Risk Analysis Methodology and On-Line Inspection Using Acoustic Emission Technology on Pressure Equipments in Chemical Installations

摘要

Periodical inspection is an important method to identify the material deterioration and the defects induced during operation for in-service pressure vessels. Risk-based Inspection (RBI) technology is a new trend in the inspection and management of pressurized equipments in chemical and petrochemical plants. In this paper, the potential damage mechanisms, failure modes, probability of failure (PoF), consequences of failure (CoF), risk levels of the pressure equipments and other elements of a RBI analysis were presented in detail. To ensure the safety of pressure equipments, on-line inspection methods were employed to continuously improve the inspection activities and systematically reduce the risk associated with pressure boundary failures. The acoustic emission technology was employed to detect the active defects, and a case study on 3 chemical storage tanks of trichlorosilane was carried out.