A high energy piping (HEP) asset integrity management program is important for the safety of power plant personnel and reliability of the generating units. Hot reheat (HRH) longitudinal seam weld failures have resulted in serious injuries, fatalities, extensive damage of components, and significant lost generation. The HRH piping system is one of the most critical HEP systems. Since high temperature creep is a typical failure mechanism for longitudinal seam welds, the probability of failure increases with unit operating hours. This paper concludes that some seam welded spools in this specific HRH piping system are more likely to fail earlier than other spools, depending on their actual wall thicknesses and operating temperatures. In this case study, the HRH piping system has operated over 200,000 hours and experienced about 400 starts since commercial operation. There are two separate HRH lines, Lines A and B, for this piping system. The 36-inch OD pipe has a specified minimum wall thickness (MWT) of 1.984 inches. Pipe wall thicknesses were measured in 57 spools. The measured spool MWT values varied from 1.981 to 2.122 inches. On average, Line A operated about 8°F higher than Line B. A comparative risk assessment was performed using the estimated average temperatures and pressures throughout the life of this HRH piping system. Data associated with the reported failures or near failures of seam welded Grade 22 piping systems were plotted as log σHoop versus the Larson Miller Parameter (LMP). The range of log σHoop and LMP values for this unique piping system was also plotted, based on the average operating pressure and the range in the average operating temperatures and the measured spool MWT values. The Line A (with a higher average operating temperature) seamed spool having the lowest measured MWT fell slightly above the threshold line of reported seam weld pipe failures. The Line B (with a lower average operating temperature) seamed spool having the lowest MWT is about 10 operating years from reaching the threshold of reported seam weld pipe failures. The Line A seamed spool having the highest measured MWT is about 8 operating years from reaching the threshold of reported seam weld pipe failures. The Line B seamed spool having the highest measured MWT is more than 18 operating years from reaching the threshold of historical seam weld pipe failures.

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