages due to accidental fire. Degree of fire damage is dependent on duration of fire and the metallurgy of the component. To put back the unit into operation it becomes necessary to judiciously evaluate all the affected components for metallurgical property degradation, changes due to distortions in the form of out of plumbness, straightness and extent of macro cracking etc. Ansata metallography, hardness testing, alignment checking, dimensional measurement, and crack detection through conventional NDT techniques etc. give valuable inputs for quick assessment of such fire damaged structures. This paper reviews the systematic approach to be adopted for evaluating fitness for service of fire damaged components so as to decide the repair/replacement criteria.
Publication Source: Trends in NDE Science & Technology; Proceedings of the 14th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, New Delhi, 8-13 December 1996.Vol. 2, pages 1193 - 1196 Publisher:Ashgate Publishing Company
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