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News & Views, Volume 48 | Implementation of Material Verification – In Support of Mega-Rule Part 1 Requirements

September 30, 2020/in David Babbitt, Mega-Rule, News and Views, Oil and Gas Pipeline, Roger Royer, Scott Riccardella/by Structural Integrity

By: Roger Royer, Scott Riccardella, and David Babbitt

Operators are now required to define sampling programs and perform destructive (laboratory) or non-destructive testing to capture this information and take additional actions when inconsistent results are identified until a confidence level of 95% is achieved.

Various sections of Mega-Rule 1 require operators of natural gas transmission pipelines to ensure adequate Traceable, Verifiable, and Complete (TV&C) material records or implement a Material Verification (MV) Program to confirm specific pipeline attributes including diameter, wall thickness, seam type, and grade. Operators are now required to define sampling programs and perform destructive (laboratory) or non-destructive testing to capture this information and take additional actions when inconsistent results are identified until a confidence level of 95% is achieved. Opportunistic sampling per population is required until completion of testing of one excavation per mile (rounded up to the nearest whole number) up to 150 excavations (if the population exceeds 150 miles). Regulators have communicated an expectation that sampling locations or test sites are to be equally spaced throughout the population mileage.

News & Views, Volume 48 | Strategic Evaluation of MAOP – Reconfirmation Plans and Options

September 30, 2020/in Bruce Paskett, News and Views, Oil and Gas Pipeline, Scott Riccardella/by Structural Integrity

By: Scott Riccardella and Bruce Paskett

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 the Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments Final Rule (Final Rule).

The Final Rule requires that for on-shore steel transmission pipelines in an High Consequence Area (HCA), Class 3 or 4 location without Traceable, Verifiable and Complete (TV&C) records for §192.619(a)(2) (pressure testing, including records required by §192.517(a)) ; or where the Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) was established based on the Grandfather Clause and the MAOP creates a stress ≥ 30% of the Specified Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS), an operator will need to reconfirm the MAOP in accordance with the provisions of §192.624.

News & Views, Volume 48 | Optimizing Cathodic Protection Commitments Aging Management Program (AMP XI.M42)

September 30, 2020/in Mark Jaeger, Nuclear Energy, Shane McManus/by Structural Integrity

By: Shane McManus and Mark Jaeger

License renewal applications (LRAs) often involve commitments to future actions. These can be classified into one of three categories: appropriate, overcommitment, and ambiguous implementation. Appropriate commitments include those actions that are expected by the NRC (such as those explicitly identified in the GALL⁽¹⁾and GALL-SLR⁽²⁾) as well as some less restrictive actions that are technically justified by engineering evaluation. These commitments can generally be implemented within one operating cycle using existing technology, are cost-effective, and are consistent with the GALL and GALL-SLR.

Overcommitments and those commitments with ambiguous implementations can be avoided and cost-effectiveness optimized by obtaining independent third party reviews (ITPR) of the LRA.

Structural Integrity Associates Board Elects New Chairman

August 27, 2020/in Company News/by Structural Integrity

On August 27th, the Structural Integrity Associates Board elected Matt Sunseri as new SI Board Chairman replacing Barry Waitte who will remain on the board until his announced retirement in May. “I look forward to Matt’s leadership and insight in this new capacity,” said Mark Marano, Structural Integrity Associates CEO and Chief Nuclear Officer. “SI has a long heritage of providing high value engineering and consulting to the Nuclear Industry and this change enhances our strategic focus in this key zero-carbon industry segment.”

Matt joined the board in 2019 and is the former President and CEO of Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. While at Wolf Creek, he was responsible for all aspects of the safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of the plant and supported the development of international leaders through the World Association of Nuclear Operators. Matt brings nearly 40 years of utility experience having worked in both the regulated and merchant energy markets. He also serves as a member and chairman of the nuclear safety review board for the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in New Brunswick, Canada.

