Safe Operation and FFS Assessment for Pressure Equipment: Updated With Study for Local Metal Loss Assessment

Recently, Codes and Standards for FFS assessment has been developed and applied in United States and other countries such as API RP579 as a series of maintenance procedures for pressure equipment. Activities developing FFS assessment procedures in conjunction with new safe inspection standards are also progressing in Japan. In order to prove applicability of the FFS procedure for assessment of damaged pressure equipment, it is also important to validate how much of inservice safe margin is derived from the FFS assessment procedures in compared with design margin of pressure equipment. Local metal loss assessment procedure specified by API RP579 is studied using finite element analysis and discussed how much of in-service safe margin will be sufficient as standardized FFS assessment procedure.