Fitness-for-Service Creep Life Evaluation of a Hot Reheat Piping System at 400,000 Operating Hours

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn
Keyword(s):  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Piping System ◽  
High Confidence ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Nondestructive Examination ◽  
Life Evaluation ◽  
Girth Welds ◽  
Stress Analyses

This paper discusses a fitness-for-service (FFS) evaluation of a hot reheat (HRH) piping system with about 400,000 hours of operation. It discusses significant differences between the as-designed and simulation as-found piping stress analyses. The significant range of stresses in the piping system illustrates that the few lead-the-fleet girth welds should have significant creep damage decades before many other girth welds. Since the weldment examination intervals will correspond to scheduled outages, the creep life uncertainties can be grouped into high, medium, and low priorities (e.g., 0–10 years, 10–20 years, and beyond 20 years) with high confidence of rankings among the selected groups. There are 14 girth welds in this HRH piping system. In this case study, only 2 girth welds were evaluated as high priority nondestructive examination (NDE) locations and 1 girth weld was evaluated as a medium priority location for the next set of NDE reexaminations. Many of the low priority girth welds have predicted creep rupture lives substantially beyond 1,000,000 operating hours.

Optimization of NDE Reexamination Locations and Intervals for Grade 91 Piping System Girth Welds

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn ◽  
Michael T. Cronin ◽  
Fatma G. Faham ◽  
David A. Bosko ◽  
Erick Liebl
Keyword(s):  
Crack Growth ◽  
Creep Crack Growth ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Stress Increase ◽  
Creep Crack ◽  
Grade 91 ◽  
Girth Welds ◽  
Stress Analyses

It has become apparent with the development of creep strength enhanced ferritic steels, the mandatory ASME B31.1 Chapter VII and the non-mandatory ASME B31.1 Appendix V guidelines require a more rigorous method to manage the Grade 91 piping integrity at Genesee Unit 3. Given the relatively young age of Genesee Unit 3, three questions have been asked: 1) when do the examinations start, 2) what locations should be examined first, and 3) how often should the same location be reexamined? To ensure that the best value is obtained from the reexamination budget, a five-step process can be effectively used to define and categorize the scope of each set of reexaminations in the girth weld integrity management program. The five processes are performing the following analyses: 1) an evaluation of the historical information, 2) piping system hot and cold walkdowns, 3) as-designed and as-found piping stress analyses, 4) creep life consumption evaluations, including elastic and inelastic axial and radial stress redistributions, and 5) creep crack growth curve analyses. Reexaminations of the few critical lead-the-fleet weldments are performed with lower examination costs and higher confidence. Evaluations of the Genesee Unit 3 main steam (MS) piping system revealed that the applicable weldment stress is probably the most significant parameter in determining the Grade 91 girth weld critical reexamination locations and intervals. ASME B31.1 piping stress analyses of the MS piping system have sustained load stress variations of more than 100% among the girth welds. The lower bound American Petroleum Institute (API) 579 creep rupture equation for Grade 91 operating at 1,060°F (571°C) indicates that the creep life is a function of stress to the power of 8.9; consequently, a 15% stress increase results in about 2/3 reduction of creep rupture life. Creep crack growth analyses of several of the MS piping system weldments revealed that the creep crack growth time to grow from 1/8 inch to through-wall is a function of stress to the power of 8.8; consequently, a 15% stress increase results in about 2/3 reduction of time for a 1/8-inch crack to grow through-wall. This evaluation reveals that a few critical lead-the-fleet locations should be reexamined most frequently and justification can be provided for much longer reexamination intervals of the remaining girth welds with much lower applied stresses.

Enhanced Creep Life Evaluations for Grade 91 Circumferential Weldments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn
Keyword(s):  
Applied Stress ◽  
Hoop Stress ◽  
Axial Stress ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Remaining Life ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Rupture Properties ◽  
Applied Stresses

