Assessment of Components in High Temperature Service

Structural integrity assessments are being practiced by the nuclear, power generation, petrochemical and off-shore engineering sectors. Substantial effort has been made by the Industry and Research Organizations during the last decade to generate data and drafting codes of practices. In the field of high temperature defect assessment for structural integrity of plants, well developed in-house expertise is available which requires validation to find acceptance at large. An improved assessment procedure will facilitate industry for a safe and economical operation with extended component life, achieved by enhanced decision making process in run/repair/replace. This is particularly important in present ageing plants containing service exposed material where the information and data are scarce. This calls for systematic study of material behaviour and for obtaining service relevant data. The present paper reviews the design and assessment procedures commonly used for high temperature defect assessment in Europe, the material selection and behaviour, scatter of data and sensitivity analyses, industrial applications and risks associated with ageing structures that serve in cost effective decision making and benefits to utilities and public at large.