| Paper and Process
Industries
|
|
 |
Storage Tanks Condition Assessment - Do your tanks meet the applicable standards? Are your tanks safe? Three major events in the late 1980s involving failures and leakage of aboveground storage tanks (AST) prompted stricter national, state and local regulations. AST owners must now comply with these new rules. Thielsch Engineering has designed an AST inspection program to provide tank owners and operators with a response to satisfy these requirements. |
|
The program addresses, although is not limited to, the following:
Thorough visual and meaningful nondestructive examinations performed by trained, highly experienced and qualified personnel provide critical information to determine the current condition of the tank. Structural members, shell courses, floor sections, valves, drains, piping, floating and fixed roofs, foundations, etc., are examined to determine the extent to which further inspection is required. Various modes of AST settlement can occur during the service life. Differential settlement and edge settlement are responsible for a majority of structural problems. Computer-aided analysis is used evaluate the extent of settlement relative to the specific requirements of API Standard 653. Bottom corrosion is also of concern. The extent and rate of corrosion determine the frequency of inspection . Several methods can be utilized to examine the tank bottom. Attention to this area will minimize the likelihood of leakage. All welded components/structures contain flaws and/or imperfections to some degree. These flaws can range from slag inclusions, porosity, lack of fusion and/or lack of penetration to cracking and fissuring. Further, base materials can contain flaws such as surface laps, slivers, laminations and hot tears. Service-related cracking can also develop in conjunction with or independent of these conditions, depending on stresses and service environment. These flaws may result in defects that affect the overall tank integrity. In many instances, however, they do not. It is therefore essential to understand the significance of locating and evaluating flaws. Some steel plate materials are or have become inherently very brittle during manufacturing, erection and welding or service. Thielsch Engineering has a long history of evaluating these types of structures for a variety of industries including power, pulp and paper, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical and cement. Our API-certified inspectors use visual, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, ultrasonic, radiographic and magnetic flux examinations as well as vacuum box testing to locate and evaluate defects and discontinuities. Elevation surveys are performed to identify differential, uniform and planar settlement. Additional evaluations can also be performed in the laboratory to determine material composition and properties (i.e., chemical/metallurgical analysis, Charpy V-notch and tensile testing, etc.), if necessary. A detailed engineering report is prepared that includes all data and analyses as well as recommendations to ensure safe continued service. these reports may also serve as documentation for future inspections. All reports are reviewed and sealed by a registered Professional Engineer. Call us to find out more about:
For more information contact: |
|