The basic power piping creep life calculations consider the important variables of time, temperature and stress for the creep rupture properties of the unique material. Some engineering evaluations of remaining life estimate the applied stress as the design stress obtained from a conventional piping stress analysis. Other remaining life evaluations may assume that a conservative estimate of the applied stress is no greater than the hoop stress due to pressure. The creep rupture properties of the unique material are usually obtained from the base material creep rupture properties. The typical methodologies to estimate remaining life do not consider the actual applied stress due to malfunctioning supports, multiaxial stress effects, axial and through-wall creep redistribution, time-dependent material-specific weldment creep rupture properties, residual welding stresses, and actual operating temperatures and pressures. It has been determined that the initiation and propagation of Grade 91 creep damage is a function of stress to about the power of 9 at higher applied stresses. There have been many examples of malfunctioning piping supports creating unintended high stresses. When the axial stress is nearly as high as the hoop stress, the applicable corresponding uniaxial stress for creep rupture life is increased about 30%. Multiaxial stress effects in circumferential weldments (e.g., when the axial stress is nearly as high as the hoop stress) can reduce the weldment creep life to less than 1/6th of the predicted life assuming a uniaxial stress or hoop stress due to pressure only. Since 2012, the ASME B31.1 Code has required that significant piping displacement variations from the expected design displacements shall be considered to assess the piping system’s integrity [1]. This paper discusses a strategy for an enhanced creep life evaluation of power piping circumferential weldments. Piping stresses can vary by a factor greater than 2.0. Consequently, the range of circumferential weldment creep rupture lives for a single piping system may vary by a factor as high as 40. Although there is uncertainty in the operating times at temperatures and pressures, all of the weldments within the piping system have the same time, temperatures, and pressures, so the corresponding uncertainties for these three attributes are normalized within the same piping system. Since the applied stresses are the most important weld-to-weld variable within a piping system, it is necessary to have an accurate evaluation of the applied stresses to properly rank the creep rupture lives of the circumferential weldments. This methodology has been successfully used to select the lead-the-fleet creep damage in circumferential weldments over the past 15 years.

Creep Life Evaluations of ASME B31.1 Allowance for Variation From Normal Operation

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn
Keyword(s):  
Base Metal ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Stress Increase ◽  
Material Creep ◽  
Metal Creep ◽  
Life Consumption

The ASME B31.1-2012 Power Piping Code (Code) paras. 102.2.4, 102.3.3, and 104.8.2 provide an allowance regarding operating above the design temperature and internal pressure for short time periods. This study is a quantitative evaluation of the permitted increased life consumption associated with the 2012 Code operating allowances for piping materials operating in the creep range. Three base metal materials are considered in this paper—ASTM A335 Grades P11, P22, and P91. Results of this evaluation could be used to improve the ASME B31.1 Code, including a technical basis for a recommended revision. The para. 102.2.4 allowables were evaluated: (A) 15% stress increase for 10% of the operating hours and (B) 20% stress increase for 1% of the operating hours. It was determined that these allowances increased the base metal creep rupture life consumption of Grade P11 material up to 8%, Grade P22 material up to 14%, and Grade P91 material up to 25%. Allowance A results in permitting significantly more creep life consumption than Allowance B. An evaluation was performed to realign the increased creep life consumption of Allowance B to be approximately equivalent to the increased creep life consumption of Allowance A. If Allowance B event duration is increased from 80 hrs per year to 400 hrs per year (from 1% to 5% of the operating hours per year), Allowance B increased the creep life consumption which is slightly less than Allowance A life consumption for Grades P11, P22, and P91 materials. Main steam (MS) and hot reheat (HRH) piping system typical operating temperatures and stresses were evaluated for these variation allowances. This study revealed that Grade P22 base metal creep damage is slightly more sensitive to stress than Grade P11 material creep rupture damage, and Grade P91 base metal creep damage is substantially more sensitive to stress than Grade P22 material creep rupture damage.

Ranking of Creep Damage in Main Steam Piping System Girth Welds Considering Multiaxial Stress Ranges

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn ◽  
Fatma G. Faham ◽  
Dipak Patel
Keyword(s):  
Creep Damage ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Sustained Load ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Multiaxial Stress ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Principal Stresses ◽  
Piping Systems ◽  
Girth Welds ◽  
Main Steam

