By: Ben Ruchte It is well known that conventional coal-fired utility boilers are cycling more today than they ever have. As these units have shifted to more of an ‘on-call’ demand they experience many more cycles (start-ups and shutdowns, and/or significant load swings) making other damage mechanisms such as fatigue or other related mechanisms a […]
By: Scott Riccardella, Bruce Paskett, and Andy Jensen On October 1, 2019 the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published amendments to 49 CFR Parts 191 and 192 in the Federal Register issuing Part 1 of the Gas Transmission Mega-Rule1. This new regulation is commonly referred to as the Mega-Rule, as it represents the most […]
By: Wendy Weiss Superheater/reheater fireside corrosion is also known as coal ash corrosion in coal fired units. MECHANISM Coal ash corrosion generally occurs as the result of the formation of low melting point, liquid phase, alkali-iron trisulfates. During coal combustion, minerals in the coal are exposed to high temperatures, causing release of volatile alkali compounds […]
San Jose, CA, February 4, 2020 – Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) announced today the appointment of Mark W. Marano as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 10, 2020. Marano succeeds Laney Bisbee following his retirement in late 2019. Marano joins SI following a brief retirement from Westinghouse Electric Company, where he previously was […]
By: Christopher Lohse There have been several industry initiatives to support optimization of examination requirements for various items/components (both Class 1 and Class 2 components) in lieu of the requirements in the ASME Code, Section XI. The ultimate objective of these initiatives is to optimize the examination requirements (through examination frequency reduction, examination scope reduction, […]
By: Jacob Arroyo You’ve just completed the first in-line inspection (ILI) of a new pipeline asset. The ILI tool results are in, and there are no required repairs! However, how sure are we of the accuracy of the results? Could the tool have under-called some of the reported anomalies? Are there any regulatory requirements beyond […]
By: Tim Griesbach and For the past several years baffle-former bolt (BFB) cracking in pressurized water reactors has become a significant concern for of PWR plants. In 2016, three similar Westinghouse designed plants (Indian Point 2, Salem 1, and D. C. Cook Unit 2) experienced significant numbers of cracked BFBs, attributed to irradiation-assisted stress corrosion […]
By: Jonnathan Warwick, Terry Totemeier, and Brian Chambers, Duke Energy Longitudinal seam-welded hot-reheat steam piping operating in the creep regime is a continuing life-management challenge for many older fossil-fired power plants. In response to catastrophic seam-welded piping failures in the 1980’s, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed a comprehensive inspection protocol to insure continued […]
By: David Segletes and Dan Peters One of the strengths of the Structural Integrity Associates (SI) team lies in the diversity of the skills and capabilities in the organization. Sure, SI can perform inspection, analysis, design, metallurgy, failure investigations, risk assessments, and project management, but one of the real values of working with SI is […]
By: Jason Van Velsor, Roger Royer, and Eric Houston Structural Integrity recently had the opportunity to support a client’s emergent needs when their Standby Service Water (SSW) piping system experienced a pinhole leak just downstream of a valve. Concerned about other locations in the piping system with similar configurations, the site asked SI to assist […]
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