Pressure inspection procedures

Evaluate housekeeping practices and sprinkler pressure inspection procedures. 

The efficiency of gas turbines is limited by the maximum allowable turbine inlet temperature (TIT). The TIT may be increased by cooling of the blades and vanes of the high pressure turbine. Cooling channels can be casted into the components or may be drilled afterwards. Non-conventional processes like EDM, ECD or Laser are used for drilling. Radiographic examination of the drilled components is part of the inspection procedure. Traditional X-Ray film technique has been used. The consumable costs, the waste disposal and the limited capacity of the two film units lead to the decision to investigate the alternative of Real-Time X-Ray. 

Obviously, any pressure vessel presents a rupture hazard. However, both design standards and official tests that are enforced by state agencies (or equivalent), in combination with strict inspection procedures limit this hazard to a quasi-zero level, especially on large-scale units. But, some mechanical hazards are often underestimated, especially on R D multipurpose equipments ... 

The following sections summarize the inspection procedures provided in CGA C-6, Standards for Visual Inspection of Steel Compressed Gas Cylinders [10]. Except where noted, the focus pertains to low pressure and high pressure steel cylinders. While many of the same considerations apply to the inspection of aluminum cylinders and cylinders made of materials other than steel, the respective CGA technical publications should be consulted for specific procedures and defect limitations concerning such cylinders. See CGA C-6.1, C-6.2, andC-6.3 [11, 12, 13]. 

The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 requires, inter alia, that every employer shall take control measures necessary to protect the health of employees from inhaling asbestos. Details of the pressure and air velocity tests and inspection procedures to be used are given in an Approved Code of Practice which provides for three levels of inspection, i.e. weekly inspechons by a responsible person, an examination of new and subst tially modified plant (referred to as Part 1 examination), and six monthly inspechons by a competent person (referred to as Part II examinahon). 

P-15 Filling of Industrial and Medical Nonflammable Compressed Gas Cylinders, Covers prefill inspection procedures and describes the steps necessary to ensure that cylinders of air, argon, carbon dioxide, helium, nitrous oxide, and oxygen are filled in a safe manner. Also provides filling pressure tables from 0 to 130°F and 1800 to 2640 psig for each gas. (16 pages)... 

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) United Engineering Center 345 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017 The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, under the cognisance of the ASME PoHcy Board, Codes, and Standards, considers the interdependence of design procedures, material selection, fabrication procedures, inspection, and test methods that affect the safety of boilers, pressure vessels, and nuclear-plant components, whose failures could endanger the operators or the pubHc (see Nuclearreactors). It does not cover other aspects of these topics that affect operation, maintenance, or nonha2ardous deterioration. 

Ultrasonics. The most widely used nondestmctive test method for explosion-welded composites is ultrasonic inspection. Pulse-echo procedures (ASTM A435) are appHcable for inspection of explosion-welded composites used in pressure appHcations. 

This requirement hides an important provision. It not only applies to inspection, measuring, and test equipment but to the measurements that are performed with that equipment. Anywhere you intend performing product verification or monitoring processes you need to ensure that the environmental conditions are suitable. By environmental conditions is meant the temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration, lighting, cleanliness, dust, acoustic noise, etc. of the area in which such measurements are carried out. To avoid having to specify the conditions each time, you need to establish the ambient conditions and write this into your procedures. If anything other than ambient conditions prevail, you may need to assess whether the measuring devices will perform adequately in these conditions. If you need to discriminate between types of equipment, the ones most suitable should be specified in the verification procedures. 

Procedures for assurance of quality in the design, fabrication, installation, maintenance, testing and inspection for critical equipment are ) red. Safety requires that critical safety devices must operate as i led and process system components must be maintained to be able to contain design pressures. 

Do not assume that such things could not happen in your company (unless you have spent some time in the relief-valve workshop). All relief valves should be tested and inspected regularly. Reference 3 describes model equipment and procedures. When a large petroleum company introduced a test program, it was shocked by the results out of 187 valves sent for testing, 23 could not be tested because they were leaking or because the springs were broken, and 74 failed to open within 10% of the set pressure—that is, more than half of them could not operate as required [4]. 

Leakages from CO2 fire suppression systems are considered extremely rare. With adequate inspection and maintenance procedures a leak on the system should generally not be expected to occur. Installed pressure gages on the CO2 cylinders should be frequently checked against the initial pressure readings. If they are found to be different, immediate action should be taken to investigate possible leakages. 

Welding of piping, pressure containing parts, and wetted parts, as well as any weld repairs to such parts, shall be performed and inspected by operators and procedures qualified in accordance with Section VIII, Division 1, and Section IX of the ASME Code. 

All of the weldments prepd for this investigation were carefully ground smooth in accordance with procedures reqd for 100% X-ray inspection of pressure vessels... 

The general safety aspects of high-pressure plants are presented in Chapter 7.1. The protective design of the various parts of a plant including the buildings is considered in detail together with testing procedures, safe plant operation, and inspection. 

Relevant safety issues arising in the design and operation of high-pressure plants are addressed in Chapter Seven. After a general section where testing procedures, safe plant operation, and inspection are summarized, two examples are dealt with in detail dense-gas extraction units and polymerization reactors. 

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