API 579 Level 3 Fitness for Service evaluations of pressure containment systems for facility Owners in the refining, oil sands, heavy oil , petrochemical processing & power generation industries using linear elastic and elasto-plastic numerical evaluation procedures..

• fitness for continued service & retirement life determinations for equipment
• reactors, regen vessels, drums, towers
• FCC, Coker, HF Alylation units & atmospheric pipestill units
• shell & tube heat exchangers assessment, air cooled heat exchangers
• storage tanks - refineries
• piping systems - petrochemical, refinery, heavy oil, pulp & paper
• pump, compressor and turbine systems - evaluation of multiple installations

Re-rates, Repairs & Alterations of various equipment for major facility Owners in Canada, USA & European Union

• once through steam generators [OTSG] & plant utility boilers
• throughput increase [15%]
• pressure & temperature re-rates

• ASME VIII Div 1 vessels
• alteration to layered wall design due to ID side wall loss
• modified "lap" patch vessel alteration to address circ seam fatigue cracking

• power boilers, heat recovery heaters & steam generators
• reduction in minimum support fuel firing [10% to 2%]
• tube failure minimization
• casing pressure integrity testing & assurance

ASME VIII Div 1 & Div 2 Rules based design and design by analysis of various equipment

ASME VIII Div 2 design by analysis using FEA for de-hydrator vessels for Malaysian offshore production platform. Design required evaluation of cyclic transient temperature & pressure loads peak stress determination and evaluation of fatigue life.




Fluidized catalytic cracking [FCC] vessels

• FCCU Reactor & Regenerator equipment for revamp and new installation
• New FCC reactor vessel design (1050 F)
• FCC transfer lines design
• FCC overhead line design (1300 F)
• FCC overhead line design (1300 F)
• FCC regen head to plenum connection & plenum design
• FCC regen overflow well reliability evaluation

Delayed & Fluidized Coker Units [DCU, FCU]

• Div 1 and Div 2 analysis of fluid coker vessel extension
• FEA of fluid coker intermediate head connection
• FEA of fluid coker cyclone support attachments
• Delayed Coker Unit drum root cause cracking failure, FEA analysis and life assessment
• Delayed Coker Unit blowdown header failure investigation & mitigation

Detailed Finite Element Anlysis [FEA] of large diameter Y lateral fitting in lieu of proof testing requirements per ASME UG 101 as required by jurisdiction.

High & medium temperature service equipment as found in steam generation power plants and petrochemical utility plants

• Investigated and evaluated cracking on inlet nozzle of expander heater vessel in petrochemical complex. Evaluation involved the evaluation of transient thermal loads caused by temperature ramp up by 1,000 °F within 6 minutes, adjoining imposed transient structural loads from piping and the effecting of pressure cyclic loading.



• Investigated 50# Main Steam Header failures in plant steam supply header using conventional piping finite element and general purpose finite element methods. Identified additional areas of concern and remedial actions. Thermal bowing effects identified and addressed for future operations.



• Investigate and prescribe remedial design for Coker Unit drum outlet crosses using dynamic piping analysis and finite element techniques.

ASME Section 1 Power Boilers

• OTSG rerate evalution to 120% of OEM original rating for heavy oil facility allowing major increase in steaming capacity and oil recovery.



• Power Boiler steam drum evaluation using FEA methods to identify maintenance procedure improvements to preclude tube ligament cracking during PWHT



• Use hydrodynamic modeling of boiler combustion processes to identify flame impingement problems & remediation.



• Investigated and resolved various SGU (boiler) issues in power plants, pulp mills, cogeneration, petrochemical plant locations.

ASME B31.1 & B31.3 Piping codes used to design and trouble shoot various installations associated with equipment listed above for major facility Owners and fabricators in North America.

• Design audit of high pressure piping circuits - hydrocracker unit



• Developed and presented pneumatic testing primer



• Various piping vibration evaluations & remediation in pulp & paper and refining facilities



• Investigation of piping & support cracking in oil sands, refining plants



• Detailed study of high pressure feed line vibration to determine reliability of operation under high amplitude dynamic loadings. Assessment and prescription of remedial measures made. Plant throughput constraints eliminated and new production rates attained.

Large Vessel Engineering. design and trouble shooting at various installations for major facility Owners and fabricators in USA, Canada and European Union

• Provided mechanical engineering support of either specialty or general nature to other support, operations and maintenance staff; conducted FEA analysis and participated in review team to repair Coker Reactor vessel after cracking failures were discovered in vessel wall. Used finite element analysis methods to evaluate repair and long term reliability; participated in team to assess damage and prescribe repairs for CO fired Heaters. Knowledge of refractories and metals required to provide innovative offline and on-line repairs; assisted project engineer in execution of FCC reactor cyclone replacement project.



• Engineering evaluation of Coker reactor modifications, evaluation of heavy lift requirements and resolution of fabrication issues. Coker Unit 8-2 lift was 440 tons at 89' radius; Coker 8-1 lift was 770 tons at 185' radius. Each revamp project valued in excess of $100 M ($ 2009) and field executed within 28 day mechanical shutdown window.



• Heavy lift engineering includes lift evaluation in refinery & oil sands process units using:/li>
  
  
  • NF Lampson Transilift
  • Stotra (Mammoet)
  • Demag CC and TC
  • Manitowac 4600R

Project Engineering services for grass roots unit engineering, procurement and construction of refinery, petrochemical, oil sands and heavy oil unit facilities

• EPCM installation of 6,000 bpd fractionation facility. Unit comprised of tankage, central process unit, utilities unit, vapor recovery unit, incinerator and fired heater. Project was successfully completed within agressive schedule and within engineering budget of 7.5% TIC.



• Provided team leadership and project support for grass roots construction of a $300 M ($ 2009) refinery operating unit. The project features the largest fired Dowtherm Heat Transfer fluid heater in North America. The unit required extensive testing and upgrading in order to meet operational and safety requirements. Detailed integrity testing was specified in order to ensure successful startup. Developed extensive and in-depth knowledge in a wide variety of industrial equipment, design methods and refractory technologies; unit has been operating successfully for 20 years.



• Provided detailed specification and project engineering and field supervision for installation of an aluminum geodesic dome for a 120'Ø gasoline storage tank. Has distinction of being the first in a Canadian refinery.



• Engineered in-situ replacement of unusually large CO duct expansion joints [120" Ø]. This was a first time event for this type of work within the organization involving field TIG welding of 60" diameter bellows elements.



• Engineered special lift replacement of 14,000 HP FCC Main Air Blower rotor valued at $2.5 M ($ 2009) for refinery Complex shutdown. Work involved engineering and specification of detailed lift procedure.



• Evaluated and engineered replacement of refinery main 150 # steam line to replace line “on-the-run” to maintain refinery operations. Project was valued at $30 M ($ 2009).



• Specified inspection requirements and engineered procedure to take the main refinery stack out of service while maintaining refinery operations. Procedure required successful diversion of flue gas from three operating power boilers to a temporary stack using hot tap techniques on large diameter hot flue gas ducting.



• Developed guidelines to waive hydro-static testing of vessels and use of hydrocarbons as a test medium. Waiver procedure was accepted by jurisdiction.