“I am honored to serve as the SI Board Chair and look forward to working with the other Board members as we fulfill our duties to the Company and its shareholders. I have always found that when transitions occur, it is a good opportunity to review our capabilities and the value we bring to clients,” said Matt.

Structural Integrity Associates is an employee owned specialty engineering and services company providing structural integrity assessment insights and services to achieve asset management excellence across multiple industries including Nuclear, Fossil, Oil & Gas, and critical infrastructure.

Structural Integrity Associates Releases 4th Generation BIoGEORGE BioFilm Growth Detector System

Structural Integrity Associates Releases BG4, a 4th Generation of the BIoGEORGE™ Biofilm Growth Detector System, enables real-time data monitoring

June 25, 2020/in Company News, Industry News/by Structural Integrity

The Structural Integrity (SI) Chemistry and Materials Team have completed the development and release of BG4, the 4th generation of the BIoGEORGE™ Biofilm Growth Detector system. The 4th generation release includes analytical software (BGConnect) and enhanced communication utilizing Bluetooth enabled phone/tablet App (BGMobile). Our system provides real-time data, customizable graphs, and shareable reports, allowing the user to evaluate their chemical treatment program’s effectiveness on-demand.

“We are excited to provide an updated version of the BIoGEORGE™ Detector system, BG4, to our clients. The BIoGEORGE product has been shown to reduce O&M costs by optimizing chemical treatments. With this next generation of enhancements, clients will be able to take advantage of real-time data with less effort”, commented Mike Ford, SI Chemistry and Materials Director. “We see this as a necessary step in product innovation for our clients as they continue to focus on controlling costs.” SI has begun to receive orders for the BG4 units from a returning client based on their positive experiences with the 3rd generation of the BIoGEORGE™ system and SI support.

About BIoGEORGE™

For over 20 years, SI has supplied previous generations of the BIoGEORGE™ Biofilm Growth Detector system to numerous clients in the power generation, refinery, pipeline, and chemical industries with great success. The product uses electrochemical methods to detect biofilm activity in water-based buildup on the probe surface to support chemical conditioning and plant performance.

For more information on BG4 and the latest marketing flyer, visit si-biofilmgrowth.com.

Structural Integrity Associates Announces the Appointment of Steve Gressler as Vice President, Fossil

April 23, 2020/in Company News, Fossil Power/by Structural Integrity

Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), a leader in engineering and technology in the power and oil & gas industries, today announced the appointment of Steve Gressler as Vice President of its Fossil business. Gressler will report to Mark Marano, SI President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Gressler is a metallurgical engineer with over 30 years of experience in metallurgy, failure analysis, and the damage assessment of fossil power generation equipment and distributed heating and cooling systems with an emphasis on piping, boilers, headers, and balance of plant equipment. He is a principal contributor to engineering life cycle programs and procedures, risk assessments, analysis tools, and technologies to assess service degradation in low alloy and creep-strength enhanced ferritic steels. His current work focuses on the development, integration, and deployment of nondestructive testing and damage tracking technology in addition to engineering consulting and materials assessments.

Since joining Structural Integrity Associates in 1997, Steve has been a principal contributor to the methodologies applied for life assessment of high temperature and critical piping components. This includes characterization of creep and fatigue damage in longitudinal seam welds, girth welds, and header ligaments. It also extends to the engineering of data management systems used for aiding decision-making processes.

Marano noted, “Steve brings metallurgical leadership and technology development experience to the SI leadership team and is an integral part of our new customer focused strategy. Steve’s knowledge of the fossil business, tenure with SI, and relationships with our clients will accelerate our journey to create value for power and oil industry customers as a highly valued engineering and technology partner.”

Gressler received a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and is a Registered Professional Engineer. Steve is also a prior recipient of the SI Riccardella Innovation Award for Prioritization Method for Fossil Plant Piping.

