PROCESS SYSTEM INTEGRITY– PIPING VIBRATION MANAGEMENT

Reducing the risk of vibration-induced fatigue

According to recent studies, 20% of process pipework failures are due to vibration-induced fatigue. Primary contributing factors are:
- Increased flow rates due to de-bottlenecking
- Increased flow rates due to relaxation of erosion velocity limits
- Increased use of duplex alloys for erosion and weight considerations
- Little or no structured mean of addressing the potential problems during HAZOP or QRA studies

This loss of containment can have serious safety, environmental and cost implications. Identifying the risk areas linked to vibration-induced fatigue is becoming a necessity for socially responsible companies.

What is Process System Integrity (PSI)?
To address the problem of vibration-induced fatigue, Bureau Veritas has worked closely with the oil and gas industry as well as the regulatory authorities to develop a risk assessment methodology. New facilities as well as those already in production can benefit from this method.
For new facilities, PSI can identify pipework at risk from vibration fatigue in the design phase, so the appropriate modifications can be made before the facility is put into operation.
PSI can also be applied to operational facilities, particularly where de-bottlenecking is being performed. In such cases, the results of a formal risk assessment, supported by field measurement studies, can often completely eliminate potential failures due to fatigue. If other high-risk areas are identified, PSI can be applied to form a rational basis from which to formulate suitable mitigating inspection programs.

What are the benefits?
- Reduction in unplanned downtime
- Modifications targeted only at high risk pipe work and small bore connections
- Inspection and vibration monitoring activities targeted at high risk areas instead of “measure everything” approach
- Ability to update the assessment with any proposed process or operational changes to that potential problems can be identified and solved prior to the plant changes being implemented