A high-energy piping (HEP) asset integrity management program is important for the safety of plant personnel and reliability of the fossil plant generating unit. HEP weldment failures have resulted in serious injuries, fatalities, extensive damage of components, and significant lost generation. The main steam (MS) piping system is one of the most critical HEP systems. Creep damage assessment in MS piping systems should include the evaluation of multiaxial stresses associated with field conditions and significant anomalies, such as malfunctioning supports and significant displacement interferences. This paper presents empirical data illustrating that the most critical girth welds of MS piping systems have creep failures which can be successfully ranked by a multiaxial stress parameter, such as maximum principal stress. Inelastic (redistributed) stresses at the piping outside diameter (OD) surface were evaluated for the base metal of three MS piping systems at the piping analysis model nodes. The range of piping system stresses at the piping nodes for each piping system was determined for the redistributed creep stress condition. The range of piping stresses was subsequently included on a Larson–Miller parameter (LMP) plot for the grade P22 material, revealing the few critical (lead-the-fleet) girth welds selected for nondestructive examination (NDE). In the three MS piping systems, the stress ranges varied from 55% to 80%, with only a few locations at stresses beyond the 65 percentile of the range. By including evaluations of significant field anomalies and the redistributed multiaxial stresses on the outside surface, it was shown that there is a good correlation of the ranked redistributed multiaxial stresses to the observed creep damage. This process also revealed that a large number of MS piping girth welds have insufficient applied stresses to develop substantial creep damage within the expected unit lifetime (assuming no major fabrication defects). This study also provided a comparison of the results of a conventional American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31.1 Code as-designed sustained stress analysis versus the redistributed maximum principal stresses in the as-found (current) condition for a complete set of MS piping system nodes. The evaluations of redistributed maximum principal stresses in the as-found condition were useful in selecting high priority ranked girth weldment creep damage locations. The evaluations of B31.1 Code as-designed sustained load stresses were not useful in selecting high priority creep damage locations.

Creep Life Evaluations of ASME B31.1 Allowance for Variation From Normal Operation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn
Keyword(s):  
Base Metal ◽  
Rupture Life ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Stress Increase ◽  
Material Creep ◽  
Metal Creep ◽  
Life Consumption

The ASME B31.1-2012 Power Piping Code (Code) paras. 102.2.4, 102.3.3, and 104.8.2 provide an allowance regarding operating above the design temperature and internal pressure for short time periods. This study is an evaluation of the permitted increased life consumption associated with the above Code operating allowances for piping materials operating in the creep range. Three base metal materials are considered in this study, ASTM A335 Grades P11, P22, and P91. Two case studies were evaluated, A) 15% stress increase for 10% of the operating hours, and B) 20% stress increase for 1% of the operating hours. It was determined that these allowances increased the base metal creep rupture life consumption of Grade P11 material up to 8%, Grade P22 material up to 14%, and Grade P91 material up to 25%. Allowance A results in permitting significantly more creep damage life consumption than Allowance B. Main steam and hot reheat piping system typical operating temperatures and stresses were evaluated for these variation allowances. This study revealed that Grade P22 base metal creep damage is slightly more sensitive to stress than Grade P11 material creep rupture damage, and Grade P91 base metal creep damage is substantially more sensitive to stress than Grade P22 material creep rupture damage.

A Case Study on the Effect of Peaked Pipe Welds on Piping Life Expectancy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Brown ◽  
Martin Prager ◽  
Sarah Wrobel
Keyword(s):  
Material Properties ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Omega Method ◽  
Detailed Assessment ◽  
Creep Life Assessment ◽  
Pipe Geometry

This paper details a case study on the effect of weld peak geometry on the expected creep life of a piping system operating in a refining environment. Inspection of the 1-1/4 Cr piping system revealed significant peaked geometry at the longitudinal weld locations. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) assessment of the remaining life was made using the Omega method of creep life assessment. The sensitivity of the results to modeled pipe geometry and assumed material properties was assessed. The variability of life prediction that was obtained indicated a necessity to perform further more detailed assessment of the pipe geometry and material properties by the removal of samples at the weld locations. The improvement obtained in the assessment accuracy and final life predictions from the sample analysis is presented in the paper and practical implications on the operation of the piping system are detailed. Suggestions and cautions for the practical assessment of similar peaked pipe problems are also discussed.

