Fitness-for-Service Assessment for Pressure Equipment in Japan Available to Purchase

Pressure equipment in refinery and petrochemical industries in Japan has been getting old, mostly more than 30 years in operation. Currently, the Japanese regulations for pressure equipment in service are the same as those in existence during the fabrication of the pressure equipment. Accordingly, there is an immediate need for an up to date more advanced “Fitness For Service” (FFS) evaluation requirements for pressure equipment. In order to introduce the latest FFS methodologies to Japanese industries, the High Pressure Institute of Japan (HPI) has organized two task groups. One is a working group for development of a maintenance standard for non-nuclear industries. Its prescribed code “Assessment procedure for crack-like flaws in pressure equipment” is for conducting quantitative safety evaluations of flaws detected in common pressure equipment such as pressure vessels, piping, storage tanks. The other is a special task group to study of API RP579 from its drafting stage as a member of TG579. The FFS Handbook, especially for refinery and petrochemical industries, has been developed based on API RP579 with several modifications to meet Japanese pressure vessel regulations on April 2001. [1] It is expected that both the Standard and FFS handbook will be used as an exemplified standard with Japanese regulations for practical maintenance. This paper presents concepts of “Assessment procedure for crack-like flaws in pressure equipment” HPIS Z101, 2001 [2].