Structural Integrity Appoints Sean Fuller as Executive Director of Sales and Marketing

March 19, 2020/in Company News/by Structural Integrity

Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), a leader in engineering and technology in the power and oil and gas industries, today announced the appointment of Sean Fuller as Executive Director of Sales and Marketing. Fuller will report to Mark Marano, SI President and Chief Executive Officer, who recently joined the company in February.

Fuller joins SI from Curtiss-Wright Corporation where he was an Innovation Champion and Innovation Lead – Product Engineering in the Nuclear Division. Previously, Fuller served as Executive VP Sales and Technology for GSE Systems Inc., a provider of simulation, training, and engineering solutions to the power and process industries. There he was instrumental in establishing technology partnerships to develop the nuclear plant control room of the future.

Fuller brings to SI more than 30 years of commercial and new product introduction experience in the power industry. He began his career at GE Nuclear, a division of GE Power, as an Edison Engineering Program engineer where he served in commercial, engineering, and manufacturing leadership roles and was instrumental in commercializing technology that has enabled nuclear power plants to achieve 90%+ capacity factors.

Marano noted, “Sean brings extensive commercial leadership and technology development experience to the SI team and is an integral part of our new customer focused strategy. Sean’s success leading innovation and technology deployment will enhance our journey to create value for power and oil industry customers as a highly valued engineering and technology partner.”

Fuller received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical-Nuclear Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts and is Lean/6Sigma Black Belt certified.

News & View, Volume 47 | Aircraft Impact Assessments for NUSCALE Power

News & Views, Volume 47 | Aircraft Impact Assessments for NUSCALE Power

March 3, 2020/in Critical Structures, Eric Kjolsing, News and Views, Structural Assessments/by Structural Integrity

By: Eric Kjolsing, Ph.D., PE

From 2015 to 2019 Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) worked with NuScale Power,LLC. to develop structural details for and perform aircraft impact assessments of NuScale’s SMR Reactor Building. The assessments were based on finite element analyses of various strike scenarios stemming from NEI 07-13 guidance. ANACAP, a proprietary SI concrete constitutive model, was used in the finite element analyses. Among other capabilities, the ANACAP model can capture multi-axial tensile cracking, compressive crushing with strain softening, and crack dependent shear stiffness.

News & View, Volume 47 | How To Make Knowing A Good Thing: Thinning Handbooks

March 3, 2020/in News and Views, Nuclear Asset Integrity, Nuclear Energy, Stephen Parker/by Structural Integrity

By: Stephen Parker and Eric Houston

SI has developed a process to mitigate the negative outcomes of piping examination. One part of that process is Thinning Handbooks, which have resulted in direct savings in excess of $10 Million for one nuclear plant.

Examination of Safety Related Service Water piping is driven by a number of factors, all of which tend to converge on the objective of finding localized thinning prior to the thinning becoming a problem. In other words, examinations are performed to eliminate the risk of a leak and ensure that the wall thickness remains greater than t_min (the minimum required uniform wall thickness). However, the rules, regulations, and economic realities mean that only bad things happen from an exam regardless of what is found.

News & View, Volume 47 | TRU Compliance Expands into Physical Security – Testing and Certification Services

March 3, 2020/in Critical Structures, Dan Zentner, News and Views, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Dan Zentner

This service coincides with the upcoming publication of the Structural Design for Physical Security Manual of Practice by the American Society of Civil Engineers, with TRU Compliance Director Andy Coughlin as coauthor.

TRU Compliance’s testing and certification services is expanding into the dynamic field of Physical Security. This service coincides with the upcoming publication of the Structural Design for Physical Security Manual of Practice by the American Society of Civil Engineers, with TRU Compliance Director Andy Coughlin as coauthor. TRU’s practice in this arena includes Blast, Ballistics, Vehicle Impact and Forced Entry services. This is possible through TRU’s partnerships with leading test laboratories such as Oregon Ballistics Labs, Stone-OBL, BakerRisk, Calspan, and others. Physical Security certification by TRU is accredited by the International Accreditation Service and compliments TRU’s accredited Seismic and Wind Certifications.