Creep Life Prediction of HR3C Steel Using Creep Damage Models

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoomin Lee ◽  
Seok-Jun Kang ◽  
Jae-Boong Choi ◽  
Moon-Ki Kim
Keyword(s):  
Life Prediction ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Damage Models ◽  
Creep Life Prediction ◽  
Uniaxial Creep ◽  
Term Creep

The world’s energy market demands more efficient power plants, hence, the operating conditions become severe. For thermal plants, Ultra Super Critical (USC) conditions were employed with an operating temperature above 600°C. In such conditions, the main failure mechanism is creep rupture behavior. Thus, the accurate creep life prediction of high temperature components in operation has a great importance in structural integrity evaluation of USC power plants. Many creep damage models have been developed based on continuum damage mechanics and implemented through finite element analysis. The material constants in these damage models are derived from several accelerated uniaxial creep experiments in high stress conditions. In this study, the target material, HR3C, is an austenitic heat resistant steel which is used in reheater/superheater tubes of an USC power plant built in South Korea. Its creep life was predicted by extrapolating the creep rupture times derived from three different creep damage models. Several accelerated uniaxial creep tests have been conducted in various stress conditions in order to obtain the material constants. Kachanov-Rabotnov, Liu-Murakami and the Wen creep damage models were implemented. A comparative assessment on these three creep damage models were performed for predicting the creep life of HR3C steel. Each models require a single variable to fit the creep test curves. An optimization error function were suggested by the authors to quantify the best fit value. To predict the long term creep life of metallic materials, the Monkman-Grant model and creep rupture property diagrams were plotted and then extrapolated over an extended range. Finally, it is expected that one can assess the remaining lifetime of UCS power plants with such a valid estimation of long-term creep life.

Creep Life Evaluations of ASME B31.1 Allowance for Variation From Normal Operations: 11 Materials

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn ◽  
Ron Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Base Metal ◽  
Rupture Life ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Material Creep ◽  
Metal Creep ◽  
Life Consumption ◽  
Rupture Properties ◽  
Design Pressure

Abstract The ASME B31.1-2018 Power Piping Code (Code) paras. 102.2.4, 102.3.3, and 104.8.2 provide an allowance regarding operating above the design temperature and design pressure for short time periods. The concept of allowing occasional operation for short periods of time at higher than the design pressure or design temperature has been in the Code since 1967. These 1967 Code para. 102.2.4 limitations were based on engineering judgment that can now be quantitatively evaluated for the additional creep life consumption (creep rupture damage accumulation). This study primarily is a quantitative estimate of the permitted increased life consumption, considering minimum creep rupture properties, associated with the 2018 Code operating allowances for piping materials operating in the creep range. Eleven base metal materials are considered in this paper — low carbon steel, 1.25Cr 0.5Mo, 2.25Cr 1Mo, 9Cr 1 Mo V, Type 304 SS, Type 316 SS, Type 316L SS, Type 321 SS, Type 321H SS, Type 347 SS, and Type 347H SS. Results of this evaluation may be used to improve the ASME B31.1 Code, including a technical basis for a possible revision to para. 102.2.4. Previous studies have revealed that Grade P22 base metal creep damage is slightly more sensitive to stress than Grade P11 material creep rupture damage, and Grade P91 base metal creep damage is substantially more sensitive to stress than Grade P22 material creep rupture damage. Therefore, the allowable pressure and temperature variations result in a range of increased creep life consumption for different materials. The intent of this study was to modify the two Code allowance criteria so that the permitted increased creep life consumption (considering the minimum creep rupture properties of the material) of Allowance B is about the same amount as the increased creep life consumption result of Allowance A for the same material. Consequently, this study was performed to realign the allowable increased creep rupture life consumption of Allowance B to be approximately equivalent to the allowable increased creep life consumption of Allowance A. If the Allowance B event duration is increased from 80 hours per year to 400 hours per year, the Allowance B increased creep life consumption is slightly less than the Allowance A life consumption for each of these materials.

