(60k) Life Management of High Energy Piping with Highlights from ASME B31.1

High energy piping (HEP) systems – or as defined by the ASME B31.1 Power Piping Code, Covered Piping Systems (CPS) – are critical assets with respect to production facilities. A failure can have catastrophic consequences from a safety perspective and in terms of equipment loss and downtime. In fact, loss of high-pressure steam due to a failure in a main run of steam supply piping could shut an entire production unit down. Because of this and the requirements of the Code, HEP maintenance and inspection programs are established to ensure that the integrity of the systems is maintained in a safe and reliable condition throughout their lifecycle. There is no one-size-fits-all for the life management of these critical assets because there is a great variety in age, design, materials, and owner objectives. Life management of these assets is beneficial in that it provides a structured, systematic approach to creating and implementing a program including evaluating the current program (whether formal or informal), what the objectives of the program are (short and long term), what equipment is in place, and its history.

A HEP program put in place for overall life management is not synonymous with an inspection program, although inspections are an important part of an overall program. Inspections should be used in conjunction with analytical tools, real time monitoring, and laboratory examinations. The overall approach is life management – not inspection management – of the equipment.

This paper describes a HEP life management approach which includes identifying locations of interest, risk-ranking those locations, implementing a plan for determining the health of the highest risk locations, and taking actions based on the system health that has been determined. This paper also presents and discusses some of the requirements of the B31.1 code, which at the highest level states that each operating company shall develop operation and maintenance procedures for piping systems deemed necessary to ensure safe facility operations based on the provisions of the code, relevant industry experience, the operating company’s experience (and knowledge of its facility), and the conditions under which the piping systems are operated.