Large Ranges in Power Piping Girth Weld Creep Rupture Lives

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn ◽  
Fatma G. Faham
Keyword(s):  
Large Range ◽  
Rupture Life ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Creep Rupture ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Stress Increase ◽  
Piping Systems ◽  
Contour Plots ◽  
Grade 91 ◽  
Girth Welds

Abstract Stress analysis evaluations of high energy piping systems operating in the creep range have revealed that each piping system has a large range of ASME B31.1 Code stresses. It is typical that there are only a few locations of high stresses and many more locations of much lower Code stresses. Over the past 20 years, the authors have evaluated several hundred piping systems operating in the creep range, including main steam, hot reheat, high pressure, and intermediate pressure systems constructed of Grade 11 (1¼-Cr-½Mo-Si), Grade 22 (2¼Cr-1Mo), and Grade 91 (9Cr-1Mo-V) materials. Stress contour plots illustrate the significant range of Code stresses (sometimes factors greater than 2) at various piping system locations. This study also considered the variation of high stress locations for the initial as-designed piping stress analysis versus the as-found stresses associated with field anomalies. The stress contour plots also illustrate that field anomalies in sister units can result in different high stress locations from one unit to another. In addition, significant unintended field anomalies may result in as-found analysis high stress locations at low stress as-designed (expected) analysis locations. Since there is a large range of stresses in these power piping systems, the girth welds have a significant range of creep rupture lives. In Grade 11 material operating at 1000°F (538°C), an 18% stress increase results in 50% decrease in creep rupture life. In Grade 22 material operating at 1000°F, a 12% stress increase results in 50% decrease in creep rupture life. In Grade 91 material operating at 1060°F (571°C), an 8% stress increase results in 50% decrease in creep rupture life. For Grades 11, 22, and 91, the creep rupture times are a function of stress to the powers of 4, 6, and 9, respectively. Consequently, the evaluation of the large range of stresses in these piping systems revealed that the piping system girth welds can have creep rupture lives varying by more than a factor of 10. The large range of piping stresses and associated large range in creep rupture lives within a piping system are illustrated as stress histograms for several example piping systems. Four case studies illustrate successful selection of girth weldments with the most in-service related creep damage.

Frequency Distribution Curves for Main Steam Piping Multiaxial Stresses

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin J. Cohn ◽  
Fatma G. Faham ◽  
Dipak Patel
Keyword(s):  
Principal Stress ◽  
Frequency Distribution ◽  
Creep Damage ◽  
Maximum Principal Stress ◽  
Piping System ◽  
Principal Stresses ◽  
Piping Systems ◽  
Girth Welds ◽  
Main Steam ◽  
Hoop Stresses

A high energy piping (HEP) asset integrity management program is important for the safety of plant personnel and reliability of the generating unit. HEP weldment failures have resulted in serious injuries, fatalities, extensive damage of components, and significant lost generation. The main steam (MS) piping system is one of the most critical HEP systems. Creep damage assessment in MS piping systems should include the evaluation of multiaxial stresses associated with field conditions and significant anomalies, such as malfunctioning supports and significant displacement interferences. This paper presents empirical data illustrating that lead-the-fleet girth welds of MS piping systems have creep failures which can be successfully ranked by a multiaxial stress parameter, such as maximum principal stress. Both the as-found elastic (initial) stress and inelastic (redistributed) stress at the piping outside diameter surface are evaluated for the base metal of three MS piping systems. Frequency distribution curves are then developed for the initial and redistributed piping stresses. The frequency distribution curves are subsequently included on a Larson Miller Parameter (LMP) plot for the applicable material, revealing the few critical (lead-the-fleet) girth welds selected for nondestructive examination (NDE). By including an evaluation of significant field anomalies, multiaxial operating stress on the outside surface, and weldment performance, it is shown that there is a good correlation of calculated creep stress versus the operating time of observed creep damage. This process also reveals the large number of MS piping girth welds that have insufficient applied stress to have substantial creep damage within the expected unit life time (assuming no major fabrication defects). API 579 recommends an effective stress to compute the creep rupture life using the LMP. This constitutive stress equation includes a combination of the maximum principal, von Mises, and hydrostatic stresses. Considering the stresses in these three MS piping systems, this paper reveals that when the axial and hoop stresses are nearly the same values, the API 579 effective stress may be 10% greater than the maximum principal stress. However, the maximum principal stresses are greater than the API 579 effective stresses at the maximum stress locations in the three MS piping systems, because the axial stresses are significantly greater than the hoop stresses. This study also provides a comparison of the results of a conventional American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31.1 Code as-designed sustained stress analysis versus the redistributed maximum principal stresses for a complete set of MS piping system nodes. A comparison of Code-sustained load versus redistributed maximum principal stress results are illustrated on frequency distribution curves.

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